The impressive expanses of the Amazon and the danger of the tipping point

When my friend Joann from France sent me pictures a few months ago of how he had travelled across the Amazon on a boat, I knew I wanted to do the same!
Joann’s photos showed a wide boat on the Amazon with various goods and even a cow on board. And seeing the Amazon and travelling for days on the river sounded like an exotic dream to me! After all, the Amazon is the most water-rich river in the world and has more water at its mouth than the next six smallest rivers put together! The Amazon region is also home to an incredible number of animals and a large number of indigenous tribes, probably the most important green lung in the world and an absolute factor in the international climate crisis.
If we succeed in better protecting the Amazon rainforest, we will be a big step closer to climate protection. Because, as we are constantly reading, a lot of rainforest is currently being cut down: for palm oil, for soya cultivation (which is then fed to animals in Europe and elsewhere), for livestock farming, for mining (especially aluminium) and in Ecuador also for the extraction of crude oil. Just two months ago, the Ecuadorian people voted in a referendum in favour of a permanent halt to oil extraction in the Yasuni Park, one of the most biodiverse areas on earth. Former President Rafael Correa had launched a campaign in 2007 promising not to touch the oil in the Yasuni Park if international donors paid Ecuador half of the expected profits. However, the approx. 6 billion US dollars did not materialise and so he released the extraction in 2013. After long battles, environmentalists were able to push through a referendum and the government and oil companies now have a year to withdraw from the area. The decision was highly controversial due to the enormous economic importance of the oil for Ecuador.
And there has also been more and more good news from Brazil since the change of government to Inácio Lula da Silva. His predecessor Jair Bolsonaro had strongly fuelled the (illegal) overexploitation of the rainforest. Under his government, deforestation increased abruptly by 70%, corporations were supported in their deforestation and forest fires were only half-heartedly combated. For the first time, the Amazon rainforest emitted more CO2 than it absorbed.
Lula da Silva has now successfully curbed this again, so that the German government is also releasing the funds frozen in recent years. These international funds have been channelled into Lula’s plan to stop deforestation by 2030. Studies on the plan certify that it is possible to reduce deforestation by 89%. Lula in his first term of office and his successor Dilma Rousseff had already succeeded in reducing deforestation by 80% by 2019. Rapid success is now hugely important because the Amazon rainforest is at a tipping point: Around 18% of the area is currently deforested. Scientists assume that the tipping point would be reached at 20 – 25%, at which point the water cycle of the rainforest would collapse and the Amazon region would gradually develop into a savannah. The consequences for the global climate: unforeseeable, but certainly devastating!
Under another Bolsonaro presidency, this point would undoubtedly have been reached; with Lula, there is now hope. However, there is a conservative majority in parliament and the influence of the agricultural lobby is strong. So it remains exciting, just like everywhere else in the world when it comes to climate protection.

From Ecuador to Peru – Day 1

The Amazon region is also extremely exciting in political terms, so my plan had been finalised months ago. I only found out later that a large part of the journey from Ecuador to Peru doesn’t actually cross the Amazon itself, but rather the Napo tributary, but I didn’t really care:

