Captain James Hook, yes from Peter Pan once said "Death would be the ultimate adventure" but frankly this is not why we travel and definitely not the desired outcome. Yet the days that always heighten my alertness and anxieties are the travel days, especially borders, and even more so borders that could leave you stranded if you do not get it right. Fortunately this boat trip should not see pirates and will be a lot more simple.
In part two of this blog, we are going to talk about the complexities of crossing an unusual border (Colombia to Peru via the Amazon river), how to organise yourself and what to expect. As a spoiler, it's not that scary and it's not very dangerous, I believe that the series of events that you may have read about in the first part of this two part series made the Amazon seem more scary and dangerous than it is ... It is confusing though and you do feel slightly out of place as there are not many backpackers taking this trip. But with good organisation and a bit of knowledge ahead of time (learn from my confusion), you will be just fine. We are going to go through the following:
Lets look at our location here so you can see how deep we are in the rainforest.
Stamping out of Leticia Amazon, Colombia
When moving onto Peru from Leticia, you have to go back to the airport to get your exit stamp! Yes you heard me right. There is a small grace period on the stamp but ultimately your going to want to get up nice bright and early and head to the airport. Fortunately, I had made a friend in Bogota, and she would be heading to Iquitos so we decided to tackle this part together before taking alternate boat options. There is a 3 day boat ride to Iquitos and an overnight speedboat option. We packed our bags checked out of our hostel and asked them to keep our bags in the luggage room. God bless hostel luggage rooms!
Getting up early we walked to the airport where we had to find some ropey internet to allow us to fill out an immigration form via a website called 'Check-Mig' click here for a link to Check Mig website. This needs to be done at least one hour before travel and can be done up to 72 hours before you exit. You will receive an email which will act as your proof of registration. This simply needs to be shown to the immigration officer at the airport.
We lined up outside a small room and were asked to come in one by one. After my friend had been in, I was asked to step inside where the immigration officer looked at my passport, stamped it and asked to see the Check Mig verification. It was a casual and enjoyable encounter. The immigration officer asked where I had been in Colombia, if I enjoyed the country, and if I would be back. She seemed genuinely interested, after our chat (in my poor Spanish) I said goodbye and we walked back to Leticia.
Quick tip, if you walk it like we did then you will walk directly past the main supermarket in Leticia. On the way back pick up some dried snacks for the journey ahead.
Given that my intention was to take the slow boat, my friend and I went to Calle 8 and exchanged some money into Peruvian Sol, I also bought a hammock. We bumped into my guide from Gambo Tours who pointed out the best places to buy a hammock and where to exchange money. This was one of those situations where there was not much point to shopping around for the best exchange rate as there are so few vendors. I exchange the last of my colombian pesos into Peruvian Sol and exchanged a further 200 dollars worth for the boat ticket and so I had some cash in my pocket for Peru. Do not wait to get money in Santa Rosa, you will not find a cash machine and this whole area is a cash economy, paying by card for the boat is not going to be a thing. All you need is money for the boat Ride to Iquitos where you will find further ATMs.
All set up with cash and a hammock, we went and grabbed our bags before heading to the port of Malecón Turístico where you need to grab a water taxi (around a dollar) to Santa Rosa Island (5 minutes away), this is your gateway to Peru.
Let's have a look at another map so you know where I am talking about. The green icons show the two immigration offices, the blue the boat docks and the purple is Calle 8 where you will find shops and money exchange.
Stamping into Peru Amazon, Santa Rosa Island
Good news; the immigration process once you are in Santa Rosa is pretty simple. The place is so small it's almost impossible to get lost, but because of its location it is full of energy, people buying food, drinks, repairing boats etc!
Now; I crossed over to Santa Rosa after my friend as she wanted to take the fast boat that would be leaving early in the afternoon, so we said our goodbyes in Leticia but naturally bumped into each other in Santa Rosa. Crossing in 2022, the immigration officer passed me a form and informed me that I would need to go to the local hospital to have a health check. If all was ok (temperature etc) then the doctor would fill in the paperwork, sign it and send me back to the office. I was fine, but the office had closed for lunch so I had to wait for it to reopen at 2pm before I could get my passport stamped. Here is a video of me walking back from the hospital confused about how to get a boat to Iquitos!
