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Wicked!Wicked!Jungle is massive
Having journeyed to the heart of the Amazon (eventually by aeroplane instead of boat â€" our eco-credentials taking a bit of a battering) we organized ourselves a 3-day trek into the jungle. Having been told to stock up on insect repellant and to buy a long-sleeved shirt from C&A (?) we jumped on our boat on Wednesday morning.After chugging over the “Meeting of the Waters†(where the Rio Negro and the Amazon meet) we continued on via camper van and small canoe to our jungle lodge.
After settling into our very pleasant surroundings we hopped straight back on the canoe for an ‘orientation’. This involved traversing the riverways to find squirrel monkeys, toucans, macaws, cormorants, caimans and pink and grey dolphins jumping around our boat! Amazing.
We then sailed around a bit to find a beautiful location to watch the sunset over the river, before heading back to the lodge. It was whilst Russ was going to the toilet that we found our unwelcome guest for the night â€" Freddy the Frog! Gave us both a fright but we just shut the door and hoped he`d hop off â€" which he did!
Next day was our jungle trek, and we now realized why we had been recommended to bring repellent and long sleeved shirts. The mossies were everywhere!And it was so humid…but we managed to see many frogs, armadillos, ants that could paralyse you for a day, poisonous tarantulas as well as cutting down some fresh brazil nuts from the tree! We also cut off bark that smelt of perfume (rosewood) and some that smelt of Vicks (ooo menthol). But mostly it was just amazing walking through and experiencing the sights and sounds, even thoughwe were really only on the outskirts of the rainforest. We could have given up our luxury lodge and camped in hammocks for the night if we’d have paid a bit extra, but with snakes, tarantulas and all sorts of other bugs flying around we weren`t sure that that was proper honeymoon fare!
The afternoon was spent piranha fishing on the river, and it must be said that Kathy shone here. Everyone else caught around 2 or 3 piranhas, whilst the former Miss Morris caught 14!!! 14!!!A new career beckons…
That evening we went hunting out caiman (basically small alligators). It was pitch black and we were the only boat on the river…fireflies buzzing around us as we shone our torches looking for the telltale red eyes. Eventually we saw them, and as we continued shining the light in its eyes (it temporarily blinds them and forces tyhem to stay still) our guide threw his hand in and grabbed it! He didn`t like that much though, as he weed all over our guide!!
Final day was spent visiting a local family as they prepared marioc â€" and we`d never seen a jollier bunch as they peeled and chopped this root vegetable. Everyone from Grandma to daughter were there beavering away.
All in all a magical experience, and one that we may repeat for longer once we get to Bolivia / Ecuador .
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