The Slow Boat to Colombia
Well, it certainly was slow, even going with the current! Of course it didn't help that we stopped at every hamlet, shack on stilts and logging camp along the way to unload vital supplies like blocks of ice, boxes of soda, and of course petroleum products.
We should have known we were in for a hectic time when we showed up at the docks fresh from an overnight trip to the jungle and quite nearly got shoved onto the wrong boat by an over-eager group of drunken dock hands. Not to mention the man with the bullhorn who thought it was good fun to shove his toy in the gringos faces while shouting out possible destinations. Luckily Sepi managed to find a nice evangelical chappie who started off with her bag at such a pace that we had no choice but to chase him down and ended up in the right spot on the right boat. The glorified cargo barge known as the Manuel.
It was now around 3:30 in the afternoon. We strung our hammocks in the (at this point) empty space on the top deck and settled down to while the afternoon away before the strictly scheduled 6-9 p.m. departure. During this period our nice empty top deck slowly transformed into a tangled spider web of hammocks hung in every conceivable fashion from every possible angle. It became an impossible task to move from our cocoon like positions, and so we didn't. At least until I awoke at around 3:30 in the a.m. when a sound from beneath me (where our bags were tied together) led me to peer over the edge of the hammock. What I saw was not the sneaky thief I half expected but instead a particularly amorous Argentine woman copulating with an equaly romantic Peruvian gentleman. Frankly, I'm surprised they even found the room to maneuver what with 120 people and their baggage crammed into the two passenger decks. There certainly is something about the jungle air...
Despite the crowds, the almost imperceptible rate of progress, the stifling heat and the meager meals served at irregular hours it was a gorgeous trip. The shear size of the Amazon is unbelievable. Not to mention the amount of water that pours into its giant basin from all sides and quite frequently from above. The tarps on the Manuel were far from their prime. It did not matter. The pink dolphins, the towering thunderstorms, the lush green growth of the overflowing banks provided a scenery that allowed the time to pass almost as imperceptibly as the forward motion of the boat. NAVIMAG this was not. An incredible, unforgettable experience, Si.
Our arrival in Leticia was just too late for us to catch that days flight to Bogota, which means we are "stuck" here through the 16th, providing that the weather is good enough for the flight to leave. It will be a sad relief to escape the tropical heat of this amazing region. While it fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine to glide though the treetops and the wider channels of these waters, I feel that as soon as we have left I will be aching to return.
We should have known we were in for a hectic time when we showed up at the docks fresh from an overnight trip to the jungle and quite nearly got shoved onto the wrong boat by an over-eager group of drunken dock hands. Not to mention the man with the bullhorn who thought it was good fun to shove his toy in the gringos faces while shouting out possible destinations. Luckily Sepi managed to find a nice evangelical chappie who started off with her bag at such a pace that we had no choice but to chase him down and ended up in the right spot on the right boat. The glorified cargo barge known as the Manuel.
It was now around 3:30 in the afternoon. We strung our hammocks in the (at this point) empty space on the top deck and settled down to while the afternoon away before the strictly scheduled 6-9 p.m. departure. During this period our nice empty top deck slowly transformed into a tangled spider web of hammocks hung in every conceivable fashion from every possible angle. It became an impossible task to move from our cocoon like positions, and so we didn't. At least until I awoke at around 3:30 in the a.m. when a sound from beneath me (where our bags were tied together) led me to peer over the edge of the hammock. What I saw was not the sneaky thief I half expected but instead a particularly amorous Argentine woman copulating with an equaly romantic Peruvian gentleman. Frankly, I'm surprised they even found the room to maneuver what with 120 people and their baggage crammed into the two passenger decks. There certainly is something about the jungle air...
Despite the crowds, the almost imperceptible rate of progress, the stifling heat and the meager meals served at irregular hours it was a gorgeous trip. The shear size of the Amazon is unbelievable. Not to mention the amount of water that pours into its giant basin from all sides and quite frequently from above. The tarps on the Manuel were far from their prime. It did not matter. The pink dolphins, the towering thunderstorms, the lush green growth of the overflowing banks provided a scenery that allowed the time to pass almost as imperceptibly as the forward motion of the boat. NAVIMAG this was not. An incredible, unforgettable experience, Si.
Our arrival in Leticia was just too late for us to catch that days flight to Bogota, which means we are "stuck" here through the 16th, providing that the weather is good enough for the flight to leave. It will be a sad relief to escape the tropical heat of this amazing region. While it fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine to glide though the treetops and the wider channels of these waters, I feel that as soon as we have left I will be aching to return.
posted by Sepi & Sam at 9:03 AM
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