Boating to Iquitos, Peru
Welcome to the land of conflicting information. The slow boat essentially has no real schedule. It is meant to be daily at 8pm but ... asking around I was told "it might be here today" "It might be here tomorrow" or "It will be here in a couple of days time", great! This gave me two options, either book into a hostel on Santa Rosa and see if I could hop on one when it eventually turned up or walk to the dock to see what other options were available.
I walked to the dock, and once again bumped into my friend who informed me that a speedboat leaves in a few hours time around 6pm and takes 12 hours to get to Iquitos! After a few moments of thought, I decided to take the speed boat and paid for a ticket AT THE DOCK. I am not going to lie. I cannot remember what it cost but I have a feeling it was around 30 USD. It is more expensive than the slow boat but you do not need as much food, fluid etc so maybe balances out! Slightly disappointed not to be taking the slow boat I sat next to my friend and waited.
When it is time to get on the boat get ready for chaos as you can only get on once your ticket has been checked off by a guy with a clipboard. Everyone seems to know this so surround the guy like a swarm of bees reaching forward with their tickets hoping the guy will take theirs next so it can be checked off and they can grab a seat on the boat.
Finally on the boat my friend and I managed to have two seats to ourselves, so we could curl up and try to get some shut eye. The journey is increadibly smooth but slightly windy and there is a bit of a chill as you cut through the mighty amazon at full speed. During the course of the night, the boat stopped at two other docks to pick up further passengers. It was fairly busy but still no one sat next to me or my friend! Travelling into the night you get to see down the Amazon there is so little light pollution you get to see the stars in all their spectacular beauty. Feeling tired from a confusing day, I popped my headphones in and got a few hours sleep.
When sunrise kicked in you could see the little communities dotted along the bank. Before you eventually arrive into Iquitos at around 11am (well over the 12 hours). All things considered I was ready to be off the boat so was glad to take the speedboat. Below you can see a few vids from the journey.
Amazon rainforest travel tips
The final aspect of this post is safety. I set this duplex post up to ask if there are any dangers to travelling in the Amazon, but as long as you keep your wits about you then you should be fine. So lets finally talk about Amazon rainforest travel tips for safety.
Starting with the obvious. When you are among a crowd of people you do not want to be worrying about your bags, lock them, all of them.
Valuables bag, if you have read my other blogs you will know I tend to have a bag on me at all times with my tech gear. Again locked, this one even comes to the bathroom with me! Dont ask your friend to look after it, it's unfair to ask them to look after your valuables unless there is a big group of you. If they are carrying 2 bags and you give them another 2 then you are putting them in a vulnerable position. Generally my second bag has items that would be an inconvenience to lose but not the end of the world!
Split your cash across your bags and your person. Keep just what you need on you (out of your locked bags) enough for your tickets, a bit of food and a drink etc. I also have a money belt, but stopped using it as it felt overkill.
Make sure no one ever sees you with a lot of notes in your wallet/ purse. In fact if someone is scouting you and can see you have almost nothing in your wallet/ purse you have already helped yourself.
Like your cash, split your cards, I travel with three, two debits and a credit and only have one debit in my wallet on travel days, the other two are locked in my tech bag. My wallet is kept in a zipped pocket in a pair of trousers I use for most of my complex travel days.
Passport, this needs to be accessible but also safe. It goes in my other zipped pocket. Don't keep it in your main bag until you are stamped into the next country. Opening up your main bag and digging around makes you more vulnerable.
Be friendly but cautious. Dont be scared to ask for help if you do not know where you are going, a good way of doing this is to ask people behind the counter in shops, cafes or bars.
Have any proof of address on you ever in paper form or on your phone, so you do not have to have your phone out for longer than you need it to be!
I have also mentioned this before but I have a motorbike helmet lock that is great for locking your bags to something so if you need some shut eye on a bus or boat etc you can sleep knowing the bags are not going anywhere quickly. I will link it below, for £10 its a big help.
Finally, try to look relaxed and comfortable, and if you can get a travel buddy for border days then it really lightens the pressure.
Have fun, stay safe and travel to the Amazon in the knowledge that it is a lot of fun. Also, if you have undertaken this crossing or any other then please let us know how it went on the border forum. We are stronger together and information is power. Take care.
For the love of earth
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