Travel Ideas

The Amazon is the world’s largest river and runs down from Colombia and Peru to the Atlantic coast of Brazil in Belem. A week downstream from Belem to the Colombian border, double that upstream and another week more if you want to head into Peru – sound like the ultimate hard core travel journey?

It’s actually a complete hell trip, churning through the murky brown waters with the jungle kilometres away in the distance, trying not to go insane on overcrowded boats with a few hundred poor Brazilians jabbering away in hammocks.

Still, there’s no real reason why you shouldn’t make a real voyage out of it and try going by raft or canoe. With a good kayak you can go almost anywhere but make sure to bring loads of water purification tablets and mosquito repellent.

The real fun in the Amazon comes from heading through the smaller tributaries and hanging out with the tribes, drinking ayahuasca and discovering your jungle spirit. You’ll get hopelessly lost if you’re trying to cover any distance though and will have to stick to the main drag.

Tom has been traveling non-stop since the age of 18 and co-founded Road Junky in 2004. He’s the author of Hand to Mouth to India, an account of hitchhiking from England to India with no money and available via Amazon.

He also writes fiction for anyone who never really grew up and his latest novel is Bozo and the Storyteller – download the audio book for free or even buy a copy…

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