I started writing this blog post back in April which is wild and magical because the images I had at that time were pretty sparse. When I first visited the Amazon Rainforest in Leticia, Colombia I arrived with my iPhone 11 and a GoPro. I found the trip to be completely transformative. I selected my lodgings on intuition and the intention that I would find somewhere to do Ayahuasca.
To say that I wasn’t focused on photography is an understatement. I came ill-equipped to capture the beauty of the rainforest. I lacked equipment as well as the capability to charge the equipment I brought.
This past summer I experienced the Colombian Amazon in a totally different way. Rather than focusing on the spiritual side I found that I could explore the physical beauty of the rainforest through photography. Through encountering her physical beauty I also felt her spirit.
Images of Leticia and Santa Sofia, Colombia
Leticia is a city that lies on the border between Colombia, Peru and Brazil in the far south of the country. As far as I could tell there are no roads you can take to arrive in Leticia. Instead one must book a plane from Bogotá, or arrive by boat by coming up the Amazon River from Iquitos, Peru or another port.
About Leticia and Amazonian Communities
Leticia is the big-city hub that connects visitors to smaller communities along the Amazon River which can only be reached by river taxi. As well as being the first stop in the jungle for tourists, Leticia is also an important place for people from the indigenous communities along the river. People arrive in Leticia to sell produce and fish, and buy foods that they cannot produce in the jungle. An example of that is rice.
The life in Leticia feels heavy, hot and slow. Each morning springs bright and cool and by afternoon the heat settles in heavily and lies heavily across the city like a heavy towel. All movement stills under her weight, even air currents and breezes let go of their relentless labor. Heat that insists that all beings submit, stop and rest.
On one edge of the city the Amazon River flows wide, appearing endless. Here you will the port with its busy comings and goings as boats of varying sizes slip in and out, sometimes shoving into the middle of clusters of canoes like arrows, nuzzling up to the mud bank as water slaps their wooden sides.
Amazon Rainforest in Santa Sofia, Colombia
From the port in Leticia I took a river taxi to Santa Sofia, a mixed indigenous community which lies around 30 kilometers down the Amazon River. I say the community is mixed indigenous because Santa Sofia isn’t home to people from one single tribe, but is mixed Kokama and Tikuna.
Where I stayed at Reserva Tucuchira the sounds of the rainforest burst through the vegetation while hammocks rustled and creaked during the day as the guests rested during the hottest parts of the day.
In the Reserva Tucuchira
The Reserva Tucuchira is an indigenous-owned reserve very close to Santa Sofia. To arrive there you need to arrive in Santa Sofia and be picked up by a guide who will take you through the rainforest by boat to the reserve. There they have an outdoor kitchen and dining area with plenty of hammocks, drinking water and games to play. They have a bunk house where you can rent a bed for around $10 per night.
The reserve has indigenous guides with whom visitors can book day trips like kayaking the little rivers that invade the forest every year during the rainy season, visiting the Tikuna pueblo of Progreso, going on a pink dolphin watch, etc. There are many different options for guests to choose from.
One thing that is unique about Tucuchira is that they do not have a power generator and when night falls all becomes completely overcome by darkness, sounds from the rainforest bursting through the night. At the hostel all is illuminated in candlelight. The fact that there are no power generators with their attendant loud noises to disturb the surrounding wildlife means that many creatures arrive very close to the reserve.
Saddleback Tamarins
Occasionally one would hear squeaks and whistles among the shaking leaves of the canopy, soon accompanied by lightning-fast black and white streaks suddenly appearing on the white branches of the trees surrounding the little open air kitchen.
“Mono, mono mono monoooo! Come monkey!”
Saddleback tamarins were daily visitors and always a treat to see.
“We feed monkeys here,” a guide told me the moment I arrived.
While photographing these lightning quick monkeys I very quickly learned to adjust my camera to allow for a very fast shutter speed. The first few photographs came out as little more than black blurs! These monkeys seem to be common visitors in the Colombian Amazon Rainforest.
Insects, Tarantulas and Frogs
The majority of animal life that I saw other than monkeys were insects, tarantulas and frogs. While staying in the jungle I did an evening/night walk with a guide as well as an overnight camping trip in the jungle. Entering the thick underbrush the air becomes still and hot. Heavy sweat coated my face as we hiked through.
“The animals you see depend on your energy,” guides repeatedly told me, “the jungle responds to your energy.”
The jungle thought I needed to see many frogs! It was amazing because the first time I went to the Amazon Rainforest I was hoping to see poison dart frogs and never saw one. In the Reserva I saw many.
The consistent hum of the rainforest speaks of little lives being lived in the underbrush. Many times I would have walked right over some of these frogs except that the sharp eyes of my guides spotted them in the shadows.
When I saw the last photograph up close in my camera roll I felt so excited! “What’s on her back?” I asked my guide. “Her eggs!” My guides were as interested as I was seeing these animals up close on film. I hesitate to identify the animals that I photograph because there is a lot of nuance in animal species that I, as an amateur, will not catch.
Plant Life
Besides being enamored by the poison dart frogs I also found myself drawn to the beautiful pops of color and texture offered by plants. My guides were very knowledgeable about the plants of the jungle. They knew of their medicinal properties and told many stories about using these plants for different purposes. Even curing venomous snake bite!
In indigenous cosmology every living being in the rainforest has a spirit. They are all interconnected, their own little community. Humans must ask for permission to enter and take very seriously their time in the rainforest knowing that they are but one life out of many there, and not the most important life.
Where to Stay in Santa Sofia + Helpful Links
This post really isn’t about where to stay or travel tips, but I don’t want to leave anyone wondering! I have stayed in two different places in Santa Sofia and I recommend both. The first was Reserva Tucuchira. The second was Curuinsi Huasi. Curuinsi Huasi (Casa de la Hormiga; The house of the ant) is a small indigenous community of Kokama. In order to stay with them reach out through Facebook or Instagram.
iVisa
Another helpful website to check out is iVisa. I strongly recommend that you take the time to do a quick search of the visas and travel documents that you need to enter Colombia. Even if a country does not require a visa you can still find out which other documents you need in order to enter. Colombia needs a migration form. If you need help getting these things filled out, they can help with that too.
