Amazonas / Rainforest / Puerto Nariño 🇨🇴

Now I'm lying in the hammock and instead of sleeping, I'm reviewing the day. We started by boat from Leticia to Santa Sofia, during the ride we had to take off our rubber boots and put on life jackets so that we don't wear concrete shoes when in contact with water. But ultimately, it doesn't matter that the boat is completely closed and the life jackets actually make it worse. Let's assume everything goes well.

Because I'm bored, I'm fooling around with a few kids and because Flo is so cool, he gives me a candy. Thanks. When we arrived in Santa Sofia, it's not guide Esteban waiting for us, but we're waiting for him. But since Luisa's (the hostel mom) daughter Antonia is with us, it's not a problem and she sorts everything out.

Out of nowhere, Esteban appears and welcomes us, he's about up to my chest. Together with the two Canadians from the hostel, we walk for about 40 minutes through the rainforest, by boat, because the Amazon is about 2 meters higher than during the dry season, crazy. It fluctuates between a total height of 12 meters.

Our eyes and ears are already overwhelmed, now the nose joins in. From the trees to complete incomprehension of how to navigate here, from the colors and sounds of the birds, we experience maximum sensory overload. Amazing!

We're here. Now we continue on foot for 20 minutes until we reach our camp, I imagined it much more Spartan. Saul welcomes us, Esteban picks up Marcel who looks like Rambo today, and we start with lunch because after that the first trek begins.

We pass by trees with the most expensive wood in the world, made of rosewood and cedar wood, and go on a 3-hour course through the Amazon rainforest. We eat sugar cane, some fruits. We climb trees and lianas and observe the National Geographic-worthy performances of ants and other animals/plants. In general, we learn a lot about plants and it's just incredible what they're good for. They can be used to treat colds, broken bones, or malaria, for example with tree sap, boiled bark, etc. The eternal green of the jungle takes some getting used to and I realize that there are simply no stones here at all. At the end of the day, it's just indescribable. We still see a couple of schakras - which are the "gardens" of the indigenous people - and find pineapples, bananas, sugar cane, and a few other things.

Back at the camp, we have dinner and listen to a couple of stories that are told in the jungle, but ones that you don't want to experience. The main point is not to respond to any sounds from the forest...

We quickly start the night hike. It's just unbelievable that we don't get lost. I can't figure it out.

We see poison dart frogs, crickets as big as cigars, tarantulas where the body alone is bigger than a golf ball, and a few other strange creatures that you wouldn't want to have at home. The cockroaches and woodlice here are so big that they could pass as pretty large mice. Marcel starts to annoy me a bit because he just can't be quiet and of course only stops responding to the sounds of the forest after several requests. Who would have thought. 🙈

Into the hammock, now it's time to sleep. This soundscape is just intense. It's so loud at night that at home the cops would be called and someone would definitely report the crickets, frogs, and co. I sleep amazingly well, and the next morning, as agreed, we start at 6:30 am, just 45 minutes later, with breakfast and planting a tree. That's how I like it. We also visit a community of indigenous people and head back to the Amazon where we are picked up and driven to Puerto Nariño. Esteban finds the second and third snake that we get to see and instead of leaving them on the tree where they are both calmly lying, he tugs on the branches and wiggles them, so I'm about to shit myself because logically the snake falls into the grass and I have to stand close by again. It was funny anyway, especially for him.

Two incredibly amazing people who have incredible skills and seemingly endless knowledge about the rainforest, I would honestly like to accompany them for a longer period of time. The connection to nature is admirable. Fantastic 24 hours are behind us, as well as some laughs, because even without language, we were able to joke around a bit.

We make a short detour to the monkey hospital, we have to go further by boat. We swing ourselves along the trees and just grab a stick. It works. 😂

Just before we arrive, a warning is given to close our bags tightly, Lisa is supposed to take off her earrings, etc. I already suspect what's going to happen and about 10 seconds later, a monkey is sitting on my head and opens my bottle. Lovely, the only problem is that two more monkeys join in and I don't really know how to deal with it. But I survive.

After a short lunch break, we finally go to Puerto Nariño, where Miguel welcomes us. We throw our clothes into the room and drive off, what we see now is truly surreal. A sunset on the Tarapoto Lake, the photos only give a glimpse of how beautiful it is. We see an otter, which is rarely seen, and turn somewhere into the forest and it slowly gets pitch dark. Now caimans are caught, baby crocodiles, just to take a look at them. It's not for me, but it's funny that Miguel falls completely into the water. Panic breaks out briefly here and of course, he doesn't do anything other than throw the device into the boat. When getting on the boat, he still gets caught on the foot. Beautiful animals... when they're further away. And somehow we're all relieved when it's time to go back.

On the lake, we can see the stars now. Even though there are no other light sources than the moon and the stars, it's quite bright and the proximity to the equator makes the sky look round and more like a dome above us. Awesome!

Day three, we're tired, or I'm extremely tired, and Lisa is doing okay. I get a little more awake when I see the soccer players on TV during breakfast at the restaurant. Now we're going to see sloths and dolphins and go for a swim. In addition, we visit Miguel's parents' house, which is located directly in a community on the Tarapoto Lake. Apparently, there is also a slaughterhouse in the kitchen. Here, fish are lying in a bucket and feathers are scattered on the floor. However, what fascinates me the most is the grilled shell of a turtle, but he actually just wanted to show us the two crocodile skulls, which he says were about 5-6 meters long. Hunted with spears, of course... what else.

So far we're through and of course, I haven't told half of what we have experienced. But that would also exceed the scope. As a tip, I can only advise you to do a tour that costs a little more money, but is perfectly organized and above all, you don't meet 500 other people in the forest, for example. And you can feel extremely comfortable. Now we're going to spend a few days in Medellín, where the El Clásico of Colombia will take place next weekend, which I will attend. Let's see how it goes! Cheers. ❤️