Since we're at the 3 border point we couldn't resist going into Colombia for some coffee and pastries, especially after Nicole's rude expulsion the last time. I'm sure the Colombian authorities would not approve but we'll be long gone before they know.

Now we'll go to Santa Rosa on the Peruvian side to find a hotel there because our speedboat leaves from there early tomorrow morning and by tomorrow afternoon we'll be in Iquitos.

Hello all,

I think the jungle really saps the energy out of me.  I have been very lethargic since I arrived in Tarapoto, Peru six days ago.  It's hard to muster up the ambition to leave my succesion of nice, cool rooms.  This morning was no exception.  I watched a few hours of american sitcoms with english subtitles, and the Shawshank Redemption in portugese.  I also played some Civilization IV on the laptop rather then leave the room.  I made it out just under the wire at noon, and went down the block to the internet spot.

At 1pm I grabbed a taxi and hauled my crap down to the airport.  Check in was assisted by the 'Elite' line that I qualify for until the end of February.  For some reason the security line didn't open up until one hour before the flight was scheduled to leave.  I was one of the first ones to grab a spot in line, and was soon into the air-con departure lounge.  The flight from Bogota arrived and I wasn't too happy to see an old school MD-80 plane carrying the AeroRepublica logo.

I was 10 minutes past scheduled departure time when everybody passed security, and boarding was called.  I was able to enter through the tail of the plane, which was a new one for me.  I took my coveted window seat only to realize that I was directly next to the right side engine.  It almost totally obscured my view, and I prepared to crank up the iPod to drown out engine noise.  I spent most of the 110 minute flight wondering how much it would hurt if the engine exploded one foot from my head.

The luggage took a while in Bogota, and I grabbed a taxi printout at the booth.  Bogota's taxi service has a system where you tell a woman at a booth where you are going, and you get a printout of your fare in advance.  Mine was listed as $9.15, and I didn't feel like paying that.  I walked a bit further out and started scanning the bus signs for Candelaria.  I asked a driver and found a bus that came pretty close (within 10 blocks), so I hopped on with all of my crap.  I paid my $0.62 fare, and started to follow along on the Lonely Planet map to be sure I didn't miss my area.  I still missed it, but the woman behind me had heard my question, and told me where to get off.

It was still about a 10 block walk to my preferred hotel, and I thanked myself for always packing as light as possible.  I went to four hotels that were either full, or not with the features I wanted before finally finding one that was pretty damn high.  I bargained them down to $42/night and was pretty happy with the deal.  After dropping everything off, I was able to grab my jacket (Yay!) and eat some more churrasco before heading to bed.

The temperature is about 55 degrees fahrenheit right now, and I am very happy.  Tomorrow is explore Bogota day!

Later, Phil

Hello all,

I heard the rain pounding down on the tin roof outside my window at about 6:30am.  I woke up and scanned the television channels for something interesting.  I fired up the laptop and checked for any stray unprotected wi-fi signals...  no luck.  So, I just fell back to sleep with air conditioner humming along full blast.  I woke up and laid in bed until about noon, and then decided it was time to get out and check out Leticia and Tabatinga.

The frog was still on my bathroom wall, but he had moved outside the actual shower.  This made taking a shower a little less nerve racking for me.  I did not want to disturb the little guy, and I'm sure he was keeping the bathroom bug free.  I also had no idea how good his little suction feet were, and whether or not the steam generated by my shower may do something.  Then again cold water doesn't usually kick up steam.  And, this might seem silly, but I am in the Amazon.  I have no idea if this is one of those dangerous poisonous frogs you hear about.  It's not very bright in color, but those red eyes make me a bit nervous.

My first goal was to get my passport stamped for entry into Colombia.  I heard that either the Policia National, or the airport could get it done for me.  I walked the kilometer to the police station, and was told there that I would have to go to the airport immigration office.  Well, I was almost half the way there, so why not walk the rest of it.  May I remind you that the rain had stopped, but it is still HOT and HUMID.  By the time I reached the airport my pants felt like they just got out of the washing machine.  Not a comfortable thing.

I grabbed a motorcycle ride back to town.  That's right, in Leticia you either overpay for one of the dozen or so actual taxis, or you hop on the back of a motorcycle, ask how much, put a helmet on, and off you go.  It's very cheap, but I can't remember the last time I was on the back of a motorcycle.  It took some getting used to, but it was under a buck back to town.

Next I went to the Aerorepublica airline office to get my ticket to Bogota.  There was a flight available tomorrow, but it would cost about $25 more then flying on Sunday.  I really want to get back to the highlands, so booked and paid for a Saturday flight.  Ok, got that done now.  I went back to the hotel to drop off my passport and ticket in the room.  I also took another shower, and changed up the clothes for another journey outside.

