Journey along the Amazon River. Amazon travel secrets

Our Amazon Journey:

1 day.

A small group of discoverers and an instructor meet in the city of Limou. Acquaintance, transfer to the hotel, acquaintance with the program and the first tour of historical center capitals of Latin America. This part of the city is included in the list world heritage UNESCO. Then we will have free time, you can walk around the city or along the beach by the ocean. Dinner, overnight at the hotel.

Day 2

Today we are waiting for an internal flight to the city of Iquitos. Interesting place. The climate here is very hot, the air temperature is almost always above 30 degrees and strong humidity. We leave things at the hotel and go for a walk around the city, visit the Indian market and the local cathedral. Briefing, preparation for sailing to the upper reaches of the Amazon. Relaxation.

3 day.

Early rise, breakfast and drive to the local port. We change into a boat and sail upstream the Amazon. We will spend the entire third day of the trip on the water. For recreation, several stops are planned at the villages that stand on the banks of the Amazon. locals They earn here by selling various fish and fruit dishes. We may be lucky to see river dolphins, which are often found in these places. Late at night, the boat will arrive at the Indian village, where we will spend our first night in the jungle.

Day 4.

Early rise. Today we're heading to national park. To do this, you need to swim across the Amazon, because the park is located on the opposite bank from the village of Brittany. About a kilometer waterway canoeing on muddy waters. As soon as the canoe enters the park, the water landscapes change. We will sail through the swamps, decorated with huge water lilies, the diameter of which reaches more than 1 meter, you may have heard their name - Victoria Reina. A lot of monkeys, herons and parrots live in these places. We will constantly see them in the places that we will sail. Having sailed to the camp of the huntsmen, we will rest.

Day 5.

Today we are waiting for the day of adaptation in the real jungle. In the morning we will fish and rest from the road, just imagine, here you can catch toothy piranhas. In the afternoon we will go to explore the local forests, untouched by man, to immerse ourselves in the atmosphere and get used to the sounds, smells and surrounding inhabitants. Night at the Jaegers' base.

Day 6.

Today we will head north. Early rise, loading into a canoe. Part of this path will look like swamps, in which small islands of plants and snags float. Therefore, sometimes with the help of a machete, we will have to clear our way. We will set up our camp on a dry shore, where we can build a fire.

Day 7.

Today we will sail again through overgrown rivers. And again we will find a dry island where we can set up camp. On the island, we will have our own survival program: we will recognize water-bearing vines and distinguish them from poisonous ones in order to find drinking water, and also learn how to build shelters from what we find in the jungle. Night in the camp.

Day 8.

Due to the heat and high humidity, all movements along the route are scheduled for early morning and evening. In the afternoon we will get acquainted with the local flora and fauna. We will not only walk through the jungle, but also learn how to find and get edible fruits, and most importantly, we will understand how to distinguish them from poisonous ones. Night on an island near a forest lake.

Day 9.

Today is the final day of the jungle tour. He doesn't move. We are waiting for a relaxation program during the day and a rich walk at night. During the day you can fish and relax by the fire. The most interesting will begin at night, when we go to get acquainted with the nocturnal inhabitants: anacondas, caimans and tapirs. Overnight at the camp by the lake.

Day 10.

After extreme walks through the jungle it's time to return to the people. We canoe to an Indian village where we can taste local cuisine. Here we will transfer to a speedboat and go to the city of Nauth. And from there by car to Iquitos, from where our journey through the Amazon began. Relaxation.

Day 11.

Return flight to Lima. Those who are adventurous enough can return home. And we will continue our journey and go to Cusco. Learn more about the second part of the Amazon trip by leaving your application.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW:

1. The group is led by a professional guide and instructor, survival expert Dmitry Alyoshkin.
2. A visa is not required to visit Peru.

3 . To participate in the tour NECESSARILY should be vaccinated against yellow fever. Vaccinations against hepatitis A, B, typhoid and tetanus are optional.

The cost of participating in a trip to the Amazon: 160,000 rubles.
MINUS special discount from Traveler's House- 10,000 rubles.
Included in the price:

• Domestic transfers (bus, boat, canoe, plane)
• Overnight in hotels.
• Fee for visiting the national park.
• Meals during rafting and a hike in the park.
• The work of guides, rangers and instructors.

The cost does not include:

• International flight to Limo.
• Rental of personal clothing and equipment.
• Meals in a cafe.

