"Sitting amongst a jungle of multicoloured swaying hammocks the Jorge Raul glides over the placid surface of the Amazon. Strange to think that, for thousands of miles, in any direction there are just trees, trees, treeS..." Extract from my travel journal 8th Aug 2010
When us two English boys floated down the mighty Amazon river, I'm not sure what we expected. To tell the truth, anticipating the experience, hadn't been high on our list of priorities. We were far more concerned with the mechanics of getting catching the boats. When this last worry had been dealt with, I found myself led on a journey that will remain with me forever.
Nowhere else have I experienced such remoteness. Looking over at the bank I could make out the emergence, canopy, sub-canopy and shrub layer, as clearly as I did in diagrams in geography class. Then, remembering the sheer scale of it and the billions of lives are affected by this biological miracle every day conjures up a feeling of awe. I might have read or been taught the basic facts back home, but seeing it for real was like seeing live music. The CD just doesn't compare.
Just the knowledge that for thousands of miles there is very little chance of seeing human life is humbling, for one who has been brought up in westernized society. For most of my life I have lived with access to networks of millions of people, have had access to gigabytes of information, with several different forms of media at the tips of my fingers. To come to this area of the world, where for a significant part of its history the quickest way to a reasonable trading port was to cross the Atlantic week was like living in a malerone-induced dream.
However, for all of its humbling might, the lancha trips downstream are shared by the friendliest of people a nervous young traveler could hope for. It seems when you shove any group of people together in a confined space for several days, the tensions that you might expect simply refuse to materialize. In fact, despite our very poor Spanish, we met and talked to many lovely people, from all over South and Central America, as well as backpackers like ourselves, and those more local to the area.
The simplicity and safety of it too was refreshing. Despite the gasps of admiration and amazement I get at home when I boast about how I travelled down the Amazon by cargo boat, it was actually relatively simple. Once you accept that there is no set departure time, or even day sometimes, and that you just have to turn up and ask, it's easy. Obviously precautions have to be taken, especially in port, against theft, but compared ordeal that the first article I read about the route promised, comfort and security was no issue. In fact the breeze caused by sailing downstream meant I didn't even need bug stray most of the time. The crews of the boats are as helpful as the passengers are friendly and once away from port robbery is uncommon.
Now sitting in front of my WIFI enabled Mac, within arms reach of an MP3 player, TV remote and mobile phone, I can scarcely believe it. Although I don’t deny the usefulness of such accessories, I am reminded that there is a world of incredible beauty, interesting people and exciting adventures that exists without. If you are in Iquitos and looking to travel on the river, don’t go for the fast boat or the plane. Take your time, see the world, meet the people and remind yourself where you are, you won’t regret it.
