(Sorry, nur in Englisch)
On July 30th we embarked on our next adventure, boarding the Voyager III in Tabatinga, Brasil for a 4-day 3-night trip over the Amazon river downstream to Manaus.
Tabatinga is a small brasilian town right next to the Columbian town of Leticia. Leticia is located in the southeaster tip of Colombia, right next to it Tabatinga on the brasilian side.Both towns are only reachable via air or boat, there are no road connections to the outside world so to speak.
After my day trip into the jungle (see Leticia post), we took a cab to the boat dock in Tabatinga the next morning.
Arriving, we saw that there were two options: The Voyager III and the Voyager IV. Our first impression was to get a ticket for the Voyager IV, which left only an hour after the Voyager III at 3pm. I figured if it is the successor model the ship is probably newer.
But I had noticed a girl waiting on the dock which I had already seen in our plane coming down here two days earlier, and I was quite certain she was Brazilian. So I decided to walk over there and pick her brain, as I figured she had a easier time figuring out the differences than we do with our language barrier.
Good decision - Rafaela tells me that the Voyager IV is the slower ship, stops all the time and needs a day longer to get to Manaus. Five minutes later we had our tickets for the Voyager III, just when boarding started. After getting our luggage checked, we hurried to get the best hammock spot available - as far from the engine and the bathrooms as possible.
The loading dock in Tabatinga, on the left the Voyager IV.
Shortly after departing Tini makes friends with the Captain - and takes over the wheel for a bit. Am I worried - absolutely not! The river is at least a kilometer (2/3 of a mile) wide at every point ...
The first sunset on the boat is not very spectacular, but better ones where to follow.
There was a group of police officers on-board. They are a part of the security detail of the governor of Amazonia. Boarding, they all wore bullet-prof vests, their guns, knives, - it looked like a small army had come on-board. After they hung up their hammocks, they got rid of all that stuff and changed into regular hang-out clothes. Tini and I joined them for a bit of drinking that night, and hell they were in a mood to party! Most of them speak Spanish, so we can communicate. One guy is a bit older, wears a backpack the entire time. Our eyes meet a few times, and I notice right away that we "click", and that he will keep them in check should things threaten to get out of hand. As it turns out, he is their Sergeant.
There was absolutely no need to worry though - it is a super-pleasant, lively evening with lots of story telling and joking around. It is too bad the Sergeant doesn't speak Spanish, as I would have like to talk to him some more.
Earlier I had been wondering where they kept their guns - until I noticed that many of them had them just tugged into their jeans. When I ask, I find out the others are in the Sergeant's backpack - no wonder he never takes it off!
The next morning they wake us up at 5.30am for breakfast. Most people go to bed fairly early, as it get's dark around 6.30-7pm. I certainly felt like sleeping in a little longer. I had slept in some vacant hammock next to mine - as it turned out, the travel hammock I had been hauling around with me the entire trip is a disaster to sleep in.
The breakfast/dining room only holds about 20 people, so you have to wait your turn.
The bathrooms are not fancy, but they do the job. The floor in there is always we, since they also serve as showers - see the shower head in the top part of the picture.
This is the isle in which the 5 toilets/showers for the middle-deck are located. I'd guess we have around 100 people on the deck, facilities are sufficient though.
I'm taking a tour around the boat, as I haven't even been to the lower deck other than at boarding. I come to the bow and enjoy the view for a bit. There are actually quite a few islands on the river, some of them not that small. In the picture below we are approaching one of the smaller ones.
As I continue my tour, I see where some people on the lower deck have strung up their hammocks.
The biggest surprise to me is that the weather is absolutely pleasant - the continuous breeze over the river has the perfect temperature so it's never hot - and that there are absolutely no mosquito. I'm not sure if this is due to the season, since I read everywhere to take mosquito repellent with me, but our journey could not be any more pleasant from that point of view.
The boat is making a short stop at some mini-port on the second night, as I am sitting on top watching the river and the sunset for a second time.
Every community here has it's share of house boats, which typically are built on a base of a few giant logs. The fact that they "swim" makes them adjust for the different heights of the river, which varies greatly over the season from what we here (and which has receded by about 3-4 feet just from a month ago).
You see all kinds of interesting things on this river ...
On the third night we finally get the spectacular sunset I was hoping for. Pictures can unfortunately never really capture this (at least mine), but it was a moment I will remember.
The third night I will remember also, but not in a pleasant way. After the first night, the Captain had noticed that I had slept in HIS hammock and had taken it down the following morning. So I had to sleep in MY hammock. The second night was already pretty bad, the third I almost got no sleep whatsoever. In addition to the horrible hammock, a woman had put up her hammock right next to mine (almost underneath), and slept in there completely sideways - with her child. So if you can't sleep, you tend to get up and wonder around a bit, then return and try to sleep again. This was now extremely difficult, since this woman's hammock almost touched Rafaela's and I had almost no way to access mine.
The next morning I was hoping the girls would get up for breakfast and I could use one of their (very comfortable) hammocks to get some sleep. But they slept like babies ....
On the morning of day 4 we reached Manaus. After seeing only small wooden houses on the shores of the river for days the sight of high-rise buildings is almost surreal. We start packing our stuff and taking down our hammocks. In almost a celebratory way I throw away the travel-hammock - if I ever go to war, I hope my enemy had to sleep in one of these the night before!!