We invite you on this amazing journey through the Amazon! Feel like a real pioneer! Try the taste of wild freedom in the Indian jungle with us! All you have to do is submit an application, specify the dates of the next tour and pack your backpack! Our journey is the best - a gift for men and The best way take a break from the hustle and bustle of civilization.

The cost of tours at the hotel is calculated by the number of days. The cost of living is from 220 reais (3500 rubles) per day per person. Renting a boat or boat - 320-540 reais (5000-8000 rubles).
You can choose a cheaper hotel, there are enough different "forest hotels" here, the set of excursions is slightly different from those listed above. It is more convenient for some to order them immediately with a tour, while others like to choose the most interesting ones and take them separately.

If the purpose of the trip is to look at the life of the inhabitants of the Amazonian jungle "from the inside", to feel like a resident of the rainforest for a while, then you can choose the appropriate place to stay. The most repeating all the living conditions, customs and traditions of the local population. Rafting on the river is very popular among tourists as a way to get acquainted with the Amazon. During such rafting, travelers live on the ship, and go out to explore the territory at every stop. Before planning such trips, it is better to make sure that the state of health allows you to survive many hours of transitions, all-day excursions and overnight stays in a hammock. However, there are operators that offer a normal bed for the night. A 3-day cruise on the river will cost 750 reais (12,000 rubles, on a boat with an overnight stay in a hammock). About 2,000 reais (32,000 rubles) - for cruise ship, in a separate room with shower. There is a private cruise service, which costs much more. For example, prices for a trip on a yacht for 12 people start at 10,000 reais (160,000 rubles).

For the most persistent, there is a “survival program” in the jungle lasting from three days. Vacationers are picked up by a bus in Manaus early in the morning, by lunchtime the group ends up by the river, where the participants get over by canoe and go to impassable thickets. 97% of the Amazon forests are untouched, so there is a great chance to go where no one has really been before. The program includes fishing, crocodile hunting, jungle walks, visiting tribes, swimming with dolphins. Overnight is arranged in hammocks in a makeshift camp. Cooking takes place in field conditions, with the exception of visiting villages where you can have a bite to eat. This is the most breathtaking type of excursion, on no other it is possible to learn so much about the jungle. Moreover, it is the most a budget option. The cost per person is about 335 reais for a three-day tour (5300 rubles). You can choose 7-day, 11-day, 15-day tours.

In addition to Manaus, you can choose another city as a travel destination - Manacapura, Alvaraes. Or the neighborhood of Manaus, a little remote, but less populated - Ipiranga, San Pedro, Parikatuba.

The territory of the Amazonian jungle is huge, the main thing is not to get lost! Keep up with the group during excursions, do not come close to animals and birds without a guide, even if they seem harmless to you. Do not swim in unknown waters, do not touch the leaves and stems of unknown plants, they may be poisonous. Wash your hands thoroughly before eating, there is a very high risk of developing intestinal infections. You don't want to ruin your vacation. The yellow fever vaccination is now not mandatory for everyone entering Brazil, but it is better not to risk your health, and if you still dare to travel to the Amazon, then it is better to do it. She definitely won't hurt you.

"In the distant Amazon
I have never been
never go there
foreign ships.
Only Don and Magdalene
fast ships,
only Don and Magdalene
go by sea there"

Well, and so on. I must admit that this song has been haunting me for a long time, and the dream of the distant Amazon has been a thorn in my head almost since early childhood. Three years ago, Mario and I had a good trip around Peru, visiting Lima, Cusco, Arequipa, Machu Picchu and Titicaca. But the legendary Amazon at that time was not reached due to the lack of vaccination against yellow fever. Therefore, on my last visit to Moscow, I took care of this vaccination in advance and now I was in full combat readiness. In fact, I originally planned a trip to Brazilian Manaus, but the crisis and the collapsed ruble mercilessly buried these plans, due to the unprecedented high cost of the Brazilian part of the Amazon. And I had completely abandoned the idea of ​​​​getting to the inaccessible Amazon, when suddenly, out of the blue, the LAN airline, which I almost always fly on South America, threw out an extraordinarily generous offer, from Santiago to Iquitos via Lima and back for just $280. I simply could not miss such a chance and immediately grabbed these tickets. Grabbed and began to calmly wait in the wings. But there were no people willing to accompany me on this voyage. Neither Mario, nor his relatives, nor people from my surroundings here shared my enthusiasm for such an exotic destination. And some even frankly twisted their fingers to their temples, not understanding how one could want to get into these wild places with a terrible climate, potential extreme sports and an abundance of mosquitoes. Strange people!

