3rd July - Three countries in a day!

So we arrive in Santa Rosa at about 11am, and get our 'exit' visa´s for Peru. Then we get a water boat taxi to take us to Brazil - to Tabatinga. There we don't find any immigration waiting for us to enter, and so we end up, after getting a few drinks of beer and cola (them and me!) to check into a hotel that a visitor from Switzerland recommends us, as he sees us in the street.

We check in, and I end up tagging along with the 3 foreigners who I had been following since we left the boat together. They had all gone ahead of me, and I followed them, as they seemed to know where our passports had been taken, and then seemed to know how to get to Brazil. It turns out Sebastian, Florian, and Joachim were from Austria, and they had travelled the river down to Iquitos from Ecuador, and were heading to visit a friend in Brazil, in Sao Paulo, after visiting Manaous.

I had originally planned to visit Manauaos myself - but deciding the journey would take too long, I had decided against it, and was planning to return to Peru the next day. As it happens, the Austrians were more than happy to share their room with me, and so I didn't really pay for much during my time in Brazil. Especially since they seemed to have the local money, and I didn't have anything but Peruvian Soles at the time.

I decided to go and buy some sandals, and in doing so, ended up spending over two hours chatting with the store keeper, who insisted I sit, and have some refreshments, as we talked (mainly repeatedly going back to the large shoe size I had, amongst other things!)

Well, returning to the hotel, I couldn't find sight of my Austrian buddies, and so went lookign for them. I first thought they'd have headed to a local place to eat, but I didn't see em anywhere to be found. Eventually, talking with a lady who served me some cheese and potato pie, I learned that there was celebrations happening that evening in Leticia, the next town down - and me being me I thought maybe they might have gone so far as there!

Getting onto the back of a motor taxi (read motorbike, with empty passenger seat behind!), I daringly ventured into the 'festival'. Upon arriving, at the Fiesta of San Pedro (a hallucinogenic Cactus!), I learnt that I had crossed into Columbia, and that Leticia was in a different country to Tabatinga, where we had our hotel.

After looking around briefly, deciding that there's no way that they would have been able to come all this way, alone, without leaving me a note at least, I decide to return to Brazil, and when I find the Austrians, to bring them along to here. The stage seems packed, with the audiences filling all the rows, and watching the performance, I'm sure they would appreciate it.

Returning to the hotel, with the same motortaxi, I arrive back at the hotel to find the Austrians playing cards, since clearly there doesn't seem to be anything to do in Tabatinga that evening.

We all get ready, and go to the fiesta for a few hours, in Colombia, and return back to get some sleep by 12 or 1 am the following morning. It was really beautiful seeing the fiesta, because everyone was joining in. Whilst you had whole groups of people standing around, as you'd expect, there'd be spontaneous acts of dancing by old people, as well as young. But most beautiful to watch was the older people... they had a grace and style, that did justice to the festive atmosphere, and reminded me of how in latino cultures, there just isn't the age difference in the same way... The old are as agile as the young, if not even stronger spirited even!

That night I slept well, tired from the travelling, and festivities!