Leticia is not a town you plan to hang out in long, but
circumstances might force you to.
I had two nights in Leticia, and that was plenty – one
before my trip into the jungle, one after. I booked a room at Mahatu Hostel,
which is really a great place to stay. The owner is pretty friendly and helpful
and the grounds are great – you can swim in the pool, row in the lake, walk
around by the plants. I had a private room my first night and stayed in a
“treehouse” the second time. Both were fine.
When I got into Leticia, I paid for my tour (though I wish I
didn’t – that’s a later story!), and then got to my hostel. I chatted a bunch
with Gustavo, and then a Kiwi guy, Jeff, mentioned he was hungry. So was I – so
we went out to pizza together. We split a pizza at a place close to the border,
and chatted and laughed. Then we decided to walk across the border to Brazil.
Normally, United States citizens need a visa to Brazil. Mine
expired a year ago, but luckily, the borders are fluid in these border towns
and you don’t need passports or visas to enter.
Jeff and I walked and talked. I immediately noticed differences – Portuguese instead of Spanish, acai for sale (and randomly also, showing how close we were to Peru, Inca Cola!), different music, slightly different styles. It was really neat to see.
We walked for a long time, losing ourselves in conversation.
Finally, Jeff pointed out that we should probably turn around. After walking
for a few minutes, a downpour began. A torrential downpour. Jeff and I hid underneath an overhang with
some others doing the same, in front of some sort of Brazilian security
building. They watched the rain with us.
It didn’t let up. No cabs passed. The Brazilian security
dudes tried to call me a cab, but they didn’t answer. Finally, I ran across the
street in the rain, where I persuaded some random kid studying to be a flight
attendant to give us a ride back across the border for 10,000 pesos.
I went to my room in the hostel, and organized everything
for my trek. Then, the next morning, when I woke up, it was STILL pouring. I
really wanted to go running – I knew I wouldn’t be able to on my trek, so I
pulled on flipflops – because the streets were like rivers, and set out for a
pouring rain run. It was actually not too bad.
Then I went on my trek for a few days with Amazon Jungle
Tours (I’ll write a separate post about them, but I don’t recommend taking
them), and came back. I came into the port at Tabatinga, where I was supposed
to be picked up by my tour group. When they never showed, I climbed on the back
of some guy’s motorcycle, strapped on a helmet, and went to the Tour Center. I
got my bag, got another motorcycle ride to my hostel , and checked in. I talked
with Gustavo about my tour, changed into running clothes, gave them my laundry,
and went out for a run. On my run, I ended up buying a machete as a present for
Wayne, and ran my run feeling a little safer. Unfortunately, the motorcycles
were insane and it was too scary and dangerous to run long.
When I got back to my hostel , a big group of people were
going out to dinner, so I jumped in the shower, and tagged along. We got the
“comida corriente” for 7,000 pesos, which wasn’t too bad. The other people were
traveling for a year or so around South America, and I was very jealous. I wish
I could do that. Then I went back to the hostel, organized my stuff, used the
crappy internet, and went to sleep. In the morning, I ran for 10 miles, visited
Museo Etnografica Amazonico, stressed
about my delayed laundry, and ran to the airport.
Leticia, you’re just okay, but it was nice knowing you.
No comments:
Post a Comment