What I have now learnt is that the Amazon River does not have its source in a mountain range, but originates in Peru from the two rivers Marañon and Ucayali. The entire area of rainforest around the numerous tributaries of the Amazon is usually referred to as the Amazon region and covers an area of over 6 million square kilometres in a total of 9 countries, about 18 times the size of Germany. With all the figures on the Amazon, it should be mentioned that there are sometimes different figures. Many things, such as the area currently being cleared, can only be estimated.
Back to my trip through the Amazon: even though many Peruvians and Ecuadorians are travelling the route and I particularly liked the fact that a few friends of mine decided to make this trip at the same time. This meant we could embark on the adventure together and it was also cheaper.
Together with Chris and Manon from Marseille and Natalie and Nicolas from Germany, we set off early on Thursday morning. The night before, we had stayed with Alex and Samantha near Coca. Friends of Joann’s who were incredibly kind and took all five of us in. I was there a day earlier and celebrated her birthday with Alex and Samantha.
We travelled from Coca at 8am on the speedboat across the Rio Napo to Nueva Rocafuerte, the last village on the border between Ecuador and Peru. The journey on the speedboat wasn’t that exciting as it was simply too fast to concentrate on the landscape in peace, but this meant that we arrived at the border much earlier to stamp out and cross over into Peru. This was recommended to us beforehand and wasn’t a bad idea because Nico was held up for over an hour: when he travelled from Colombia to Ecuador, someone had probably accidentally registered his Colombian citizenship and the officials at the border wanted to have this changed first. As the reception in the middle of the rainforest is poor, it took some time, but then we were able to take the next boat to the first village on the Peruvian side in about 30 minutes: Pantoja. Arriving in Peru was cool. Pantoja is a small village with a few hundred inhabitants. Electricity here is only generated by generators and so there is only electricity from 6pm to 11pm. So we had to wait until 6pm for the migration. We used the time to have a beer with the locals and play some music. Then we went for a swim and a walk around the village and I played a game of football with a few local kids.

A few relaxing days in the hammock – in the middle of the river

After we got our stamp, we organised our onward journey for the next day. The boat that we had heard travelled on Fridays and Tuesdays turned out to be another speedboat, which would have taken us to Iquitos in a day and a half, but we would have had to sit in it the whole time. Fortunately, we found another commercial boat, which also set off for Iquitos the next day. The Harrison travels irregularly through the Amazon region, so it was lucky that it happened to be there. Travelling on the Harrison was not only cheaper (just under 25 instead of 70 euros!), but also much more comfortable and slower: just what we were looking for to enjoy the trip across the Amazon and take in the scenery in peace. And as if that wasn’t enough, we were also able to hang our hammocks in the ship and chill out in them during the day and sleep at night – our absolute backpacker’s dream!
The next morning at 5 a.m. we were standing in front of the Harrison as ordered, but it was still a while before we set off – Peru is also in Latin America 😀
We spent a total of three days on board the Harrison, whose already slow progress was further affected by the water level. In a dry season, which was even drier than it already was thanks to climate change, there were a number of sandbanks that we had to avoid. During the day, this only cost us time, but at night it also put the crew’s nerves on edge and we actually got stuck on a sandbank once – but fortunately only briefly and we were able to free ourselves again. On the way to Pantoja, Edgar, the captain, told me, they were once stuck from 9pm until 4am. In January and February, however, during the rainy season, the river rises by several metres and the boats can simply sail through without having to worry too much. But I thought the rivers were already so full of water and impressive!

We spent most of our time on the boat together on deck, chatting, making music and playing games. I enjoyed socialising with the many Peruvians and Ecuadorians and it brought me a lot closer to the next new country on my trip.
I also used the time to sort out photos, write my blog and catch up on sleep. I found it extremely beneficial to have no mobile phone reception the whole time!
On the way, we passed many small settlements along the riverbank. The people there generally speak Spanish and an indigenous language and most of them live from farming. So it happened a few times that we were offered goods from the riverbank or from a canoe. Once the crew stopped to get a few pieces of meat for dinner. However, the farmer didn’t want to trade for goods from our boat, but only accepted cash, which seemed to surprise our crew.
On the second day in the morning, we were able to disembark for half an hour in a small village, but it wasn’t easy to buy anything as we only had dollars and hardly anyone wanted to exchange them for sol (the Peruvian currency, 1 euro equals approx. 4 soles). Nevertheless, it was nice to walk around on land and explore the village a little before continuing on. Another shore leave in the evening, which was actually only intended for dinner, was extended by a few hours so that we had time to go to a small bar with loud music and dance a little with the locals, although most of the time it was just us dancing.

Anaconda, river otter and co

After a total of four days from Ecuador and three days on the Harrison, we arrived at our destination – Iquitos – and the days on board together were very bonding. I am still in contact with some of them and I travelled on for a few more days with a couple from Malta, Christine and Sean.
And the next few days were also super special: I got a great contact for a jungle tour via a couchsurfer, which only cost a quarter of what I was offered in Ecuador. For three days and two nights, Christine, Sean and I travelled into the jungle with two guides. We paddled through the rainforest in a small canoe along a tributary of the Amazon and saw an incredible number of amazing animals and plants. The highlights were definitely river dolphins, river otters, small caimans and a 4 metre (!) long anaconda, which had apparently eaten a caiman a few days earlier. And so my fantastic time in the Amazon region was wonderfully rounded off.

