Tabatinga & Leticia

I'm one thousand kilometers away from Manaus, and I am still in the Amazone. The jungle is absolutely gigantic. I'm currently staying in the Brazilian town of Tabatinga, which is border both with Colombia and Peru. Life seems to take place more in the Colombian side (named Leticia), so I spend here most of the day. Crossing the border is as easy as crossing the street (by the way, Colombia has a reputation for being a dangerous country, but this place is guerrilla free, so don't worry too much). Both towns, especially Leticia, are full of life. Buzzling motorbikes everywhere, lots of people in the streets, and terrible melodramatic latin music (Cadena Dial style) full volume in every bar, home or business with the door open (almost all of them).The most anoying thing so far are the light hours ('tis dark right now). Being close to the Equator, there is daylight between 6am and 6pm, and this I presume all year long. But 6pm is still too early to go to bed, and locals remain in the street until close to midnight. Just, being dark I don't feel like adventuring into new places. I feel pretty safe here though, but it's always good to take precautions. About heat, I'm more or less coping. It's fine if I am still, but I begin to sweat as long as I start moving. This makes me end up drinking several litres per day of tropical fruit juices -delicious-. About water, I am a bit suspicious. They don't sell mineral water here, but "pure water", purified following a certain industrial process. But the company name is Rio (=river), so I wonder if they are actually bottling the Amazon. Today I went kayaking in a lake and a river nearby. It was quite fun, although I ended up very tired. I guess I should exercise a bit more, especially my arms. I suppose that typing in the computer doesn't develop much my biceps, does it? Other things, as well as in Manaus, the river is a very important part of life here. Transportation of goods and people take place mainly by boat, food (fish) may come from there too, and even a number of people actually live on the river (floating houses). In addition, the waterfront is typically the best place for making contacts, arranging trips, and so on. For tomorrow I am planning a visit to a Brazilian community that lives on caucho, and I was promised a gastronomic experience too. We'll see. And the day after tomorrow I may go to Puerto Nariño, a nearby village where I should be able to arrange some more trips in the jungle. Then, somewhere next week, I will move on to Peru.