I rejoiced in my soul, anticipating my Peruvian voyage alone and meeting with this great river, recognized as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. And once again convinced that everything that is done, everything is for the better. As it turned out, Peruvian Iquitos is much more economical than Brazilian Manaus, so it is better for budget travelers to start exploring the Amazon from here. In fact, the Amazon flows through nine countries: Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and even French Guiana. But most of it belongs to Brazil and Peru, which is why these two countries are primarily associated with this river.

I saw the beautiful Amazon from the porthole window when I flew to Iquitos from Lima. On this segment, it is very important to sit by the window, because the views there are so dizzying that you should not miss them at all. From above, the mighty river is perfectly visible, meandering among the green canvas of the tropical selva with a giant serpentine ribbon and its tiny tributaries-springs.

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Unforgettably!

I must say that before the trip I did a lot of preparatory work, as a result of which I caught an agent named Rosendo in the wilds of the Internet, who offered me a three-day tour of the Amazon for $ 150. Doubts tormented my soul all three months before departure - what if it’s a scammer, what if he lures me into the jungle and leaves me there alone or, at best, starts extorting money, this price seemed painfully unrealistically low to me. There were many fears, but fortunately they did not come true. Everything turned out to be much simpler, safer and more civilized than my wild imagination had imagined.

The hotel in Iquitos was booked directly, where I spent the first and last two nights. Hotel Terra Bella (www.terrabellaperu.com) 3 stars with all individual amenities, a stone's throw from central square, with breakfast and airport transfer cost me $25 per night. And it is also considered quite expensive by the standards of Iquitos, it could be found cheaper. Peruvian Rosendo met me right at the hotel and took me to the agency Huacari Tours (www.myamazontours.com), where they told me in detail about the tour, for which I really paid only $ 150. This price included three days accommodation in a separate lodge with private facilities, three meals a day, transfers and all guided tours. Almost free! To tell the truth, for the same money it would be possible to buy a tour on the spot, without first cheating with an agent, but I was calmer that way, and in any case I didn’t lose anything. What you should never do is to book such tours in advance on the Internet directly on the websites of local travel agencies. After all, quite different prices are declared there, usually twice as high as the real ones. And we don't need to pay at all.

For the rest of the time, the helpful Rosendo helped me change dollars at a good rate, and at the end of the tour accompanied me around Iquitos and its environs, which was very convenient and saved me a lot of time. They were very satisfied. In total, I spent 5 full days in the Peruvian Amazon, distributing them as follows: two days in Iquitos and surroundings and 3 days in the Amazon. I will tell you about Iquitos itself and the attractions around it separately. Now I will focus directly on the Amazon ecotour.

About transfer

The next day, early in the morning, I was picked up from the hotel and, together with a motley international company, was taken by minibus to the port of Nauta, 100 km away. from Iquitos. From there we started on a large motor boat to the eco-lodge, where we traveled along the river for another two hours. In total, the transfer took five hours in total, but the second part of it on the water was very picturesque and not at all tiring. Once in the port of Nauta, I shuddered inwardly - the market and the port coexisted as one, everyone bought something, ran along the flimsy footbridges, shouted gutturally, loading bags and water into the boats.

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It is clear that Nauta is the starting point for ecotours in the Amazon and its tributaries, here people stock up and go to the lodges on the river. This same Nauta stands on the Marañon River, which further downstream merges with the Amazon and Ucayali. It turns out the confluence of three rivers, an interesting natural phenomenon, which I managed to see in all its glory.

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It was here that my first real meeting with the Amazon, the most abundant river in the world, took place, and at its very source. A wide, mighty river, tens of kilometers from coast to coast, but the color is rather unsightly - brown, coffee, dirty.

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But this is a misleading impression, the water in the Amazon is not at all dirty, it just has a lot of sand and earth. Turning to Ukayali, the picture changed radically, we found ourselves surrounded by completely different landscapes - backwaters overgrown with water lilies, grass fields,

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cotton trees in red buds,

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herons flying up from the grass

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and locals in canoes.

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And reflections, fabulous reflections of luxurious cirrus clouds everywhere. Inverted clouds floated in the water, creating an extraordinary looking-glass effect, when the sky and water merge into one so that it is impossible to distinguish where the real picture ends and where the reflection begins.