Detailed instructions for the boat adventure

Here’s everything you need to know if you want to travel by boat across the Napo and Amazon rivers yourself.
Firstly, a few basic things:

It can get pretty hot in the Amazon and there are lots of mosquitoes! So sun cream is a must and you should buy it in Coca at the latest. I also think mosquito spray is very important. I had a mosquito net with me and can also recommend it. However, depending on how fast your boat is travelling and where you are staying, you may not need one.

Depending on how you want to travel across the rivers, you need to allow some time. There are two times a week where you can cover the distance in 2.5 days, but then you’ll be travelling on speedboats and won’t be able to enjoy the scenery as much. If you want to travel on a commercial boat like we did, you’ll have to be lucky or wait a few days.

In general, the “bottleneck” is the stretch between Pantoja and Mazán. There are connections from Coca to Pantoja and from Mazán to Iquitos every day. More details below.

It is also possible to hitchhike on this route, but this can take quite a long time, as most of the boats that travel here do so for commercial reasons and therefore charge money. However, the almost 100 soles on the commercial boat from Pantoja to Iquitos was really not too much.

There are no ATMs in the small towns along the Amazon and poor exchange rates for dollars/euros. If you can, it’s best to exchange money in Coca so that you have soles with you to Iquitos.

From Iquitos you can find other boats to continue down the Amazon to Colombia and then Brazil. Or if you want to continue travelling in Peru, you can take another boat from Iquitos to Yurimaguas. There is a speedboat from Iquitos to Yurimaguas that takes around 18 hours (depending on the water level) and costs 160 soles (40 euros). Alternatively, there is also a slow boat that takes two days, but I don’t know the price.

If you want to do a tour into the rainforest in Peru, I recommend that you don’t do it from Iquitos, but from Lagunas. You’re sure to get a good price from the Acatupel travel agency if you mention my name. Marita was super nice and has become a friend. I get nothing for the recommendation, except maybe a lovely note from Marita.

All this information is from October 2023, no guarantee that the departure times or opening hours of the Migration Offices may not change. So if it’s 2025 by the time you read this, it’s best to ask again.

From Coca to Nueva Rocafuerte

As already mentioned, there are boats on this route every day. They usually start between 7 and 8 in the morning and have fixed timetables, which you can find out in Coca. To be on the safe side, you should buy your ticket the day before.
There is a speedboat that takes 4-5 hours to Nova Rocafuerte and cost us 38 dollars per person. There is also a slower boat that allows you to enjoy the scenery better and only costs 21 dollars. However, this boat takes quite a long time (approx. 7 – 8 hours), especially when the water level is low. As a rule, you should make it in time for the migration in Nova Rocafuerte, which closes at 5 pm, but there is a small risk if you want to travel to Pantoja on the same day. Because you absolutely have to check out of Ecuador in Nueva Rocafuerte and get a stamp!

From Nueva Rocafuerte to Pantoja

It’s only about 30 minutes by boat from Nova Rocafuerte to Pantoja on the Peruvian side. The boats do not have fixed departure times, but can simply be booked on site. You will probably be offered one as soon as you arrive in Nueva Rocafuerte. If you get in touch with me, I can also send you a contact.
The drivers charge around 50 dollars, regardless of how many people are travelling on the boat.
If you want to spend the night in Nueva Rocafuerte, there is cheap accommodation here or you can pitch your tent. However, if you don’t want to go to the Yasuni National Park (which is quite expensive), I recommend travelling on to Pantoja.

