This was not something I was looking forward to. Karl had got it into his head that the best way for us to enter Brazil from Columbia was to take a slow boat along the amazon for 4 days from Leticia. That’s 3 nights and 4 full days sleeping in a hammock, on a boat filled with people in a humid tropical climate. I wasn’t too keen on the idea as my legs are a patchwork of scars from mosquito bites, I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of openly lying there as bait for them in a hammock. So I made a mental list of the positives; it was cheap, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t die, Karl really wanted to do it, and I could add it to my list of character building experiences.
Well, I’m pleased to say that all my negative thoughts were totally wrong. The boat was great. Maybe it was because my expectations were so low that I was easily pleased, but whatever the case, it worked and I had a great time.
Yes, it was cramped.
And it did get hot during the day, but as long as the boat was moving we got a nice refreshing breeze.
There were toilets and showers, which although weren’t glamorous, were regularly cleaned. We got 3 meals a day included. The food was ok, a few people got sick, but I was fine and ate pretty much everything they served. There was even a roof top deck area with a bar. There were quite a few fellow gringos taking the boat so we could all group together to drink rum and play cards to pass the time.
Not too bad at all.
And finally, the ultimate plus point, not one single mosquito bite!! Obviously, I had failed to think about how these insects sent by the devil would actually manage to get onto the moving boat. I had envisioned swarms coming out of the trees at night. But no, no swarms ever came. I actually think it’s one of the longest periods I have went in Central/South America without getting bit.
The hammocks were comfortable enough. Karl liked his so much I had to practically peal him out of it to get him off the boat.
The journey was certainly much more pleasant than expected. However, it is boring and after the initial excitement of being on the amazon all you see is trees, trees and more trees. Don’t go expecting to see wildlife swinging from the riverside branches. In the whole 4 days all we saw were, dolphins, beetles and a leaf insect which we adopted as a temporary pet.
All in all a great experience, although you do need to take a good book and plenty of rum to pass the time.
And when we arrived in Manaus we were shocked to find out so much time had passed it was nearly christmas.
