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Anacondas and Piranhas
Looking for Anacondas
Breakfast of pancakes, fruit, and omelette. A storm approached and it poured down for about 2 hours. After waiting for it to stop, we all donned our wellies (I've taken to wearing 4 sizes too big in order for them to fit round my mammoth calves!), and traipsed into the long grass in search of anacondas. (insert anaconda facts). Our guide Hymay had a big forked stick which he used to push the grass out of the way to look. After the long grass we came to shorter grass where we were all told to split up and walk slowly in line (imagine a police line searching for evidence). It was wet and boggy and my huge wellies kept being sucked off! The anticipation was immense as we all looked carefully in the wet grass.
2 hours later and all we had seen was a toad, a crab and an anaconda nest (with no snakes anywhere to be seen). After making spears out of sticks and shouting at birds to make them all fly away (what fun), the boys decided to go back to the lodge, leaving me and Hymay alone to continue the search. I was not willing to stop looking until we found one.
We saw different groups who were all having the same luck as we were and Hymay pointed out some magic mushrooms that I picked to take back to the boys. We chatted about each other's lives and I had a free Spanish lesson on the way. We separated slightly and then suddenly, I saw some commotion a few meters away where Hymay was. He'd trapped an anaconda with the fork of his stick! It escaped but he trapped it again (I asked later if it would have hurt it but he said no, the stick was too slack). He shouted for the other group to come and see. While we were waiting, the snake tried to attack Hymay twice but he managed to swerve out the way. He said he's been bitten a few times and it's only like a bee sting so wasn't too scared (although his body language when he was swerving out the way told me otherwise). He let it go only maybe 3 minutes after he's caught it and it slithered off under the grass again! Wow what a sight! Well worth the wait. It's face was much flatter than I expected. More like a Cobra. But Hymay said Cobras are much more aggressive and faster so it was definitely an anaconda.
Needless to say the boys were more interested in the magic mushrooms than hearing about seeing an anaconda. We had lunch then it poured again so we waited 'till it cleared before going out again.
While the boys were in their room listening to music, I spotted some bigger cappuchin monkeys in the trees, coming over for a look. I asked Hymay if he had any bananas and with his guidance, and approaching very slowly, one of them was brave enough to come and take pieces of banana out of my hand! I then pushed it a tiny bit more, putting the banana on my shoulder. After a while, he actually came right up next to me, sat on his hind legs so he was as tall as I was sitting, seemingly analysing the situation, then deciding I was safe, climbed up my side and very gently unpeeled the banana right from my shoulder! I now finally understand when people say "I don't like cameras, I would rather feel the moment"! All too often I am so desperate for a good picture, I don't actually SEE what's right in front of me.
Piranha fishing!
This may have been the highlight of the tour! Weird I know. It was just all so bizarre! We got back on the boat and stopped at a suitable place. We waited while Hymay gave us each a piece of wood with nylon fishing line wrapped round it. At the end of the line was a fish hook with a tiny piece of raw meat on it. We were to throw the line in, wait for a bite, then pull really hard and a piranha would end up attached to your line. Ok. No problem. I chucked my line in and almost immediately, I could feel something nibbling the meat. I pulled. No fish. No meat either. Crafty b*****s! At first I was squeamish even touching the meat in the tub to try again but soon got over that as I was determined to catch one! The boys were all having the same trouble as I was and as usual for me it was a competition! After almost all the meat was gone and a couple of near misses, I finally caught one! I screamed as it flopped around on the end of my line, and screamed again as it got anywhere near me! There was no way I was going to kill it so screamed for Hymay to kill it, quickly, for me. Which thankfully he did. I have no idea how though as I looked away!
Hymay gutted some of the fish on the boat and threw them out into the river. We all watched as the piranhas in abundance went for the floating guts! Then a huge alligator approached mega fast and snapped at the piranhas who were eating their friend's guts! Mental!!
When we were all happy we went back to the lodge where the piranhas we caught were all cooked for us and we ate them for dinner!!
- comments
Mum yuck ! XXX
Andy Wow! Sounds like a brilliant day ! ( not for Peter Piranhas though!
Susan Wow pretty cool!