From Pantoja to Iquitos

In Pantoja you have to check in before travelling on to Peru and get a stamp in your passport. However, the migration office usually only opens in the evening from 6 pm, as there is only electricity by generator in the village from 6 pm to 11 pm. (as of 2023)
There is a hostel in Pantoja where we were able to stay for 4 dollars per person. Of course you can also camp here. It’s best to check which boat you take first, you may be able to sleep on the boat.
There is also a fast boat from Pantoja. This has a timetable and departs early in the morning on Fridays and Tuesdays (as of October 2023). You can buy the ticket the day before. On the first day, this boat takes you to Santa Clotilde, where you spend the night ashore. The next morning at 4 a.m. you continue to Mazán, from where you take a moto-taxi to Indiana and then another boat to Iquitos. This fast boat will take you to Iquitos at noon on the second day (third day from Coca). However, the price is quite high at 270 soles (approx. 70 dollars) and the relaxation factor is low, as you have a fixed seat on the boat.
For the alternative, you need a bit of time or luck. For us, it went really well, as a merchant ship (the Harrison, as described above) left on the same day as the speedboat. It took us three days from Pantoja to Iquitos on the Harrison. However, we only paid 100 soles (approx. 25 dollars), were able to move freely on the slow-moving boat, enjoy the view and sleep in our hammocks on the boat.

From Iquitos to Yurimaguas

There is no road from Iquitos to the rest of Peru. If, like me, you want to protect the environment and don’t want to fly, you can continue travelling from Iquitos to Yurimaguas. The best way to do this is to take a bus or a collectivo to Nauta and from there boats leave for Yurimaguas every day. Again, there are fast and slow boats. The fast boats leave in the afternoon at around 4pm and arrive in Yurimaguas at midday the next day. I paid 160 soles (40 dollars) for this boat. The slow boat takes two days and is much cheaper, but I don’t know the exact price.

Iquitos to Coca

If you want to do the route the other way round, it doesn’t really change much. You can look for a boat directly from Iquitos to Pantoja. There you can punch out, then take the same boats as described above to Nueva Rocafuerte, punch in and then there is a boat to Coca. Unfortunately, I don’t know the departure times of the boats around here. If I find out, I’ll add them here. You have to consider that this way round the whole trip will take you longer because its against the current most of the time.

Supplement: My friend Nicolas travelled from Iquitos to Coca and has compiled the following information for you:

Iquitos – Pantoja:
You can find the fast boat at Transporte Vichu in calle Maynas 360. According to Nico, they leave on Tuesdays and Saturdays and cost 270 soles.
There is no office and no fixed times for the slow boats. Nico found some in Puerto Ranza that take 4 days and cost 130 soles. But there are certainly others. If you want to do this trip, please contact me a few days in advance and then I can ask a friend in Iquitos if he is travelling the route in the near future.

Pantoja – Nueva Rocafuerte:
There are no fixed times in this direction either, but locally there are several boats that go on request. Nico paid 15 dollars together with another person who also paid 15 dollars. It is important to bear in mind that it takes longer against the current.

Nueva Rocafuerte – Coca:
The slow boat for 21 dollars departs from Nova Rocafuerte at 6am. The fast boat leaves at 12 noon and costs 39 dollars. As far as I know, there are boats on this route every day.

If you decide to do this, you’ll have a really great time and enjoy fantastic views. Have fun!

If you want to know more about the Darién-gap and why it is dangerous for refugees, you can read here in my blog: About the Darién-gap

General Advices

1. It is possible and it’s not dangerous, you just need time and might get quite wet, so raincover is a must I would say.

2. The trip should definitely cost less than 200 $, you can even get it for less than 100 with a bit of luck or time. I’ll explain the costs below.

3. Speaking Spanish helps (like everywhere in Latinamerica), but you will also solve it without.

4. The route is from Panama City to Carti (San Blas Port), then with one or several boats to Puerto Obaldia where you check out of Panamá. Next boat to Capurgana in Colombia to get your passport stamped again and then you take a ferry to Necocli or Turbo from where you can take buses or hitchhike.

5. This whole trip can take 2 days if everything works very well, but I would at least calculate 3-4 days. Especially if you try to save money.

6. Of course you can also hitchhike on this route but I don’t know how long this will take because normally all the boats along the coast take money (except for the police). For hitchhiking you should frequent sailing boat marinas which are located in other places.

