Typical houses along the Amazon river
The day started out as a fairly relaxing one. Ali and I did what we needed to do and prepared for our 2-day cruise up the Amazon river to Leticia. We bought water, snacks and most importantly, insect repellent. Because the boat didn’t leave until 7:00 pm we even had enough time to squeeze in a film on TV. Our hostel was well equipped with a kitchen, TV room, and an unsettling amount of stuffed animals and stretched skins including various snakes and even a black cayman. In fact, there wasn’t a single square inch of the place that didn’t play homage to the fact that we were close to the jungle. Two black cats and a parrot (un-caged) were free to wander around the wood clad walls of the ground level and greet the guests as they arrived. Our first encounter with the parrot was an unexpected one as we had already been in the kitchen for 15 minutes when I realised that there was a huge brightly coloured parrot sitting on top of the door quietly observing our presence - seemingly with a look of malignance. It spoke when spoken to but we soon discovered it was better not to. Once it started squarking and saying hello, there was no stopping it.
At 5:00 pm Gerard returned from his tour to find us ready and waiting. We had arranged to meet up here in Iquitos when we last saw him in Lima before he left. Gerard flew across just before us so that he could enjoy a trip through the jungle. We took separate tuk tuks to the port so that Ali and I could purchase hammocks enroute. As our 3-wheeled vehicle turned off the main road and onto a dirt lane I was both shocked and horrified by what I saw. Both sides of the street were lined with shanty-like huts on stilts above litter strewn marshland. It was complete chaos and we were one of about a hundred or so tuk tuks attempting to drive straight through this long stretch of filth and mess. It was certainly a real eye-opening experience and left me quite speechless. But unfortunately, the events that followed not only denied speech but also my personal belongings…
The view as we left the dirt lane and entered the muddy river bank was equally if not more shocking. There must have been a thousand people on the riverside hauling luggage, selling food and climbing onto one of 30 or so large boats that lined the banks of the river. We boarded the boat where Gerard could be seen waving his hands and shouting at us from one of the decks above. We walked across the mud and onto the long plank of wood which led to the front of the boat. It was absolute carnage onboard, slightly verging on inhumane. There were 3-levels on the vessel and thankfully we were located on the airy third floor. Our level was the same as the second in the sense that it was a vast open space jam-packed with hammocks strung here there and everywhere. The only way to get from one end to the other was to crawl beneath them. In addition to the unnerving amounts of passengers there was a never-ending circulation of people selling last-minute food stuffs and forgotten items like hammock straps (of which we did forget) and toilet paper. It was one of those people who stole my bag.
The banks of the river
It wasn’t until I went to move them into a better position when I realised that my small bag was missing. I immediately forced my way through the crowds of people and clambered off the boat in search of my bright red bag. But the second I stepped foot onto the embankment I knew it was pointless. The mass of crowds made it impossible to locate. My bag was lost forever - passport, credit cards, flight tickets, journal and my favorite pair of boxer shorts - all gone for good!
When I returned to the boat I was approached by another traveler, a girl from Germany who informed me that her friend witnessed the incident and recognized one of the culprits. We interrogated the boy before going straight to the captain of the ship who then proceeded to start slapping him in the face. I immediately intervened by asking for the police to deal with the matter more professionally. Several minutes later a policeman arrived, handcuffed the youngster then asked me and the German girl to follow him to the police station. At this point we held the attention of almost every single person on the riverbank and I barely managed to follow the officer through the crowds. People were shouting at the boy and asking me questions I didn’t understand. It was an extremely unnerving experience and I wondered how exactly this whole saga was going to end.
The policeman located a tuk tuk and handcuffed the boy to the frame. The German girl and I were asked to sit next to him by the officer who then instructed the driver to take us to the station. The policeman followed on his motorbike. 10 minutes later we arrived at the station where I was subjected to 3 hours of torture as I watched the policeman sit behind his desk and attempt to type up a report. “Tap…tap…tap,” it was so painful. I watched 3 police officers type the same report three times on antique typewriters before I was finally handed my copy and left with the German girl. The boat was due to leave five minutes ago but we were confident that the boat would be waiting for our return. We were wrong! It was dark by the time we arrived back to the port but we knew exactly where our boat was situated. Except when we got there, it was sailing away. The German girl and I looked at each other in despair and ran alongside the river for whatever good it might have done.
For reasons unknown the boat did actually return to pick us up along with a whole load of other passengers eager to get onboard. It seemed they had also been left behind and where equally in a state of panic. I’m sure that if it wasn’t for them, we probably wouldn’t have been noticed and therefore would have had to stay in Iquitos another 4 days until the next departure for Laticia. When I got back onboard the boat Gerard had some good news for me. The bag had been returned during my absence with everything still inside. Well, everything except my wallet that is, but I was so exhausted and relieved by the fact that I still had my passport, credit cards and flight tickets that I didn’t care about the money. After all the commotion I wanted nothing more than to try and enjoy our trip. When my nerves had finally settled and I was resting in my hammock it suddenly occurred to me that today was no ordinary day. With 4 hours of 06/06/06 still remaining, I hoped nothing else was in store for me on such an evil day.
A lazy shot taken from my hammock
There was nothing much to do really except...
