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Polaroid of the week: Kayaking in the Amazon

Polaroid of the week: Kayaking in the Amazon

Last Updated on February 22, 2021

polaroid of the week colombia amazonWhen I planned my travels through Colombia, the Amazon was not part of my plan. But as it happens so often when you travel, you meet people who’ve been to places you haven’t heard about, their stories about said places sound magical, and you decide that you have to go there! That’s how the small town of Jardin made it onto my itinerary, where I’ll be heading next week, and that’s how Colombia’s Amazonas region ended up on my itinerary, where I just got back from.

It’s not the easiest place to get to, in fact there’s only one way: by plane from Bogota. Leticia, Colombia’s biggest town in the Amazon (population 35,000) sits right on the border to Brazil and Peru, and you can actually move freely between the three of them. While Leticia itself is nothing special, it’s the surrounding rain forest and the Amazon river with its many tributaries that draw people here. And rightly so: the natural beauty here is outstanding, and I was already stunned by the endless green carpet of trees when I watched it come closer and closer as our plane descended slowly.

From Leticia, we took a boat 50 miles (75km) up the Amazon to the small village of Puerto Nariño, where swam in the Amazon, and where we took a boat out to Lake Tarapoto, a massive jungle lake with pink and grey river dolphins.

Another highlight for me was a kayak trip we took when we got back to Leticia. We kayaked through mangroves with giant trees, marveled at curious little squirrel monkeys and finally reached Lake Yahuarcaca, a peaceful lake that we had entirely to ourselves. The tranquil atmosphere here was what I enjoyed the most – it seems like you’re the only one out there, surrounded by this massive body of water, and the only soundtrack is that of the jungle.

Even though my trip ended with a visit to the hospital, my week in the Amazon is one that I won’t forget anytime soon.

Searching For My Inner Demons In The Colombian Jungle: A Date With Ayahuasca - GlobetrotterGirls

Tuesday 21st of April 2020

[…] William’s hut in the middle of the jungle, somewhere outside of the small town of Leticia in the Colombian Amazon. My friend and I had taken a local bus for half an hour, asked to be dropped off on the side of the […]

excitedoutdoors.com

Wednesday 17th of August 2016

Wow Dani! I'm surprised you didn't even see ONE giant spider. That's cool. I hope it's not global warming or something! LOL :) Looking forward to future Amazon articles! Keep em coming!!

James Dutreaux

Friday 12th of August 2016

How did you have the courage to go down there in the first place? I'm always trying to get a girlfriend to go out but she shrieks if there are any bugs around. How did you deal with the bug? Or is the Amazon over-inflated in terms of big bugs? Anyway, cool post and really want to visit the Amazon now and forever. Cheers!

Dani

Tuesday 16th of August 2016

James- to be honest, it didn't even cross my mind that there might be bugs :D The only thing I was worried about were the mosquitos (mainly because of Zika) but luckily I found a great local mosquito repellent in Colombia. There really aren't as many bugs as you might think!! I was so disappointed that I didn't even see any snakes. Or giant spiders. Well I guess I wasn't too disappointed that I didn't see any of those ;-) I have more articles on my Amazon adventure coming up! I hope you'll get to go there one day. Such a special part of the world.

Jim

Friday 18th of March 2016

Sounds like an awesome time! Those pink river dolphins are really neat and have only recently been discovered.

Wendy Middleton-Bentley

Monday 7th of March 2016

It sounds like a wonderful trip. I have always wanted to go check out the Amazon. Thanks for sharing your journey.

Dani

Thursday 10th of March 2016

Thanks Wendy! Seeing the Amazon is an incredible experience... talked about it a little bit more on my Facebook Page here.