Now let’s come to the route:

Panama City to Carti

There are Jeeps which cost 30 $ from Panama City to Carti.
But you can also take a bus from the bus station Albrook to El Llano for 2,5 $ and from there you take a Taxi Collectivo or you hitchhike which worked perfectly fine for me.

Carti to Puerto Obaldia

This is the longest part which is also most expensive and complicated, because there are many options:
There are two different boats which drive every 5 – 10 days from Carti to Puerto Obaldia.  If you contact them with anticipation, this is the easiest way! It should cost 100 $. Contact me, if you want their contact. (kai-echelmeyer (at) web.de)
If not with them, you have to work your way along the coast. If you find a boat to Armila, Caledonia or Coetupo, that’s perfect because from these places it’s not far to Puerto Obaldia. But not every day a boat leaves to these destinations. As Carti is only the port and people live on the islands, staying there over night is quite expensive.
But from Carti it is easy to go to Narganá, which is already 1,5 hours in the right direction. In Narganá people were super friendly to me and sleeping there is cheaper than at Carti. (Hostal Noris 15$)
Normally the boats from Carti along the coast stop in Narganá and there’s also boats starting from Narganá. Just ask your way through.
It can happen that a boat from Carti does not stop at Narganá. So happened to me. But then I got an even better option.
Two cheaper options:
1. There are merchant boats which travel from village to village. This is cheaper, maybe you can even hitchhike it. But they take several days or even longer than a week. If you have time, I think this must be amazing because you get to know the little villages along the coast.
2. The border police sometimes travels from Narganá to Puerto Obaldia and then they also take guests – for free!!! I went with them and so I saved around 80 $ 😍 For this option ask your way through to the border police station in Narganá.

Puerto Obaldia to Capurganá

Important that you first get your stamp to leave Panamá! You need a copy of your passport at the migration but there’s a copy shop in front.
Boats to Capurgana take around 20 min and leave quite often. You pay 20 – 25 per person if you go with others. And ~40 if its only you.

Capurgana – Necocli or Turbo

The last boat you have to take!
There are several ferries, quick and cost 85.000 COP.
Important again that you first get your stamp to enter Colombia. Often the electricity fails, so you might have to wait at migration office a bit.
If you have to stay in Capurgana, Marlin Azul is a quite cheap hostel.

Enjoy the trip, it’s an amazing experience and I met super nice people 😊

If you’re searching for an instruction in detail, how to get from Panama to Colombia or the other way around, check this out.

The Darién Gap and the dangers of the jungle for refugees

And the jungle is not entirely penetrable after all, and those who see no other option still cross it: fugitives, people who are denied legal routes to Panama, in recent years mainly from Venezuela, followed by Haiti, Ecuador and Colombia, but there are also larger numbers of people from Asia, e.g. India, Bangladesh & Afghanistan, or Africa, e.g. Senegal, Cameroon or Somalia. Especially with Haiti, I had a question mark during the research, the country is much closer to the USA than the Darién Gap. But many people from Haiti had fled to South America after the severe earthquake in 2010, but are facing more and more problems here and are therefore looking for the way to the USA. In 2021, around 60% of Haitians crossed the Darién Gap.
Tens of thousands of the refugees try to cross the Darién Gap overland in order to travel on from Panama towards the USA (at least most of them). Apart from the fact that they still have a long journey through Central America ahead of them and that many are picked up and mistreated at the border to the USA, the Darién Gap is probably the most dangerous part of this journey. For on the more than 100km long odyssey through the jungle there are not only many dangerous animals such as snakes, lack of food/drinking water and diseases such as yellow fever, but also various criminal gangs such as paramilitaries (e.g. Gulf Clan), guerrillas (e.g. FARC) and drug gangs, who make money by smuggling people and unscrupulously deal with the fugitives, steal from them, rape them, etc. The Darién Gap is a very dangerous place.
Although there are certainly other routes, the main route is via the Colombian town of Necoclí, where I also arrived by boat. There, the fugitives often have to wait for weeks to be taken by boat to Acandí, where they begin the trek through the jungle that leads them to Bajo Chiquito, where they are cared for by aid organisations like MSF or UNICEF if they make it there.
One mother reported that she paid 4000 US dollars to be guided through the jungle with her children and mother-in-law, but that the guide left her alone after two days and turned around with the money.
According to the government of Panama, about 248,000 people crossed the Darién Gap in 2022, including more than 40,000 children. Ten years ago, the number was just a few hundred. And in 2023, the previous year’s figure was already surpassed by the end of July, according to the deputy director of the Panamanian Migration Authority. According to her, about 20% were minors.
According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), at least 36 people died in 2022 trying to cross the Darién Gap, but the dark figure will be far higher, as most people lost in the jungle do not reappear. With the reported missing, the number rises to 137. And even the IOM itself states that these are only the registered ones and that the dark figure is likely to be many times higher.
There are many articles and also videos on the subject that I have read and I would like to recommend the following to you if you want to read further:
https://www.cfr.org/article/crossing-darien-gap-migrants-risk-death-journey-us

