Manaus - Tabatinga

I had an epic, detailed and grammatically correct blog post written about the ferry ride from Manaus to Tabitinga, but you will have to settle for this post instead because my netbook was stolen last night with the post on it. We had piled all our gear together between our hammocks for safety and we had all been keeping a good eye on it, but at some point during the night someone came, broke into my bag, and stole the netbook along with some other adapters I had in there. I had uploaded all my photos from the netbook before leaving, so I didn´t loose much of real value. I was still bummed though, because the ferry ride had been a really great experience before that. With the help of a Portugese guy I reported the theft to the captain, but he told us that there was not much he could do. He said that Tabitinga is a dangerous place and even if we are only here a day or two, he has to be here for the week and it could cause him a lot of problems. Tabatinga is one of the cocaine smuggling centers of South America, so I understand that. I did not really want to get the police involved, so I decided to write it off as a loss.

Apart from having my netbook stolen the ferry was great. I had been warned that it would be terrible, the food would be bad, it would be horribly uncomfortable and very boring. As usual all the warnings were exaggerated. The food was fine, usually some pasta, rice, beans and a mystery meat. Nothing fancy, but tasty and plenty of it. After the first two nights I got the hang of sleeping in a hammock. Wrap up warm, sleep diagonally and use some rolled up clothes for head support. The boat could be boring, but you made your own entertainment. Out of the 200 people on the boat there were 4 gringos, we practiced our Spanish and Portugese, we played cards (learned some Brazilian games), read a lot of books and met a lot of locals traveling and working along the river. On top of that I never got tired of watching the scenery and animals go by. Our boat would travel right next to the bank of the river and you could easily see into the jungle, or you could sit on the other side of the boat and dolphin spot on the huge river.

I highly recommend it this trip. I felt like I was on a journey from another era, traveling slowly in a boat along the Amazon, loading and unloading cargo at each port and life slowing down completely.

The following tips might not generalize because they are specific to the boat I took, the route we went from Manaus to Tabatinga and the time of year that I did it (high river.)

Tips for Amazon Ferry Rides.

1. The type of hammock you get doesn´t make much difference. They are pretty much all the same at the docks (just make sure to get the normal wide one.) I paid 25R for mine with the two pieces of rope you need to tie it up. It is easy to tie up, or ask someone to help you.
2. When choosing your boat try and get one of the large boats. We took the Manuel Monteiro III, one of the largest boats on the route. The locals told us it was the most comfortable.I paid 340R for a hammock space.
3. A cabin bed was 500R, had airconditioning and even a little balcony. Not too much more for a lot more comfort. I would still recommend the hammock because you will meet a lot more people that way.
4. Get to the boat early to tie up your hammock. Make sure you are away from the toilets and eating area. We went 7 hours before the boat left and then came back later with the rest of our gear.
5. You do not need a cup and utensils. These are provided on the boat.If you bring your own though you can take the food out and eat it on the deck.
6. Bring lots of entertainment - cards, music, books, juggling balls etc.
7. Make sure to bring a phrase book for portugese and/or spanish. You will have lots of chances to practice.
8. At night it gets cold. Bring a blanket and wrap up in the night.
9. You do not need to bring water. There is filtered water on the boat.
10. The mosquitos are not bad, you will need some repellent only when
the boat slows down and the water is still.
11. (bonus). If, as my Danish traveling companion did, you ´meet´ a local girl, then make sure that she doesn´t have a boyfriend waiting at the end of the trip. This will cause problems. Lots and lots of problems :)

I am taking a fast boat to Iquitos tomorrow morning at 4am and hopefully getting a flight there to Lima. There are no roads out of the town and no boats either (except for north to Ecuador.) It was US$65 for the fast boat and it takes 10 hours.