Amazon Antics

Amazon Rainforest,
originally uploaded by Hol Riz.

Leaving the cool weather of the high mountains behind we descended into the Amazon Jungle, heading for a two day tour into the jungle. We stayed at an amazing lodge perched on a cliff rizing vertically 100m above the Jungle. The view was absolutely stunning and the trees stretched endlessly in all directions with a mighty river below us and a deafening cacophony of jungle noises to soothe us to sleep. On our first morning we were taken walking through the virgin rainforest. This was an absolutely amazing place to experience as we walked through a long thin chasm far below the jungle canopy. The sun shined through the canopy high above and drops of water fell sparkling onto our heads. At times the path narrowed to gaps so small we had to squeeze through and as we got deeper and deeper into the jungle the bats started to fly out of holes in the rock. We even climbed up a waterfall. Holland kept muttering ¨This is where snakes came from!¨ Our guide was a local Qechua tribesman who taught us all about the different medicinal uses for the plants and fed us live ants which tasted of lemon and a giant beetle which tasted of avocado ¨Yum!¨ In the afternoon, we went tubing down the river. A relaxing float down stream in an inflated tyre tube.

The next day we walked three hours through secondary forest to visit a local tribe. We went into one of the huts and saw their catch of the day (Giant Rainforest Rat/Guinea Pig) and played with their baby pet Coati! We also drank some local fermented Yucca plant stuff that they kept in a big barrel. Hmmm YUK! puts hairs on your chest though. Amazing to see how people live such simple lives.

On Monday we went white water rafting on a fast Grade 4 rapids. What an amazing day! We drove way up into the jungle. When we arrived we hiked down a dirt track to get to the river then did a hair-raising cliff jump to get the adrenaline going for the day! Becky almost didn´t jump but there was only one way down once you´d climbed through a hole in a cave roof up a waterfall. Once we set out down the river in the rafts we didn´t see one sign of civilisation all day as we rafted 35KM through virgin jungle, sometimes in and sometimes out of the rafts! Wow what rapids! We had to paddle hard to break through standing walls of water! Amazing fun. We met a couple of cool guys and our raft tried to board the other raft of Americans and sink their tour guide. At some points we jumped out of the rafts and surfed the rapids in our lifejackets.

We spent a full night travelling to reach the coast and a surfer town called Montañita. The town was cool and made completely of bamboo, but the beach was dirty and it was the wrong season for the coast but we still managed to have a few good nights out before moving on southwards to our last stop in Ecuador the valley of longevity Villacabamba...