Amazon River Cruise in Peru and Colombia – Episode 735

Hear about travel to the Amazon River in Peru and Colombia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Will Conway from the Baggage Claim Podcast about his slow boat journey from Leticia, Colombia to Iquitos, Peru.

Will says, “One of the things that I want to advocate for in this conversation is that I think the Amazon is a lot more accessible than people think. If you are considering a trip to Thailand or Switzerland, the Amazon comes with this stigma, this imposing almost intimidating quality, the piranhas and the snakes. I think it just ends up getting skipped. I know I came in with a certain level of fear. I ended up finding the Amazon a lot more accessible. The people are incredibly warm and courteous and helpful. It took about a day to ease into it but once I did it was the most incredible set of memories I had of my entire trip.”

Will spent 8 months backpacking through South America and comes on the show to focus on his two weeks in the Amazon. He started in Leticia, Colombia. Leticia translates as “joy” and that expresses Will’s experience in this small city. He did some excursions from Leticia up the river on the fast boat and later on a dory. He went fishing for piranhas and night hunting for caimans.

Then Will hopped on the local boat which was an incredibly cheap way to navigate the Amazon. He strung his hammock with the locals in the open deck of the ferry and watched the jungle go by. The boat moved at about a walking pace as it made its way up the river. He says to bring a book and maybe an extra battery for your smartphone if you plan to spend the time listening to old episodes of the Amateur Traveler podcast.

He took the boat to the big city of Iquitos Peru which has more than 500,000 people. Iquitos is the largest city with no roads connecting to the outside world. It can be accessed by river and by air. From Iquitos, you can take a number of excursions including to wildlife sanctuaries like Monkey Island. Iquitos is a colorful city filled with motorcycle rickshaws. It is also known for spiritualism and for ayahuasca.

See if this episode of the Amateur Traveler can lure you to the jungle of the Amazon. 

To get more info on the Amazon you can text “amazon” to 332-877-9540.

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Show Notes

HeyBaggageClaim.com
The River of Doubt
Leticia, Amazonas
Parque Santander (Leticia)
The Rundown on Leticia Amazon – Leticia Forum – Tripadvisor
Leticias Casa de Huespedes
Iquitos to Leticia – Iquitos Forum – Tripadvisor
Iquitos to Leticia – 2 ways to travel via ferry
Ayahuasca
La Isla De Los Monos (Iquitos)
Amazon Rescue Center
Amazon resource guide

Booking.com

Community

Jeff wrote about Travel to the Virginia Coast – Episode 732

So you were one of those kids the rangers so love!  Thanks for the kind words for our rangers!

Fun fact: Yorktown Victory Monument is the oldest Congressionally authorized area in the National Park System, October 29, 1781.  Therefore, it can be claimed that the currently named Colonial National Historical Park is technically the oldest continuous protected area in the National Park Service!

Need to add one National Park area, Fort Monroe National Monument.  Other NPS administered entities in the area include the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail, and the Chesapeake Bay Gateways or Network.  Finally, one often overlooked area of Colonial National Historical Park is the Cape Henry Memorial next to Virginia Beach.

Jeff

Reviews

Scratching the Travel Itch! ***** by Marshall Dahneke – Jul 11, 2020

I love this podcast and listen to every episode! Chris does a terrific job of scheduling such a diverse range of places and people that make these various locations come to life. During this pandemic when we can’t travel (and those of us who are from the USA are understandably not welcome in most countries), listening to these weekly podcasts keeps the dream alive and scratches that chronic itch to see the world. Listen, learn, and support this podcast! Big thanks to Chris for his decade and a half of service to us!

Very solid ***** by Wakatushi – Jul 6, 2020

Great pod

Great podcast! **** by sam_2423 – Jun 28, 2020

I love the variety of places covered on this podcast. Chris brings on many fascinating guests and adds insightful commentary that immerses you in cultures and places around the world. I listen to this podcast every day in the car and even on my runs around the neighborhood. Thankfully there’s years of podcasts to go through!

Obsessed! ***** by Lisa420420 – Jun 21, 2020

Thank you, love this podcast!

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