By boat from Panama to Colombia!

The goal of this trip is clearly to travel sustainably, which is why I hitchhiked across the Atlantic in boats, why I didn’t buy a van, but travel by hitchhiking or in a coach, and why it was clear to me that I didn’t want to fly from Panama to Colombia.
The Darién Gap doesn’t make that easy and on top of that there was a certain time pressure to meet my sister in Colombia. Looking for a boat to hitchhike with was therefore out of the question, because you always need time for that and the route from Panama to Colombia is not that busy with private sailboats (a lot of tourist sailboats that cost 500 euros or more).
Luckily, through our large Hitchhiker community, I knew several who had already made this trip with speedboats along the coast, because there is no ferry (anymore). Really crazy and fatal for the climate.
But there are some small coastal towns along the coast of Panama that can only be reached by boat because of the Darién Gap (some of them possibly by plane). This means that the people from there travel by boat and that the supply of food also mainly works by boat. And if there are boats that travel along the coast, then there is also the possibility to travel there.
To travel along the coast, you first have to go from Panama City to the port of Cartí, which you can reach by jeep. I took the bus as far as I could and then hitchhiked the rest of the way to Cartí.
I had previously received two contacts of boats that go directly from Cartí to the border. However, they don’t run very regularly and I would have had to wait over a week, which I didn’t have. So I set off on the unknown journey in the hope of finding boats along the coast.
On the first day it went very well, I not only made it from Panama City to Cartí, but also from there to Nargana. I was able to get on a boat full of petrol cans, a boat full of food could have taken me otherwise.
Nargana is a small town on two islands connected by a bridge. I spent a very nice evening there with the locals, who were super sweet. By asking around, I found out that a boat would have to come by the next day and that it would leave an hour before the border. The rest would have been a piece of cake, but unfortunately, contrary to what all the locals said, the boat did not stop in Naraganá and passed by. My only chance was gone and I was a bit depressed. I would have to stay in Narganá for another day and if I kept moving so slowly, I would miss my sister’s birthday in Colombia….
But then a man gave me a crucial tip: the border police have a base in Narganá and sometimes drive to the border. So I went there and sure enough, the next day a boat went to the border that could take me. Not only was I back in the running to get to Colombia on time, but I also saved myself 80 dollars that I would otherwise have paid for the boat.
In the afternoon I was invited to a birthday party and two public parties in Narganá and I will keep the village in very good memory. The teacher David invited me to his house, where I stayed overnight, and the next day I took two police boats to Puerto Obaldia at the border. The trip was really something. Not only were we shaken by waves, but we also got caught in a thunderstorm, were completely soaked for over 30 minutes and the driver didn’t know where he was going. But in the end I arrived safely, albeit soaking wet, in Puerto Obaldia, was able to pick up my stamp and take another boat across the border to Capurganá, the first town in Colombia. There I got my entry stamp for Colombia and the next day I took a ferry to Necocli and from there a bus to Barranquilla, where I arrived at the bar an hour before my sister’s birthday so that we could celebrate it together.

If you’re searching for an instruction in detail, how to get from Panama to Colombia or the other way around, check this out.