Amazonas in Colombia: Leticia and Mocagua

Ishicilelwe: 08.03.2023

We flew from Bogotá to Leticia. The city is located in the middle of the Amazon and serves as a starting point for many tours in the Colombian part of the Amazon. It is situated right on the border with Peru and Brazil.

After checking in at the hostel, we immediately went to the pool, which felt really good in the hot and humid weather. In the evening, we witnessed an interesting spectacle. Shortly before sunset, many birds from the forest come to the city, creating an incredible noise. The trees behind our hostel were filled with colorful birds, each making different sounds.

On the second day, we wanted to take advantage of the proximity to the other two countries and visit them for a short time. The tri-border area does not require a visa for the respective countries. First, we took a small boat across the Amazon to Peru, to the small village of Santa Rosa. Since it is really just a tiny village on an island, there wasn't much to see there. After a quick snack, we took another boat back across the Amazon to Brazil. Tabatinga, the city where we arrived, was bustling with activity. We took a break at a nice restaurant and enjoyed some Brazilian beer. Since Tabatinga merges with Leticia, we were able to walk back to our hostel. It's pretty cool that you can visit all 3 countries in one day, although there isn't necessarily much to explore in each place.

The next day started at 6 a.m. as we wanted to take the first boat upstream to visit the Maikuchiga Foundation. This is a rescue center for various species of monkeys. After about 2 hours by boat, we arrived in the small village of Mocagua, where we were picked up and taken to the center. We were first informed about the work being done there and then had time to interact with the monkeys. While playing with the capuchin monkeys, we were immediately included and soon enough, one of the monkeys was already under our shirts. Later on, one of the monkeys crawled onto our lap and fell asleep😊. This was especially exciting for Kathrin. Overall, it was a great project and highly recommended if you are in Leticia. We didn't upload photos of the monkeys on our lap as the organization asked us not to, so as not to turn the place into an Instagram hotspot, which we fully support.

We had planned a tour to an indigenous village for the next day. However, it literally fell through due to heavy rain during the night. The water would have been up to our necks on the way there.

To get a deeper insight into the Amazon, we booked a two-night stay in a lodge almost directly in the rainforest, again in Mocagua, where we had been on the second day. So, once again we had to wake up early to catch the 7 a.m. boat.

Upon arriving at our lodge, we immediately went on a tour to Isla Mocagua. This island is located in the middle of the river and is home to the giant Victoria Amazonica water lilies. We also saw sloths and night monkeys, although the monkeys were only visible from a distance in a cave in a tree. The sloths were very interesting as they were almost white in color. We had never seen this species before. Lastly, we tried piranha fishing, but unfortunately, we were unsuccessful.

In the afternoon, we went on a dolphin tour. First, we took a boat to a spot on the river where we could see the Pink River Dolphins. Then, at another location, we were also able to see the gray dolphins.

After dinner, we went on a night tour where we walked into the jungle right behind our accommodation. We saw huge tarantulas and scorpions, as well as small tree frogs. The tour was very nice, although I would have liked to see a few more animals. When we returned to the accommodation, we witnessed a natural spectacle. We watched a tarantula catch a moth. It was really interesting to see how the poor moth gradually became quieter until it was paralyzed or dead.

The next day, we planned a daytime jungle hike. Our guide took us deeper into the jungle by boat, and then we spent 3 hours fighting our way through the forest, mostly off the trail. Our guide used his machete to find the way through the jungle, and we followed behind. It was quite challenging due to the oppressive climate and the numerous mosquitoes. Our guide was not very talkative, but he did tell us about various trees and plants at some points. Unfortunately, we didn't see any animals on this tour.

But that changed in the afternoon. We had some time and took a walk around the small village to visit the local museum, where various pieces of indigenous culture are exhibited, such as costumes worn during various festivals. Just behind the museum, we saw several monkeys directly on the path, so we finally got to see some animals on that day.

After a thorough round of Parchis (similar to the board game Sorry) in the evening with the other guests, we set off for Leticia the next morning. We spent the afternoon by the pool and in the evening, we treated ourselves to one of the region's specialties, Pirarucu (a fish😉), at a restaurant. We had imagined it to be more delicious. The fish itself didn't have much flavor, but it was well-prepared. It definitely tasted good. The next day, we headed back to Bogotá, and from there, to Quito a day later.