Next I wanted to check out Tabatinga, Brazil.  Tabatinga is a twin city with Leticia, and there are no border procedures between the two.  That makes it one of the only places that an American can enter Brazil, and not have to pay $160 and get a visa in advance.  Plus, if you know me, you know that I will be able to check another country off of the list.  I know, I know, I didn't see anything really good in Brazil, but I will try to visit the good stuff at a future date.

It was alot longer walk then I had imagined, but after about 30 minutes I was crossing the understated border into Brazil.  The main street in Tabatinga streched out before me, and it was much longer then I would have thought.  I was looking for two things... an internet place, and someplace to get some food.  About 500m into Brazil I found a internet cafe, and it has A/C!  I had brought my USB drive along to upload my last three blogs and a few pics.  But the connection was slow, so I couldn't get too many transmitted.  I thanked the attendant using the one word of Portugese I know, and paid with Colombian Pesos.

I asked a passer-by where the cnter of town was and he pointed me in the right direction.  It was another long walk to the area near the docks along the Amazon.  Nothing really of note to see down here either.  Tabatinga is maybe the least pedestrian friendly town I've found in Latin America.  Maybe the rest of Brazil is more of a car/motorcycle culture then the rest of South America.  I didn't really see any food that looked to good, Leticia is much more set up for tourists.

I waved down a motorcycle, haggled on price and off we went.  Near the border we stopped at a little peg board to grab a helmet for me.  The driver also took off his official Tabatinga Moto-Taxi vest and wrapped it around his handlebars.  I had noticed that Colombia seemed to have a helmet law, and I think that is pretty unusual down here as well.  He dropped me off near the hotel, and I got some of my change in Brazilian money.  No big deal.  I felt like cheap eats so I went to a local joint and had a 'Plate of the Day'.  It was just about $4 with a few local sodas, and it was very good.  The owner got a real kick out of my horrible spanish, and gringo ways.

I crashed for a while longer in the room until venturing out for some food at about 9:30pm.  I had a Churrasco, at a barbeque place that was really good.  I topped it off with a Guanabana smoothie that was heavenly.  I faded off to bed at about 11pm.

Later, Phil

Actually, the title is a little bit misleading, but definitely true. We arrived to the tri-border and headed to Tabatinga on the Brazilian side to reserve a berth on our boat to Brazil and save some money by sleeping there a couple of nights before the boat got going (they always let you do that at all boats along the Amazon). Then we headed to Leticia, Colombia, which is a 5 minute car ride away from Tabatinga and the border is pretty much nonexistent: one policeman, holding a gun, looking pretty. Leticia is better settled for tourism (food, banks, internet) so we spent most of our time there. We spent the first day walking around trying to arrange a tour the next day to the canopy of the Amazons and trying to find somewhere that showed the Spurs-Cavs game. Apparently they do not show the game in Colombia since nobody cares about basketball there, so we failed to watch it and apparently it was a good thing. The next day we were picked up to go on a canopy tour and a little saunter through the jungle. The saunter was nice as our guide Antonio was knowledgable and the indigenous man that accompanied him, Cristobal, was quite chill. They gave us humongous fruits picked from the trees, all really sweet and quite good, though sometimes a little too sticky and always really strange. Then we saw how Cristobal´s people treat Coca to make it better tasting and eatable. Finally Cristobal told us a story about how Cruise ships make it here all the way from Miami to Leticia, full of old people, some who faint in the jungle cause of the heat, some that need reminders of where they are. Best was when Antonio mentioned that the Phillipinos that man these ships have 2 hours to do whatever they want for only one day. So when they get off they run to tour guides or whoever they can find, hold a wad of cash, and ask for "marihuana, coke, and whores!" This is Colombia, not Vegas, close though.  Afterwards we hiked over to the canopy, which was fun although we had to climb with our own energy. The tree is about 150 ft above ground and they have all kinds of ropes attached to the tree. So you get in your harness, attach a couple of clips to the ropes, some safety mechanisms, and away you climb. It was really hard work but it was so beautiful. We would stop every 10 feet or so and suspended in mid-air enjoy a unique point of view of the jungle. Arriving to the top was so rewarding as the view was breathtaking, we could see for miles and miles of just jungle and trees. This must be how monkeys feel, if only we had tails to hang off trees. After we enjoyed hanging out in the tree house of this huge tree, they attached us to some more ropes and we swung over to another tree, about 10 feet smaller. We hung out on the treehouse of this tree for a while too but it was quite wobbly and made Emily very nervous. Danilo as well, but he wasn´t about to compound Em´s nervousness with, "hey you know, this actually feels quite unstable". So when they annouced it was time to go back down to Earth, Em was the first in line and Danilo quickly followed. Going down was so much fun! It was like sliding down a huge slide but without your butt getting stuck on the metal. For our last real excursion into the jungle, going to the tree canopy was a great choice. Pictures of this lovely event shall be forthcoming. Our small and short trip into Colombia was incredible and beautiful. We loved the country and loved the people and can´t wait to go back and see more of Colombia one day.