#pisco pop type beat

[daniella-the-travella]

“Hush my darling, don’t fear my darling”

Day 2: Prepare yourself. You may not believe some of the things I say in this post, but it is all true, and I lived it.

I woke up Saturday morning feeling sticky and hot. I wanted to take a shower, but there was a line and it really wasn’t worth it because I would feel the same a half hour later. I got ready, drenched myself in bug spray, and went to breakfast. I realized that there will probably some form of banana at every meal. After breakfast, we hopped into the boats and went on an adventure.

#Don’tFreakingLitter!!!!!!

While riding in the boat along the shore, we saw a dolphin, iguana, and many types of birds. Eventually we came to a Y in the river. The two rivers were different colors, so you could see where they were mixing. It looked like coffee when you add the milk. We were told that this is usually where dolphins hang out because of the abundance of fish in this spot. Sure enough we saw a few pink dolphins swimming around. They were so cool! They seemed like mystical creatures that you see in movies. The way they came above the surface and then disappeared into the dark water excited us all. The best part was that when we thought we were getting ready to start up the motor again, they told us we were going swimming right there with the dolphins!! We already had our swimsuits on, so all we had to do was take off our clothes and jump off the boat. It was a ton of fun and a bit scary at the same time. The guides tried to scare us by reminding us that this was the same water piranhas and snakes swim in. While we were swimming, the dolphins never came close, but you could tell they were circling us because every once in a while they would pop up in a new spot, but always the same distance away. We got to take a few jumps off of the boats, and then it was time to go. 

This is where the two rivers merged. The light brown color of one of the rivers was from all of the mud and sediment in the water.

Pre-swim

Post swim

We rode a little ways upstream to a spot with a bathroom for us to change out of our wet swimsuits. Because it was a ranger station, we signed in a big guest book. You can find my name if you ever go there! One of our guides found a unique fruit. When he opened it up, it was full of brown seeds. When he rubbed the seeds with his finger, it turned a red-orange color. He said that when the locals went hunting, the would cover their entire bodies with the red paste. Some of the girls used the paste as lipstick. It was a great color! I decided to go a little further and not only use it as lipstick but also as warrior paint! It was fun!

Then we rode a little ways up the river to a small village called “20 de enero” or “20 of January.” Yes, it is a weird name. No, I do not know why it has that name. The first thing we did here was learn to climb a palm tree. There are no branches on palm trees, so the locals had to find a way to get up the tree to harvest the fruit. We were first taught how to get up the tree by a local named Pepe. We were told that the girl’s record was 10 meters up the tree, and the guys record was 15 m up the tree. There was one girl who said she wanted to beat the guys record because she gets really competitive, especially with boys because they think they are better. She volunteered to go first. She ended up making it to 16 m, breaking the record! Then a few other people tried to climb the tree. Many of them said it was a lot harder than it looked and only made it to a max of 10 m. I was the last one who wanted to try to climb the tree. Everyone except Morgan and Camille left to canoe in the river. I stepped onto the foot platform and hooked my other leg into the rope. The first set was confusing, but I already figured it out by the second time through the steps. I was the fastest climber other than Pepe of course. At about 8 m up, I hung too far to the side when I was trying to center the rope and almost fell. Luckily, I caught myself, shook it off, and carried on up the tree. I ended up breaking the record, but then I liked it so much I went higher. I made it all the way up to 20 m up the tree. I could see the rest of the group paddling along in the river. I really enjoyed being up in that tree, but I also wanted to go canoeing, so I decided to come down. I decided to try to be modest about breaking the record because I knew the other girl was really proud of herself. She found out eventually from one of her friends.

Up in the trees!

The three APU 7 girls from MTU who conquered the palm tree. 

I went 20 meters high in 20 De Enero!

Next was canoeing. I got to the canoe and the man holding the boat told me to sit in the middle. I looked at my spot and was a bit disappointed. The other seats were raised, but my spot was just a little plank of wood sitting in a puddle of water. There was a 9-year-old local boy in the back of the boat, and Morgan sat in the front. We paddled around asking the boy questions and enjoying the scenery. I asked him what his favorite animals was, and he said, “anacondas.” I felt a shiver go through me when he said it. I absolutely hate snakes. They creep me out. 

Canoe, village boy, and Niel. The little board in the middle with a tiny paddle was my spot.

When we got out of our canoe, everyone was gathered around in a cluster. Naturally, I went to see what was going on. When I figured it out, my heart started racing. There, standing in the middle of the group, was a man with a 3-year-old anaconda hanging around his neck. How ironic. They found it trying to eat one of the chickens. People were taking turns holding the snake. I thought to myself, “Well, I have warrior paint on, and I already climbed 20 m into the air. Why not throw a snake into the mix, right?” I gave Morgan my phone and stepped up to hold the anaconda. It was heavier than I thought it would be. I think I got a bit of an adrenaline rush from it because I had a huge smile on my face. All of the locals laughed at my shriek. After that was good and over, I bought some soap and a bracelet to remember this little village where I broke a record and faced my fear. Sadly, I lost the bracelet somewhere. I am really disappointed about it. Oh well.

