Adrift Down the Amazon

(Jan 6, 2013)

Happy New Year, everyone! So far 2013 has been good to me and I have safely arrived in Manaus after an elongated 11 day trip down the Amazon.

I left the kind hospitality of my couchsurfing hosts in Iquitos on the 27th of December and boarded my first 'cargo boat' down river to the Colombian/Peruvian/Brazilian border. A kind deck hand led me past the first floor of the passenger 'lodgings' to the breezy top floor and helped me string up my hammock.

To say there were a lot of hammocks on the deck below would be an understatement: there were piles upon piles of hammocks swinging beside, above and below each other! The journey to the ship's head, which was nestled at the stern of the main deck could only be reached by 'ninja-ing', as I slid below bulging hammocks, above dreaming babies, and through the criss-crossed pattern that results from free-for-all hammock placement. It seems that the majority of people preferred to be crowded downstairs rather than face the evening breeze upstairs, to which I was very happy to return.

The journey was pleasant and I spent my time reading Don Quixote, surreptitiously listening to music on my iPod, and looking in interest upon the small settlements that speckled the remote banks of the Amazon river, gliding by beside us.

When we arrived, I learned that the border area is made up of three towns of varying sizes: Santa Rosa, the small village on the peruvian side, Leticia, the bustling Colombian metropolis, and Tabatinga in Brazil.

While I waited for Berly to arrive I ventured across the river to conduct research regarding the schedule of cargo boats to Manaus and entry requirements for Canadian citizens. While I was happy to find that the prices in Brazil weren't as crazy as I had imagined (yet), I was startled to find that Portuguese is really worlds different from Spanish to my ears and, though Brazilians can understand my questions in Spanish, I cannot for the life of me understand their responses. I have now turned to the arsenal of my Charades and high school drama skills to make my way through Brazil as an alien (but friendly!) mime. Besides that, I was happy to find a small internet cafe in the far reaches of the city, my only means of communication since Santa Rosa is remote without internet connection, cellphone signal, or electricity save for 3 hours each evening gathered from sparse and shoddy electrical outlets.

It seemed that I was quite the topic of conversation in Santa Rosa and I quickly made friends with various people in the village. I was invited to spend New Years Eve with a very kind family and we enjoyed dinner together while talking about New Years customs. The latter part of the night turned out to be quite low key due to the fact that women in the village don't drink and I didn't think it would be safe or socially savvy to break the mold. Thus, after a few jaunts down the city's main (and only) street to watch fireworks and the burning of the dolls (who are meant to represent the drunken or dishonest men that had afflicted each household), I went to bed at 12:05am.

I spent the following day helping my new friend, Sandra, in the kitchen as she prepared breakfasts and lunches to sell on her front porch. I watched carefully to learn from the techniques of the Peruvian kitchen and took a few notes. Miscommunications between Berly and I led me to take the boat on Wednesday without him - it seemed that he was stuck in Iquitos due to the New Years festivities and I was running out of time and money to wait for him.

The boat from Tabatinga to Manaus was much like the first boat: shorter than expected (3 days rather than 6), unreasonably crowded (this time I couldn't escape to the upper floor!), and more geared for swinging passenger travel than cargo. As soon as I arrived on the boat, I found that I was in the company of 4 other solo travelers (from New Zealand, Germany, Spain, and Colombia) and we banded together to create a backpackers/English-speaking group. And while I had enjoyed looking out at the various shades of Amazon that glide by us on our journey, the second leg of my journey has been defined as a test of patience, tolerance, and flexibility as the hammocks increasingly closed in around me. I imagine that learning to live harmoniously with people in cramped conditions is an important lesson and I think that, with this experience, I have passed with flying colours! I have learned to quickly exchange warning glances for friendly smiles and a critical understanding that all 350 of us are in this ((15m * 5m * 3m)*2) together.

I arrived in Manaus and have rocketed myself into my whirlwind journey through Brazil, where I will try to cram in as much of the 8.5 million kilometer squared country (+ Uruguay) as I can!

Manaus is a beautiful city which seems to symbolize the battleground between human enterprise and nature. The outskirts of the city boasts an industrial zone which stretches for miles and the downtown core is lush and green, with vines snaking out of the windows of old forgotten colonial buildings, now the canvases of youth with spray cans. Besides the mysterious atmosphere in the city, my favorite part about it is the abundance of empanada huts, juice stands, and weird and wonderful fruit stalls that line the streets. I certainly have my work cut out for me if I plan to eat through this city!

Luckily I have a bit more time as I will be flying to the city of Belem on the coast of Brazil on Wednesday.

Time for sun, surf, and sand!

(Also, for all those deterred by the Captcha puzzles when trying to comment, Peter has removed them and corroborated just how incredibly difficult they were! Comment away if anything comes to mind!)