In the Jungle
''GIANT ELECTRIC EEL ATTACKS CHILDREN'' is the front page headline of a newspaper I pick up on arriving to Iquitos. The frontpage shows a slain eel infront of a bunch of excited kids. Welcome to the jungle!
I think it was geography with Ms McCata (?) who inspired an interest to visit the amazon river and the jungle, so 18 yrs later we find ourselves waiting at the edge of the amazon river for a boat to take us 200kms upstream to start our jungle adventure.
We stayed at Mayuna Lodge, an eco lodge (very important), where for the next week we:
* Went birdwatching at the crack of dawn
* Swam with pink dolphins in the murky, chocolate brown waters of the amazon river
* Fished for piranha
* Ate piranha
* Caught anacondas and caimans by night
* Watched huge groups of monkeys jumping from tree to tree while tucans and macaws flew by
* Teased sloths (actually the guide did the teasing by pretending he was a hawke) perched high up in the trees
* Canoed our way through the jungle to spot tarantulas, more monkeys, bamboo rats, birds etc
* Walked through thick dense forest in jackets and gumboots with a machete loving guide and swarms of mosquitos who bit any bit of skin that was exposed and in fact bit through your clothes.
* Stopped by a local school for a bit of singing and games
* Feasted on golden catfish ceviche, corn tamales, palm hearts, fried bananas and little orange spheres of chilli
* Lazed about on hammocks
It was all good fun however the onslaught of viscious mosquitos immune to heavy duty deet and rubber was unbearable and after an owl decided to poop on our bed, we decided that we had enough of our jungle adventure and cut our visit short. 4 days was more than enough.
We headed back downstream to Iquitos where Dave drove the boat down the amazon straight for a hot shower and airconditioning.
I think it was geography with Ms McCata (?) who inspired an interest to visit the amazon river and the jungle, so 18 yrs later we find ourselves waiting at the edge of the amazon river for a boat to take us 200kms upstream to start our jungle adventure.
We stayed at Mayuna Lodge, an eco lodge (very important), where for the next week we:
* Went birdwatching at the crack of dawn
* Swam with pink dolphins in the murky, chocolate brown waters of the amazon river
* Fished for piranha
* Ate piranha
* Caught anacondas and caimans by night
* Watched huge groups of monkeys jumping from tree to tree while tucans and macaws flew by
* Teased sloths (actually the guide did the teasing by pretending he was a hawke) perched high up in the trees
* Canoed our way through the jungle to spot tarantulas, more monkeys, bamboo rats, birds etc
* Walked through thick dense forest in jackets and gumboots with a machete loving guide and swarms of mosquitos who bit any bit of skin that was exposed and in fact bit through your clothes.
* Stopped by a local school for a bit of singing and games
* Feasted on golden catfish ceviche, corn tamales, palm hearts, fried bananas and little orange spheres of chilli
* Lazed about on hammocks
It was all good fun however the onslaught of viscious mosquitos immune to heavy duty deet and rubber was unbearable and after an owl decided to poop on our bed, we decided that we had enough of our jungle adventure and cut our visit short. 4 days was more than enough.
We headed back downstream to Iquitos where Dave drove the boat down the amazon straight for a hot shower and airconditioning.
posted by W at 5:48 am
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