Amazon jungle....Get me outta here??

Trip Start Jun 02, 2008
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Trip End May 01, 2010


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Flag of Ecuador  ,
Saturday, September 6, 2008

The Amazon stretches out before us wild and vast beckoning us into the jungle.  We look ridiculous clad head to foot in drab safari shirts, big hats and long trousers tucked into our socks.  Sven is the only one who can pull off a stylish outfit...Tushi has a more interesting drapey look.  Our guide Fausto steps off the  dug out canoe in bright coloured shorts, T-shirt and a blue cap.  He looks relaxed.  We are stiflingly hot...On the water there is a cool breeze as the boat cuts along the river...surprisingly quickly whipping up a constant spray which amazingly always misses us...We pass fancy looking establishments for tourists with neat decks and hammocks ...we arrive at Anaconda lodge which at first glimpse looks like a ramshackle collection of huts .  On closer inspection i realise it is indeed a ramshackle collection of huts dotted around one large open wooden deck eating area ...bare except for a couple of tables and benches and a small bar. .  Each room has a couple of candles, there is no electricity, the mosquito nets are pitted with holes and the bathroom shower drips a just off col trickle of water.  Invisible Sand flies wait in hiding to bite us on the short walk from the huts to the dining area so we spray liberally with deet altho moisturizers would be as effective as they prevent the sand flies getting a purchase.  We are only here because we could not have our private guide at the
other  more desirable lodge...I look at our guide who appears quiet and a
little aloof.   There is an almost unfair expectation riding on him.......

After lunch things improve...Fausto takes us on a jungle walk stopping frequently  to tell us how the plants are used for food or medicinal purposes, we eat sugar ants and grimace at widgey like grubs.  He tells us stories of the red foot tribe who live just 10 hours downstream and will defend their territory ruthlessly. Over the years dozens of missionaries have been attacked and killed by the tribe. His friend was speared in his arm and leg ...he escaped with his life only because he had a gun which he waved at the tribe surrounding him.  Lucky for him they didn't know he only had a single bullet at the time.  Fausto himself is from the Kitchina tribe...a peaceful local tribe. But he has lightning speed reactions, he carries a large knife which he uses to hack back the jungle and to kill a fly with a single swipe...We practice blow piping and i miss miserably each time falling short of the target.  The boys are better.  Fausto shoots with pinpoint accuracy, he then turns and shoots a wasp nest high up in the trees above us and we all scream as the wasps emerge angry from the nest .... he laughs at us as we dive for cover...returning only when we can see the wasps have settled on the outside of the nest to guard it.

We walk through creeks with water up to our waist, periodically emptying our wellies...Fausto carries my bag on his head neatly wading through the water.  We slip and stumble on the rocky stones beneath , invisible through  the dark water.  At one point the young boy accompanying us slips and falls...he is struggling in the water holding the knives on one hand desperately  trying to hold his mobile strung rounding his neck out of the water...with great foresight Gwen grabs the mobile from him just before her feet are swept under her and she crashes loudly still holding the mobile above her head...I collapse in a fit of  giggles...After 40 minutes we make it back to the canoe and feast hungrily on rice  chicken and coca cola for lunch,.

The next day after we build a balsa wood raft ...or rather we observe as Fausto and the boatman quickly tie several logs together.  The six of us perch precariously on it Fausto stands at the helm ..the first rapids are strong and each time we tryto  make it the current draws us to the rocks on the side ...after 5 attempts we make it to the middle and we are then floating downstream...tourist boats pass us bemused at the spectacle before them ,we slip into the refreshing waters ..here upstream in the amazon it is safe to swim, the water is relatively clear and there are no nasty things to contend with.  It takes over an hour to reach the lodge during which time the skies open and we are drenched but content....

The last night i ask for salsa...i show the girls how to dance and we practice some styling.  I dance with Fausto and the boatman...both know the basic steps but no more and i realize that here its not important to be on the same foot......i show them some stuff and they are amazed to know i learnt it in London.  On the last morning me, Mark and Sven  wander through the jungle  to fish.  We borrow a dug out canoe which is so unstable we rock perilously side to side as we cross to the island.  The clouds open and the rains descend on us...but we just laugh,we are so relaxed ...here more than anywhere else you are so close to nature that you start to become part of it. . The weather will change and you go with it.  I have learned to love the darkness and stillness of the nights , the vivid sunsets across the water , the crazy downpours  and the trees and the birds. I even begin to love the comfort of my hard bed with its wooden slats in my little hut. And I love Fausto's stories...he has a remarkable gift for telling them in a way that captivated all of us.....
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