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Saturday morning and were off to see the anaconda a rare treat. Then we took off on foot for a walk through the forest. A native guide joined us from the Quecha indigenous community, Don Silvio and together they showed us how the native people had survived in the forest from their understanding of how plants can be used for medicinal use, food, traps and alcoholic drinks! We soon came across the take-your-pants-off ants, the second most vicious ant in the jungle. (the first is the bullet ant whose bite and poison is so strong it will make a grown man cry for three hours.) The t-y-p-o ants really like the taste of flesh, they can smell meat from the breath of an animal, and can bite through anything, including your pants, to find food. The floor of the jungle track we walked along became covered in ants and the guides got nervous. Soon it was cries of 'Rapido, Rapido!' and we all started running and stomping our feet to get rid of the ants. This wasn't the last time we had to run, later on the Don looks up, smells the air and says 'Wasps!' and its run forest run. Again.
Enrique decided is was time he got some entertainment from the gringos and so he introduced us to their version of 'I'm a celebrity, get me outta here'.Hacking into a rotten log he pulled out a beetle larvae.
This white grub pulsed in your hand, about the size of your thumb and enrique asked whose for lunch? 7 nationalities were represented in our group and guess who stepped up, the aussie. Martin bit the head off and spat it out, sucked the flesh, took a bite and gave the other half to his girlfriend who finished it off. 'Whats it like Martin' I asked, grinning his reply was 'still pulsating'. Beautiful.
After lunch it was time to swim in the amazon. The current flowed very fast, you can swim as fast as possible and never get anywhere. We asked if their were any piranhas and the locals said no, it's safe. (the next day we went piranha fishing about 50 meters away on the next bend of the river!) Butterflies were the most spotted animal in the jungle, all shapes, sizes and colours.
They landed everywhere, on your head, on patches of urine. See text on picture.
Later we took the motor canoe up stream looking for the grey and pink river dolphins, not as pink as kats old fiat cinquecento, the mighty pink one. This particular family of dolphins lived in the bend and gave occasional glimpses of their noses, backs and fins as they came up for air. Driving back to the camp we saw two eagles resting in the tree tops. Their wings completely open drying in the sun, a beautiful sight. The camera battery took this opportunity to die. We saw a sloth on the way back sitting up on his tree. This character takes four hours to climb down the tree so visiting the bathroom is a once a week task. Their only predator is the eagle and if an eagle comes in for attack the sloth's plan is to simply let go and free-fall out of the tree!
That evening we went out looking for Caymen, shinning torches in the river bank, you can spot Cayman by their eyes that turn red when they reflect the torch light.
Cooper Out in the jungle
Love Dan & Kat
Enrique decided is was time he got some entertainment from the gringos and so he introduced us to their version of 'I'm a celebrity, get me outta here'.Hacking into a rotten log he pulled out a beetle larvae.
This white grub pulsed in your hand, about the size of your thumb and enrique asked whose for lunch? 7 nationalities were represented in our group and guess who stepped up, the aussie. Martin bit the head off and spat it out, sucked the flesh, took a bite and gave the other half to his girlfriend who finished it off. 'Whats it like Martin' I asked, grinning his reply was 'still pulsating'. Beautiful.
After lunch it was time to swim in the amazon. The current flowed very fast, you can swim as fast as possible and never get anywhere. We asked if their were any piranhas and the locals said no, it's safe. (the next day we went piranha fishing about 50 meters away on the next bend of the river!) Butterflies were the most spotted animal in the jungle, all shapes, sizes and colours.
They landed everywhere, on your head, on patches of urine. See text on picture.
Later we took the motor canoe up stream looking for the grey and pink river dolphins, not as pink as kats old fiat cinquecento, the mighty pink one. This particular family of dolphins lived in the bend and gave occasional glimpses of their noses, backs and fins as they came up for air. Driving back to the camp we saw two eagles resting in the tree tops. Their wings completely open drying in the sun, a beautiful sight. The camera battery took this opportunity to die. We saw a sloth on the way back sitting up on his tree. This character takes four hours to climb down the tree so visiting the bathroom is a once a week task. Their only predator is the eagle and if an eagle comes in for attack the sloth's plan is to simply let go and free-fall out of the tree!
That evening we went out looking for Caymen, shinning torches in the river bank, you can spot Cayman by their eyes that turn red when they reflect the torch light.
Cooper Out in the jungle
Love Dan & Kat
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