Mototaxi to Brasil: 3.000 pesos
Leticia, Tabatinga, and the Rio Amazonas
09.09.2010 - 11.09.2010
32 °C
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South America
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The moment I stepped off the plane and gathered my things in the single room airport in Leticia, I :
1. Traded my hiking boots and socks for sandals
2. Stowed my rain jacked (dry season here in the Amazon), and
3. Lathered on some 98% Deet bug spray
Downtown Leticia isn't anything spectacular. A bunch of shops, mostly set-meal restaurants, some panaderias, the juice man on the corner, and a handful of barbershops. There are, however a couple of exceptional aspects of this nondescript town. First of all, the muddy Rio Amazonas runs parallel to the main strip of Leticia. Second, if you cross the river, you're in Peru. If you walk 15 blocks north, you're in Brasil. This triple border region, where within minutes street signs change from Spanish to Portuguese, and currency changes from reais to pesos to soles, is pretty neat in my opinion. To drive the point home, last night we walked to Brasil for Caiparinas, paid in pesos, and got change in reais.
Today was set aside for organizational chores. This morning we walked to the airport to get our Colombian exit stamps, and then to the border for Brasilian entry stamps. I thought the process would be a little hairy, as the Lonely Planet said Americans need visas (which sometimes can take up to 2 days to process). My plan was to swap my passports at the border, getting the exit stamp with the American passport I entered with and going to Brasil on my internationally superior EU passport. Some people said this was no problem; others told me this would be impossible. So naturally I tried my luck.
The officer at at immigration didn't even look through my passport. He gave me a visa for 90 days, an official stamp, and said 'Do not lose this paper. Welcome to Brasil, Gabrielle'. That was that and so we hopped mototaxis back to Colombia to investigate Amazon tours. That'll occupy us until early next week. Then we'll start getting ourselves ready to string up our hammocks and relax for a few days until we dock in Manaus.
Posted by pack_it_in 10.09.2010 11:09 Archived in Colombia