We start packing our stuff and taking down our hammocks. In almost a celebratory way I throw away the travel-hammock - if I ever go to war, I hope my enemy had to sleep in one of these the night before!!
I've read a post about this trip by someone else before, in which the person said he was glad to have done it but would never do it again. I have to say, with a nice hammock, I'd absolutely do this again. For about $50 we got to enjoy this amazing river for three days. Other than my particular sleeping situation, I did not find this to be uncomfortable. I leave the boat with lot's of good memories.
On July 30th we embarked on our next adventure, boarding the Voyager III in Tabatinga, Brasil for a 4-day 3-night trip over the Amazon river downstream to Manaus.
Tabatinga is a small brasilian town right next to the Columbian town of Leticia. Leticia is located in the southeaster tip of Colombia, right next to it Tabatinga on the brasilian side.Both towns are only reachable via air or boat, there are no road connections to the outside world so to speak.
After my day trip into the jungle (see Leticia post), we took a cab to the boat dock in Tabatinga the next morning.
Arriving, we saw that there were two options: The Voyager III and the Voyager IV. Our first impression was to get a ticket for the Voyager IV, which left only an hour after the Voyager III at 3pm. I figured if it is the successor model the ship is probably newer.
But I had noticed a girl waiting on the dock which I had already seen in our plane coming down here two days earlier, and I was quite certain she was Brazilian. So I decided to walk over there and pick her brain, as I figured she had a easier time figuring out the differences than we do with our language barrier.
Good decision - Rafaela tells me that the Voyager IV is the slower ship, stops all the time and needs a day longer to get to Manaus. Five minutes later we had our tickets for the Voyager III, just when boarding started. After getting our luggage checked, we hurried to get the best hammock spot available - as far from the engine and the bathrooms as possible.
The loading dock in Tabatinga, on the left the Voyager IV.
Shortly after departing Tini makes friends with the Captain - and takes over the wheel for a bit. Am I worried - absolutely not! The river is at least a kilometer (2/3 of a mile) wide at every point ...
The first sunset on the boat is not very spectacular, but better ones where to follow.
There was a group of police officers on-board. They are a part of the security detail of the governor of Amazonia. Boarding, they all wore bullet-prof vests, their guns, knives, - it looked like a small army had come on-board. After they hung up their hammocks, they got rid of all that stuff and changed into regular hang-out clothes. Tini and I joined them for a bit of drinking that night, and hell they were in a mood to party! Most of them speak Spanish, so we can communicate. One guy is a bit older, wears a backpack the entire time. Our eyes meet a few times, and I notice right away that we "click", and that he will keep them in check should things threaten to get out of hand. As it turns out, he is their Sergeant.
There was absolutely no need to worry though - it is a super-pleasant, lively evening with lots of story telling and joking around. It is too bad the Sergeant doesn't speak Spanish, as I would have like to talk to him some more.
Earlier I had been wondering where they kept their guns - until I noticed that many of them had them just tugged into their jeans. When I ask, I find out the others are in the Sergeant's backpack - no wonder he never takes it off!
The bathrooms are not fancy, but they do the job. The floor in there is always we, since they also serve as showers - see the shower head in the top part of the picture.
This is the isle in which the 5 toilets/showers for the middle-deck are located. I'd guess we have around 100 people on the deck, facilities are sufficient though.
I'm taking a tour around the boat, as I haven't even been to the lower deck other than at boarding. I come to the bow and enjoy the view for a bit. There are actually quite a few islands on the river, some of them not that small. In the picture below we are approaching one of the smaller ones.
As I continue my tour, I see where some people on the lower deck have strung up their hammocks.
The biggest surprise to me is that the weather is absolutely pleasant - the continuous breeze over the river has the perfect temperature so it's never hot - and that there are absolutely no mosquito. I'm not sure if this is due to the season, since I read everywhere to take mosquito repellent with me, but our journey could not be any more pleasant from that point of view.
The boat is making a short stop at some mini-port on the second night, as I am sitting on top watching the river and the sunset for a second time.
Every community here has it's share of house boats, which typically are built on a base of a few giant logs. The fact that they "swim" makes them adjust for the different heights of the river, which varies greatly over the season from what we here (and which has receded by about 3-4 feet just from a month ago).
You see all kinds of interesting things on this river ...
The third night I will remember also, but not in a pleasant way. After the first night, the Captain had noticed that I had slept in HIS hammock and had taken it down the following morning. So I had to sleep in MY hammock. The second night was already pretty bad, the third I almost got no sleep whatsoever. In addition to the horrible hammock, a woman had put up her hammock right next to mine (almost underneath), and slept in there completely sideways - with her child. So if you can't sleep, you tend to get up and wonder around a bit, then return and try to sleep again. This was now extremely difficult, since this woman's hammock almost touched Rafaela's and I had almost no way to access mine.
The next morning I was hoping the girls would get up for breakfast and I could use one of their (very comfortable) hammocks to get some sleep. But they slept like babies ....
On the morning of day 4 we reached Manaus. After seeing only small wooden houses on the shores of the river for days the sight of high-rise buildings is almost surreal. We start packing our stuff and taking down our hammocks. In almost a celebratory way I throw away the travel-hammock - if I ever go to war, I hope my enemy had to sleep in one of these the night before!!
We start packing our stuff and taking down our hammocks. In almost a celebratory way I throw away the travel-hammock - if I ever go to war, I hope my enemy had to sleep in one of these the night before!!
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