The Triple Frontier

With an eye on our (OSM powered) maps the first surprise on arrival at Santa Rosa was that we were being dropped off on what appeared on the map to be a separate island. Our moto taxi driver explained the reason for this, the drought that had affected so much of Amazonia had also changed the endpoint for a ferry that had been unable to run a few weeks before our arrival. In reality the two islands shown on the map are currently one, with a dip on the muddy track being the only indicator.

The triple frontier is a curious place, there are no formal border control posts, you have to go on arrival from Iquitos to the immigration office in Santa Rosa to get the Peruvian exit stamp, a pre-condition for subsequently getting entry into Colombia or Brazil. We were almost the first ones there at the office and the exit process took about 5 minutes. Then it was down to the boats that take you across to Leticia (in Colombia) or neighbouring Tabatinga (in Brazil). It’s a short crossing, I had read a couple of months earlier that in the worst moments of the drought people were able to cross on foot. That’s no longer the case, but the creek taking us in to Leticia had barely enough water to permit incoming and outgoing boats to get past each other.

Although we were landing in Colombia there are still no border formalities, only if you try to go somewhere else in the country outside of Leticia. So we had arrived in Peru, had our hostal accommodation in Colombia, and would be leaving from Brazil. Leticia has much more facilities than Santa Rosa or Tabatinga, it seemed like the best place of the three to stay.

The walk to the hostel was longer than we had expected, and with the sun out and carrying all our stuff it was the first time I really felt the Amazonian heat. But we had a relaxing start to the day, on the assumption from our research that we weren’t going to be leaving on the next boat from Tabatinga for at least a couple of days. A tasting of Colombian beers (Poker won first prize from the jury), a walk around the centre and lunch in the market watching the torrential downpour outside that would help restore the river and carry us to Belem. Then with the last of the rain we took a walk into Brazil, Tabatinga adjoins Leticia and there is an arch welcoming you to Brazil but again no further controls.

It’s still quite fascinating to see how things change when you cross even an open border like this. We walked through Tabatinga heading for the port and checking out places that sold hammocks, the main essential purchase for our no frills boat to Manaus. Down in the port they confirmed that there was a boat on the day we had expected, but we would have to return to buy the tickets because we still had no Brazilian money. We would have two more full days on the triple frontier. There would of course have to be some time for mapping.