The Mighty Amazon

After spending a few days in the city of Iquitos, we headed to the jungle proper. For four days, we camped on the side of the river, spending our nights fending off mosquitos and sleeping with a machete at our sides. We learned to identify the sound of a jaguar, the largest predator that is a threat to humans, and the sounds of smaller threats - snakes and tarantulas included. I am adept at carving an Amazonian canoe, and know the technique for catching a piraña bare-handed.

Ok, not exactly. I didn't actually use a machete (although our guide did all the time), jaguars are more scared of humans than humans of them, and we actually spent the four days at the wonderfully simple and comfortable Chullachaqui lodge, run by a family friend of one of the girls in the group.  But I can say that I was stung by a wide variety of jungle insects, swam with dolphins in the Amazon River, learned some jungle folk songs, was mildly successful at using an Amazonian canoe (which is really just like a log with a paddle), went fishing for pirañas, held an Amazonian Rainbow Boa that we found in the jungle, and was gifted a legitimate Amazonian hammock.

This is our lovely lodge:

We went on walks through the jungle both during the day and at night to find flora and fauna, including snakes, bugs, and a mountain of birds.

Boots are a must for these treks, although you should be sure to shake out your boot before you put it on. You never know what kind of lovely insects are hiding in there.

One morning, we woke up before the sun and paddled to a wide expanse of the Amazon to see the sunrise. It was absolutely gorgeous - I must have taken over 100 pictures of this one location.

This young boy of five years was as comfortable in a canoe as an American kid is on a computer. He navigated across a lake with 5 passengers, including parking and helping everyone to disembark on the opposite side.

I spent a lot of time just relaxing in a hammock in the lodge thinking about all of the wonders that I had seen during the day.

We went home tired and dirty, perhaps without the ability to use a machete or carve a canoe from a tree, but with a pile of new experiences and memories in our bags.