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Where is a mirage and where is reality is not easy to understand. Absolutely amazing impressions when you see such an upside down world for the first time in your life. And the clouds change all the time, changing their shape and shape, turning either into fairy-tale characters or into the castles of Fata Morgana.

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In fact, this is a complex of wooden houses covered with palm leaves. There are houses on the water and are interconnected by covered walkways. There is a common terrace with hammocks, a gathering place for groups and a common dining room. The conditions are very basic, but there is everything you need for life. The most important thing is the bed under the mosquito net, there is nothing else from the furniture.

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I was lucky, in my hut there were as many as three beds, and I had the privilege of freely throwing my things on them. All huts have a separate bathroom, separated by a curtain. The water in the shower is only cold, from the river, but in the heat you can wash yourself and this, in any case, it is not icy. Instead of glass in the windows, there is a mesh, everything is well ventilated, you do not suffer from the heat in the house. Light is given from the generator in the evenings for two hours. During this time, you can charge the batteries and wash. After dinner, the lights are turned off. Everything is very well thought out, the concept of proximity to nature is evident. Naturally, there is no Internet or TVs at all, and why are they there, if only they would distract from contact with nature. And what a diversity of sounds there, especially in the mornings and evenings! The choir of frogs, birds, cicadas brings out such roulades that you will hear. The first night I couldn't sleep because of the noise. Then I got used to it and no longer paid attention.

Three meals a day is also basic, without frills, but quite suitable for this format. The basis of our diet was naturally rice, fried bananas, chicken, fish, eggs. Water from the cooler without restrictions. You can live without a doubt.

In my group there were three Frenchmen and one Australian, with whom I had to spend these three days.

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The guys traveled in a big way. The French had already been traveling around Peru for a month and were going to look into Bolivia, and the Australian intended to spend several months in South America, and then rush to Europe. I also met a terribly independent girl Naomi from Holland. Surprisingly, the girl is only 21 years old, and she has been traveling alone throughout South America for three months now.

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Still, I never tire of being surprised by the courage of the current young generation, and I am especially pleased that we have such guys who are not afraid of anything and move freely around the world. But they still have more of these, travel in the backpack format is very developed among European youth. We are just starting to get used to it. From Peru, young Naomi was going to fly further to Quito and the Galapagos, about which I told her everything from my experience of last year's trip. In general, against the background of these young people, with my six days on the Amazon, I seemed like a strange misunderstanding. In addition, I was the most mature among all this motley youth company, which, however, did not prevent me from easily communicating with the guys. In the evenings, we usually gathered on the terrace, rocked in hammocks, chatted about life, shared our impressions of different corners peace. I love this very special spirit of the international community of travelers that usually reigns in this kind of travel. Already experienced it in Bolivia, and now also here in the Amazon. As they say, better late than never.

The order of life in the lodge is built as follows. At eight in the morning, breakfast and immediately after it, departure by canoe, three hours of navigation to various places, return, lunch, rest and at three o'clock again in a canoe to meet nature. After dinner, there are also sometimes night outings. We swam like that once in pitch darkness in the hope of seeing caimans, but we never saw them, but we admired the fireflies and heard enough of the frog singing.

About animals

In general, frankly, I was hoping to see a lot more living creatures on the Amazon. It seemed to me that all the shores there were teeming with different monkeys, birds, and dolphins and caimans jump out of the water and swim after the boat. In fact, of course there are animals there, but you have to look for them, watch for them. There is no abundance at all.

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During the three days spent on the Amazon, we managed to see several small monkeys in the trees, a couple of sloths hanging upside down, many herons, hawks and small birds, several large iguanas in the trees, water snakes and pink dolphins from afar.

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Dolphins were the biggest disappointment for me. River dolphins turn out to be very shy, they do not approach the boat and do not jump out of the water, unlike the Pacific ones. Therefore, we saw only their fins and part of the body.

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On the last day, as compensation, I had to inspect them at animal farms around Iquitos.

Fishing is also somewhat disappointing. Only one boy from our team caught a piranha, the rest, including me, did not catch anything. Piranha, of course, is something.

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A small fish like that, nothing special in appearance, but the teeth are sharp as a razor. With them, she can easily bite a human finger.

In general, locals say that in order to see an abundance of jaguars, tapirs, monkeys, caimans, anacondas and other typical representatives of the Amazonian fauna, you need to at least go to the jungle for 5 days, sleep in hammocks, eat what you have to, in general, experience it on your own skin. real extreme. I am no longer capable of this, so I limited myself to an intermediate superficial version of acquaintance with this part of the world.

