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World Trip 2005-06
AMAZON
The Fantastic 4 and their Amazon adventures
• Andy Walton (Mr Showbiz)
• Andy Brides (McDonaldinho)
• Jamie Bampton (Great Balls of Fire)
• Lynz Robinson (Lil Mama)
(Check out our tailor made T-shirts on the website)
In addition there was our tour guide Matious and the Sherpster
We flew to the Amazon on the 15th April, arriving in the city of Manous to book and prepare for our trip deep into the heart of the Amazon jungle with our new travel buddies Jamie and Lynz. In total we spend 4 days and 3 nights living within the Jungle, exploring the jungle, the rivers, the wildlife and meeting the locals by day we chilled and sang by the camp fire by night until eventually falling asleep in our hammocks. The jungle experience was every bit as amazing as we had expected it to be. I have seen the Amazon on TV growing up, but I never dreamt I would be so far away from home to actually live and experience the place for real. Entering the Amazon took a while but we didn't mind, we just sat back in the wooden river boat and observed the surroundings. Everything seems real tranquil, the trees and river sat so still, making you feel chilled yet quietly excited about what layed within the jungles tree's and underneath the surface of the still waters.
Meeting of the two rivers
At the start of the trip we were taking to were the two rivers that flow into the Amazon meet up with each other. The Rio Nergo and the Rio Solomois,. The Rio Solomois was perfectly still and muddy looking and the Rio Negro was black and flowing.
Tour guide
The legendary Matthias, man of the jungle, wealth of knowledge. Amazing that how far he took us into the jungle or down river, he always managed to return us back to camp, no matter how dark it was. Found our group funny, he seemed amazed sometimes at some of our actions within the jungle. Lost count of the number of times he asked 'what are you doing?' as we tried to get used to jungle living.
Sherpy
A special guy!! Straight out of the Amazon, didn't speak a word of English, he was there to help out the tour guide and what a job he did! He prepared great food, set up camp, and drove us around the river in his little wooden boat.
Food
Apart from the occasion we caught and cooked our Piranha fish we mainly ate rice, fruit, vegetables and meat cooked on the fire. All wonderfully prepared by the sherpster.
Caimon catching:
Small dangerous crocs: We went out at night on the wooden boat to catch them. Matthais directed the boat though the river until he spotted one with his flashlight, he then attempted to sneak up on it by leaning out of the front of the boat and grabbing it by its neck. Dangerous but the man was skilled and after a few attempts he managed to catch one for us all to hold.
Mozzies and various other bugs:
so many bugs everywhere, everyone suffered bites but it was all part of the fun
Jaguars
Large cats that stalk and kill their prey. Usually when your on own. The tour guide insured we would be safe and we didn't see any.
Piranha fishing:
Wooden rods with chunks of meat on the end of the line. We sat still in our wooden boat for an hours waiting for the little viscous fish to take the bait. Not many did, we caught around five in total, some being better fishermen then others, aint going to name names. It was an awesome experience; I even managed to catch a snake headed fish! Preparing the fish for tea was also pretty interesting and they tasted great.
Tree vibes:
an array of trees, some that you could drink water from, some that leaked milk which is used to cure lung infections and the Brazil Nut tree from which we get the famous nuts from. In fact 90% of all active ingredients in medicine are of amazon derivatives.
Amazon locals:
Amazonians lived in wooden houses situated up and down the rivers of the Amazon. All homes are very unique:
• Some had farms
• Great distances from their neighbours
• Built by family
The Amazonians themselves live at a different pace to the rest of the world, we often spotted people just sitting chilling on the balcony of their homes watching the day go by. Although there were Amazon style shops down the river, many were self sufficient. Most didn't have TV`s, they had a patient way of living, they schooled till they were 15-16 and then according to our tour guide spent time making babies with many having around 12-13 kids
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