Friday 28th July 2006: COLOMBIA, Leiticia: AMAZON RIVER TOUR

Having spent a few days recovering from our jungle tour we were ready to leave Leiticia for the Brasil section of our trip, but not before we had taken a full day river tour of the Amazon and its surrounding tributaries.

Daniel had organised a boat tour that began at the port in Tabatinga, Brasil which is the neighbouring town to Leiticia - in this part of the Amazon there is no formal border crossing between Colombia, Brasil and Peru due to the vastness of the river, all you need do is make sure you have your entrance and exit stamps from the relevant countries when arriving and leaving.

We packed our rucksacks ready to leave Colombia after the river tour and were driven to the port at Tabatinga by Daniel where we got on the small fishing boat and met our guide for the day, Orlando. From Tabatinga we ventured 70km up the Amazon river into the Peru section of the river where our day would be spent. Along the way we saw the famous Amazonian Pink Dolphins and the normal grey ones. These pink dolphins moved too fast for our camera so sadly we were unable to catch these strange looking creatures.

Once we reached the Peruvian Amazon we moored our boat and took a short walk inland to find the river where the biggest water lilies in the world grow wild.

Victoria Regia Water Lilies in the Peruvian Amazon

When we returned to our boat we ventured a little further to a prime piranha fishing spot. We spent the next few hours fishing for piranhas which was a highlight of our Amazon adventure. Celina caught four piranhas (1 red, 3 white) which were all caughtby either being hooked in the eye or the head; one was even 'caught' by the getting its teeth jammed in the lead weight of the fishing line! Oliver caught six fish but not one of these was a piranha which he was not happy about!

Celina and her white piranha

Celina´s other white piranha caught by its teeth being stuck in the lead weight!

Oliver relaxing as we cruise down the Amazon

Fishing time over, we spent the next few hours cruising back down the Amazon into Brasil, enjoying the beautiful scenery. We ended our tour back in the port of Tabatinga and spent that night on our ferry docked in the port, which would leave the next day for Manaus, the capital of the Amazonas.