About river landscapes

What made the most impressive impression on me after the fabulous reflections of clouds in the water was the landscapes of the flooded forest. In general, the tributaries of the Amazon are, in my opinion, the most interesting in terms of local landscapes and landscapes. You swim along a narrow river overgrown with strange plants,

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swim in the grassy fields of river cabbage,

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you wade between them, and then swim under the overgrown shore and find yourself in a dense flooded forest, where the trees seem to grow out of the water, where everything is intertwined with lianas, and everywhere you can hear the sounds of frogs, the singing of birds and the hubbub of monkeys.

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And it's so nice to slide on a fragile boat along these backwaters and water paths, absorbing unusual sounds and smells! Absolutely crazy feeling there, believe me. Our guide and conductor Raul, deftly steering the boat,

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turned her on in such a windbreak and wilds of the Amazonian forest that sometimes it became uncomfortable. Will we swim out of here or get tangled up in these thickets?

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Exciting, nerve-wracking. Very extreme and very beautiful.

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A special article among the Amazonian landscapes are trees and their reflections in the water surface. Also from the category of fantasy, aesthetics in its purest form.

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A couple of times we saw an interesting effect of multi-colored water with a pronounced dividing line.

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The water of the two tributaries of the Amazon has a different color, and their composition never mixes. Looks very impressive.

And the famous Amazonian sunsets were also there, we had a chance to see them in all their glory. The orange circle of the sun literally merged with its reflection in the mirror surface of the water, creating a mirage effect.

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At such moments, a feeling of absolute peace descends. Sunset on the Amazon is perhaps one of my most vivid impressions on the river.

Night walk also gave unforgettable emotions. We were in a boat in the middle big river, the starry sky above us, ringing silence and pitch darkness around us, and only sometimes fireflies flashed on the shore and frogs croaked. The atmosphere of mysticism, without exaggeration.

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And of course, the fields of giant water lilies Victoria Regia made the strongest impression. After all, these are the largest water lilies in the world, capable of withstanding a weight of up to 50 kg. and main business card flora of the Amazon.

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Water lilies, named after the English Queen Victoria, look unusually graceful, despite their strength and power. The process of contemplation of these beauties gave me a lot of pleasure and aesthetic pleasure. The only pity is that we did not see their flowers. It's not so easy to do that. Flowers at Victoria Regia appear on the surface of the water once a year during flowering, and then only for a couple of days.

About climate and seasons

I ended up in the Amazon during a transition period when the water is already starting to subside, but the dry season has not yet begun. The advantage of this season is in the beautiful landscapes of the flooded forest, which you will not see during the dry season. The downside is fewer animals. In the dry season, they say, there are more of them. Frightened by horror stories about high humidity, I can objectively say that humidity in a heat of 38 degrees is really hard to bear. As soon as you go out into the street, already all wet. For this reason, there is no need to make up and comb your hair. But on the river, especially when you are sailing in a boat, humidity and heat are not felt at all. You simply forget about them and do not experience any discomfort. It was really hard only in the jungle, where there is no breath at all, stagnant air. So, the devil is not so terrible as he is painted. Climatic conditions on Amazon heavy, but quite portable. It was raining, really heavy, showers, too, but more and more at night. During the day we got caught in the rain only once, while fishing for piranhas. Maybe that's why I didn't get anything.

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What I was really afraid of was mosquitoes. I stocked up on thermonuclear repellants with a high content of DEET. It's hard to believe, but there were practically no mosquitoes there, except that in the evenings one or two will fly by, biting slightly. In any case, compared with our bloodsuckers near Moscow, Amazonian mosquitoes are sheer baby talk. Repellents were not needed, brought them back. I used it only during a trip through the jungle, spraying my clothes with them just in case. Though it probably depends on the season. They say that in December-February there are really a lot of mosquitoes.

As it turned out, the highest season in the Amazon is July-August, despite the low water. It's all because of the Europeans who are on holiday at this time and they come here for in large numbers. Prices naturally skyrocket during this time.

About the track in the jungle

A three-hour selva track was also part of our program and, I confess, it became the most difficult test for me in all three days of the ecotour. We started from one village on the river. It looked like this - our guide Raul was ahead, cutting down branches with a machete to clear the way for us, and another local guide was closing the procession.

