Saturday, July 7, 2012

Our Amazing Amazon Adventure - Day 1

I looked out the window of the plane and felt awe overtake me as I gazed down on the beginnings of the Amazon Basin in Colombia. The Amazon Basin covers 1.7 billion acres most of which is covered by rainforest. This region involves 9 nations, the majority of it is in Brazil - 60%, Peru - 13% and Colombia - 10%. The Amazon contains over 50% of the earth's remaining rain-forests and is the largest tropical rainforest in the world. All I could see in any direction was thick, lush rainforest. I was absolutely amazed by the vast size and density that I was looking at. I could not see any villages or any roads. Roads simply were not possible. Small waterways spread out like a spiderweb prohibiting any easy form of land transportation. I was just beginning to get a small glimpse of what it is like to survive in this area.
We landed in Laticia, a small town on the Amazon where Colombia, Brazil and Peru meet. 500 miles from the nearest highway the only access is by plane or boat. Holding true to Faber tradition, we tossed the typical tourist attractions to the wind and embarked on an adventure to see the Amazon in true fashion. The sweltering heat hit us as we debarked the plane and walked into the one room airport. The clunking of the luggage conveyor bounced around the room growing louder as the gears would get stuck from time to time.
 Leaving the airport I knew we were in for a true adventure as I searched for my guide and spotted a young boy flapping a paper with my name. While other travelers were leaving in air-conditioned hotel vans the dad of the young boy waved down two taxis and told us to jump in.
Ten minutes later we arrived at the docks. My jaw dropped open. I had not in any way been impressed with the town. It felt very dirty and rushed. Motorcycles zipped every which way cutting in and out of traffic. Garbage lined the streets. But the docks were disgusting. Vultures circled overhead lazily scouting for more trash. Groups of 50 vultures picked at garbage in different areas on the bank. Refuse littered the water line. Boats crammed around the docks. Twenty feet of thick mud stood between me and the dock with a plank stretching across. Houses on logs lined the river, some bare wood and some painted bright colors. A man ran up to grab my luggage. I said firmly the universal word "NO" and headed across the plank and into the blue and yellow boat that was to be our means of transportation for the next 5 days.
As we departed the small port the filth of the city left and the cool breeze of the river cleansed us. We stopped for a Navy checkpoint then left all means of civilization behind. We were headed one hour down the Amazon to a floating hotel for the first night. The "hotel" consisted of two rooms upstairs with several beds each. Each bed was covered in mosquito netting. Hammocks lined the balconies. The main floor was a kitchen and dining room. The perfect, relaxing way to spend the first night.
We stopped on shore and took a short walk to a little bay where we saw the world's largest lilly pads. The Victoria Amazonica lilly can have leaves up to 9 feet in diameter. Strong spines on the back of the leaf allow it to support the weight of a human being. The flowers are white the first night they open and pink the following nights. They were really quiet impressive.
A little monkey in the area played with us, curling up on Chad's neck as we walked along the path. Back at the floating lodge we enjoyed dinner of fish and rice while the sky gave us a beautiful show lighting up the Amazon sky as it set. We settled in under out mosquito nets and fell asleep to the soft lull of the river.

 - Kris

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