The jungle trip
Trip Start
Feb 06, 2007
1
59
332
Trip End
Jan 14, 2008
Iquitos,
Peru
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Today we learnt of another sole traveller who was on this trip, and who was going to try some hallucinogenic plant that "enlightens" the user. Hmmn. We met his guide who handed Israel a shotgun.
It was an early start go further into the jungle where we would sleep for two nights in hammocks and under mosquito nets. Israel and a local teenager Alain paddled a dugout canoe that looked too small for all of us and our equipment, but nothing fell in the river. We were prepared with our repellants and our 80% Deet for the onslaught. It was canoeing for almost 4 hours up the Aucayacu River through the jungle, through raised water levels, to the camp site that had no facilities. Our guides quickly erected our hammocks, mossie nets and tarps and started the camp fire after collecting firewood. Meanwhile we unsuccessfully swatted mossies and other bities as we pored over the bird book. The fated 'Lunch 2' (another chook) took refuge from the insects under Barb's knees, then followed her like a pet dog as she tried to escape those damned flying things by running away.
After lunch we retreated to our mossie nets for a while to escape the insects, then Israel talked us into going on another canoe trip. He and Alain paddled us upstream for about 2 hours after setting up a fishing net near the camp. This time we saw very little wildlife, but the trees along the water's edge were lovely. After a while Barb's bum could sit on the wooden seat no longer, so we pulled over for a while. Once Barb could walk again, Israel was ready to go on and he would have canoed till 3am if we had not insisted we go back. Somehow dinner got forgotten, we had breakfast at 8, lunch at 3 and no dinner.
It was our first major encounter with mosquitoes. (Bushman's) 80% Deet was effective in reducing the number of bites by about 80%, for half an hour. After that they just seemed to be so voracious that they had to have a go regardless. If you do not want to get bitten, this is not the trip for you. They bit Barb through 2 layers of fabric and through the Deet underneath.
Whatever the guide books and medical advisors say, it is simply not practical to cover up totally in this climate, and even if you are prepared to do so and cook yourself it does not keep the bities at bay. They all say that there is no malaria, dengue is remotely possible, but from what we have heard the only way to be sure is to contact the hospital in Iquitos. There was a yellow fever case in a traveller travelling from Coca in Ecuador to Iquitos. We were taking Doxycycline after what we were told in Puerto Narino about malaria there, and of course had had yellow fever vaccinations..
We ended the day with numerous bites. Our Baygon was used to spray inside our mossie nets after getting into them. You cannot avoid bringing some of the beasties in with you, and without our Baygon we would have been bitten without mercy all night.