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Probably, just in case, so that no one gets lost. V tropical forest it’s very hot and humid, and walking almost knee-deep in mud is not an easy task, your legs get stuck all the time, you have to tear them out of this slush with force.

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Everyone was exhausted terribly, I - most of all. Of the pleasant moments - drinking the juice of the liana.

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An extremely exciting process when you drink refreshing juice directly from the trunk of a freshly cut vine. For group drinking of this delicious drink, we pleasantly spent half an hour, at the same time we had a rest. During the trek, the guides showed us all sorts of outlandish plants and herbs of the selva. Some disinfect and heal wounds,

I have been wanting to start writing this series of posts for a long time. More than two years have passed since this part of our annual South American trip. But, as you know, better late than never.
Perhaps the journey through the Amazon was the most vivid impression of the entire continent.

Here I will tell you the general and practical aspects of traveling along the Amazon River and its various tributaries.

So, the Amazon is the most unique river in the world. Firstly, it disputes the first place with the Nile in length (about 6500 km). Secondly, it does not dispute with anyone the first place in the world in terms of full flow, basin area and maximum width.

1. The abundance of water in the river is due to the fact that in this place the western edge of the continent makes such a bend. All along west coast the Andinsky Range passes, the heights along which vary from 3 to 6 thousand meters throughout. It turns out that all the water flowing from the eastern edge of the ridge eventually accumulates into one river and flows into the Atlantic.

2. The Amazon Basin is located on the territory of Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela. All of these countries have regions formally or informally called the Amazon. In all countries, this is their most deaf corner. There are also tributaries of the Amazon in the three Guianas.

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4. Amazonia is in many ways South American Siberia. Almost the entire territory is a deaf impassable jungle. There is an extremely low population density, there are practically no roads, all communication is by water or air.

5. Amazonian jungle called the "lungs of the planet". This is one of the largest forest areas in the world, unaffected by human activity (again, like our Siberian taiga). V last years environmentalists are sounding the alarm that the Brazilian jungle is being cut down quite quickly, which threatens the planet with a catastrophe. I hope that the jungle will stop being cut down.

6. I must say that the jungle is really impressive. I, who had never seen them before, really wanted to walk along them. But it's not so easy - you need to know the paths that the peasants walk on, or hire a guide. And the second is not our method. The trails quickly overgrow, without them it is impossible to go anywhere without a machete.

7. As I wrote above, there are practically no roads in the Amazon. Considering how many rivers and swamps there are, it becomes clear how difficult it is to build them there. And how then to move around the area? Of course on the ships! Traveling on Amazonian ships is an unforgettable adventure in itself.

8. Passenger ships with transfers, you can swim through almost the entire continent - they go along the entire length of the river. Let's see the logistics of moving along the river. Let's say we want to swim some or all of it. All major tributaries of the river are navigable. The diagram shows the lines along which there is a regular passenger service.

There are the following main points of "entry" into the water system:

Pucallpa (Peru). Multi-deck ships go to Iquitos along the river Ukayali.
- Yurimangwas (Peru). A few more good place to start, as it is closer to Iquitos, swim less. But it is more difficult to get to it from the center of Peru. Here the movement will be along the river maranion. Ucayali and Marañon merge before Iquitos, and it is at this point that the river begins, which we know as Amazon.
- Porto Velho (Brazil). There is a highway along the river during the dry season, but you can drive along it only on off-road vehicles. Everyone is still swimming. River Rio Madeira(Wooden river). But from here you will sail to Manaus, which is already in the middle of the Brazilian Amazon. And the Peruvian part and a significant part of the Brazilian will remain on the sidelines.

These points can be reached by road by bus or hitchhiking. V pucallpa there are direct buses from Lima, to Yurimangwas you will have to go with several transfers through Piura. Porto Velho connected to central Brazil by regular service.
9. But there are no further roads. All you have to do is swim, swim, swim.


(how to sail from Ecuador will be discussed in the next post)

10. How is the journey on the Amazonian ships? First, all ships are divided into "fast" and "slow". Fast boats are, as a rule, motor boats, sharpened purely for the transport of passengers. They are often very expensive, the cost can be comparable to an airplane. But on the other hand, they almost always reach in a day (or in two days, as from Tabatinga to Manaus).

11. In some cases, a fast boat is the only means of transport. As, for example, in Ecuador (Coca - Nuevo Rocafuerte).

12. Of greater interest are large cargo-passenger ships, or, as they are called, "lunch". Lunches go on for several days: from 2-3 to a week (against the current).

