Yesterday I arrived in Leticia, Colombia. It was a pleasant 90-minute flight from Bogotá, but it is always a bit disconcerting when a landing strip just appears from out of nowhere, but no worries, we landed just fine. I’ll call Leticia a modern city, isolated but modern.
Why Leticia
I am here until for a few days when I take the reverse of the flight that I came in on. There is only the one flight per day in/out and no roads to anywhere. [There is one very nice, paved road that comes to abrupt stop about 35 km outside of Leticia.] So it is fair to say that I am isolated. [It amazes me how there is internet access in the middle of nowhere] Leticia itself is relatively safe. The narcoterrorists that remain in the south of Colombia are hiding in the jungles [aka where there is no civilization, there is no policia]. While it certainly is an interesting place to visit, I certainly would not want to live here. I think for me it’s just the feeling of being trapped in one place with no easy escape plan.
Leticia has all of the services one might need and it is a good place to start feeling like I am really in South America [on the flip side, it was nice to get out of the cold that is Bogotá]. The only negative [in my opinion] is that there are mosquitoes everywhere. Way more that I thought I would see, but I have my DEET lotion, and although I wasn’t planning to start taking my malaria medicine until I reached the Ecuadorian Amazon, I started taking it upon arrival so hopefully I will stay disease free.
I only have 2 goals for my week in Leticia. Goal 1. Validate my visa in Brazil. Goal 2. Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner in three different countries. Otherwise, I am planning on enjoying my leisurely stay in the jungle.
And the Amazon?
I’m not planning on doing a tour. I will be doing one near the end of my trip. Although avoiding the “tour guides” may prove to be quite difficult. I don’t feel any more unsafe here as a single female than I would as part of a couple/group. While I will talk to people, I still avoid cabs and such. [If I am going to get kidnapped by a cab driver, I’d prefer it happen at the end of my trip. I’d also rather it to happen in a less isolated place. At least that way, I can have some fun in the meantime].
Shout out to the band FUR’s Where did all the people go for the inspiration for this post’s title
