Amazon I

I was picked up from my hotel at 7am, and brought on the back of a motorbike down to the port, where myself and Wilson took the fast boat for about an hour to a Yaguas village (Yaguas are one of the tribes that live in the Amazon). From there we got in a small boat for about 15 mins and then hiked through the jungle for about half an hour – through the mud and across rivers on strategically placed logs - to the lodge that was to be our base for the next couple of nights. A lunch of Piraruqu (a delicious Amazonian fish that grows up to 180cm) with chips and salad was served up, along with a very tasty juice of a fruit called Copa Asu. After lunch Wilson produced a plastic bag which contained a Tarantula that one of the locals had just caught, and casually put it on his arm. He persuaded meto have a go, insisting it was fine so I put my arm out. It moved onto mine but instead of sitting quietly as it had on his, it decided to run up my arm, across the back of my neck, and onto the opposite shoulder. I somehow managed not to panic and after a quick photo, Wilson removed it and I breathed easy again.

After all that excitement myself, Wilson and Abelardo, a local tracker headed off into the jungle. We walked for about 3 hours, the mosquitoes and humidity a constant, but I have to say I was very impressed with both Wilson and Abelardo and the wildlife we saw – an array of different butterflies, frogs, monkeys, and birds, including eagles and toucans. Back at the lodge I took a shower and removed some of the wet dog smell that had begun to cling to me and lay down on the bed for a while to read. Then something flew across my room. And again. Then I glimpsed what it was – some sort of bat, a little bigger than a hand. I headed out for dinner. After dinner Wilson came to have a look for the bat, which had since vanished, of course, but I was very happy to have a mosquito net.

- David