The minute you exit the plane, it hits you: tropical air, super hot and humid. Welcome to the jungle! And welcome to the smallest airport I have ever seen: Leticia in Colombia's southeast. Surrounded by kilometers of jungle and next to the world largest river, the amazon. After entering Brazil its water flows towards Colombia and then into Peru. When I arrived at the waterfront in Leticia the river was further away due to the dry season. Normally its 10 meters higher. For the next five days I stayed at Casa Gregorio, a wooden open house on piles - with Heike from the Netherlands and her partner José and his kids. By boat their village is three hours away from Leticia.
First we took an express boat to a junction of the amazon and then José's cousin gave us a ride in his wooden canoe. And suddenly between the trees the first roofs of St. Martin de Amacayacu appeared. 500 people, electricity only from 9 to 12 pm and from 5 to 10 pm, internet connection only suuuper slow. The local school boat gets the kids two hours before school starts further down the river. Welcome to the most unique experience ever - among the friendliest people, the Tikuna, who showed me their life with fishing, harvesting, doing laundry in the river and just living close to the rhythym of nature. What I didn't see: anaconda, piranhas (only on a plate), pink dolphins and other weird animals. What I did see: mosquitos, catfish, the matamata tree (the phone of the jungle that works like an echo) and local soccer games each afternoon. La gringa in the jungle - mission accomplished!
First we took an express boat to a junction of the amazon and then José's cousin gave us a ride in his wooden canoe. And suddenly between the trees the first roofs of St. Martin de Amacayacu appeared. 500 people, electricity only from 9 to 12 pm and from 5 to 10 pm, internet connection only suuuper slow. The local school boat gets the kids two hours before school starts further down the river. Welcome to the most unique experience ever - among the friendliest people, the Tikuna, who showed me their life with fishing, harvesting, doing laundry in the river and just living close to the rhythym of nature. What I didn't see: anaconda, piranhas (only on a plate), pink dolphins and other weird animals. What I did see: mosquitos, catfish, the matamata tree (the phone of the jungle that works like an echo) and local soccer games each afternoon. La gringa in the jungle - mission accomplished!