13. These ships have several decks, cargo is carried on the lower floors, and passengers on the upper floors.

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15. How is swimming at lunch? Passengers ride them in hammocks! It looks something like this

16. A huge deck along which hanging for hammocks throughout. You bring your own hammock, hang it up and swim!

17. There are lunches in Brazil and Peru. The principle is the same here and there.

18. Only Brazilian ships usually have more space. In Peru, the maximum allowable passenger capacity is often put on, as a result of which the ship can carry several times more passengers than it should.

19. On the Peruvian ship, I remembered the principle of "WUA houses" by Krotov. It would seem that there are already a lot of people and there is no place for hammocks. That there is nowhere to hang new hammocks. But more people come and somehow push hammocks, which turns out that there were plenty of places :)

There are also cabins in lunches. But they are much more expensive, and the conditions are not much better. There are not very many of them yet (several cabins on each ship).

20. Some backpackers set up a tent on a Brazilian ship. You can do this too if you don't care about money for a hammock, or if you want some privacy. True, there may not be room for a whole tent on a Peruvian ship.

21. We decided not to show off among the locals, and my tent is not set up on hard surfaces, and it’s generally cool to live in a hammock. So we bought hammocks at the Iquitos market and rode in them.

22. Naturally, there is no left-luggage office on the ship. Things are moving next to you. All the most valuable - in a hammock, in an embrace. A backpack is hung on a hook. At first it was scary that they would be robbed, but then somehow there was confidence that this would not happen.

23. Our junk warehouse with hammocks on the ship "Manaus-Belen"

24. Only in Brazil the boats are much more decent, and the Peruvian ones can be quite trashy.
Our ship Gran Diego from Iquitos to Santa Rosa (Leticia)

25. It happens quite hard. I saw this vessel in Santa Clotilde, it was going to some remote village.

26. Everything was very hard inside. Not enough space, low ceiling, hammocks .. I was even afraid that something similar was waiting for us, but there was still more space on Gran Diego.

27 In general, wooden transport often comes across.

28. By the way, they often like to carry all kinds of cattle in the cargo hold. Well, you understand, you need to somehow deliver it to the villages, and from the villages too. And these ships are in fact the only transport, the only connection with the outside world. Where then to carry chickens and pigs, if not on them.
And, of course, the smells from the lower deck go to the upper one, bringing joy to all hundreds of passengers.
However, we were lucky. We only had chickens on the ship.

29. Brazilian ships carry decent cattle :)

30. Brazilian ship Voyageur IV, on which we sailed from Tabatinga / Leticia to Manaus.

31. Liberty Star. On it we sailed from Manaus to Belém (the latest and longest segment).

32. There are always shower rooms on ships (only with cold water, but why warm in the tropics), a dining room.

33. Three meals a day are included in the fare. Only in Peru is it extremely scarce and tasteless (a handful of rice with a piece of meat, not very tasty maize drink or milk). But they carry it right on the hammocks! But on Brazilian lunches the real Buffet. From one dish, true, but almost always delicious! You can impose unlimitedly on yourself.

34. Brazilian ships also have a cultural program in the evenings. Any music plays, disco. Generally fun.

35. On the way, ships make numerous stops. There is chaos and anarchy on Peruvian ships - locals immediately enter the ship and begin to actively sell all kinds of food and water.

36. Merchants are not allowed on Brazilian ships. However, they still try to trade from the piers. Sometimes for this they use long sticks with banks tied at the top (in which goods are placed, and then money)

37. The main thing to remember is that it is dangerous to leave the ship for a long time. They do not have a clear schedule, they are sent upon completion of loading / unloading. In this connection, if you are far away from the port, no one will wait for you, they will sail away without you. Even if the captain told you that the ship is worth that much time (say two hours), nothing guarantees that it will not weigh anchor earlier.

38. At the same time, the departure time from the starting point, although known, is also very variable. Before the ship will not sail away, but later for several hours (before noon) - easily. Get used to it Latin America, this is the Amazon.

39. Finally, you ask me, what is generally interesting to watch in the Amazon? I will answer like this. The Amazon itself! nature local life. There are no bright sights in this region. But the organization of life in the Amazon, in my opinion, is more interesting than absolutely any attraction: ships, boats, houses on stilts, landing stages, motorcycle taxis, markets .. Where else can you see all this?