I cannot believe I held that snake. I am insane.

Next was lunch time! Can you believe it! All of this, and I hadn’t even had lunch yet! We rode up the river a little ways more and tied the boat to a tree. The other boat found a tarantula and named it Ricardo. It was really funny because one of the guides, Ray, said, “This is not made in China.” He had all sorts of weird things to say, but that was one of my favorites. He also said it later when we saw sloths. Lunch was served in giant leaves. The food inside had been boiled and then the leaf served as a natural preservative. There was rice, chicken, a plantain, an egg, and some olives. It was very filling and yummy. Then we rode all the way back to the lodge for a siesta before the next adventure.

The yummy lunch!

When we were all rested, we went to a tree and harvested some acai. We were told that the cooks were going to make dessert out the the acai!

Acai still on it’s branches!

Then, we got back into the boats and went to the other direction of the river. We passed some giant tour boats on the way. They were really nice and fancy. Niel’s brother waved to us from one of them. We rode deeper into the jungle down a creek. This was when we saw the sloths. We stopped and watched some squirrel monkeys play in the trees for a while. We also saw really small little monkeys! They were adorable! I wanted to play with one, but they were way up high in their tree. 

Spot the monkey!

Sunset in the Amazon

The real reason why we were out in the deep jungle was because we were hunting for caimans. They are nocturnal, so were rode around as the sun set, and then when it was dark, we brought out the flood lights and started searching for red eyes. We found one right away. When we rode up to it and the guide tried to grab it, we heard a big thud on the boat and a lot of water splashing. It was quiet, and then the guide turned around and said, “That one was too big.” I’m pretty sure we all figured out that much by then. So, we kept searching. You could hear tons of frogs and crickets and birds and who knows what else. The most amazing part was when you looked up. There was no moon in sight, but oh my goodness, the stars were amazing. I don’t think I have ever seen so many stars in my life. I found all of the stars I am used to seeing, and then I could see thousands of stars between each of those stars. I really wished I could take the roof off of the boat. Out of one side, I could see the Milky Way Galaxy, and out of the other I could see the big dipper pouring into the Amazon. I started making my own constellations because I do not know very many. It was mostly just me trying to make as many hearts out of the stars as possible. Then the other boat found a caiman. Before I got to hold it, I had to wash my hands in the river water to get the bug spray off. I was scared to put my hands anywhere near that water. We just found a caiman in it! Who knows what could have jumped up and bit my hand off! When we were done taking pictures, we let the little guy be free again. 

As we rode back to the resort, I could not take my eyes off of the sky. Heat lightening was lighting up the sky and making thunder in the distance. I watched a few satellites fly by and even saw a shooting star! Of course I made a wish, but I will never tell. When we made it back, dinner was waiting. After dinner, we had a party! we all gathered in what I guess was kind of like the living room. There was a band of 3, the forth guy had a gig. We started with a pisco made with left over acai! We made a toast, and then I downed it. It was real good! Like I don’t like alcohol, but holy moly, I liked that stuff. It was like a smoothie! After that, they played kumbaya while some of the natives danced in the center. Then we danced with them! I was confused at first, but then figured out the steps. We went around in a circle in lines like a wind turbine. Then we met the leprechaun. His name is Chicha Chukie (not sure how to spell it). He is everywhere in the jungle and sort of protects you. He has one shoe and one bare foot. We were told that we always have to check our guide’s feet to see if he is Chicha Chukie. Then the party began! The all got balloons, face masks, whistles, and lais. It was a ton of fun! We were all very tired from the day, so it was short lived. I headed back to my room and got ready for bed. I was going through all that happened that day and was amazed. I felt extremely brave. Swimming in piranha water, climbing 20 m up a tree, holding a snake, and holding a caiman. It was a very full day, and honestly, probably one of the best days of my life so far! I loved it! Just as I was climbing into bed, I noticed a cricket in my mosquito net. I figured, psh, a cricket, I can take care of this. I was looking for something to grab the cricket with when Morgan said my name. The said, “Dani... the is a tarantula.” I asked where, and she pointed right above my bed. This is where I lost it. I can handle many things, I even saw a tarantula earlier in the day, but I lost it. I shrieked in a much more fearful way than when I was holding the snake. Soon enough everyone in our bungalow was freaking out. I kept telling them to stop screaming, and that I should be the only one freaking out because it was over my bed. We called one of the guides and he came to get it. First, he tried to get it to climb onto my balloon. That didn’t work. Then he tried to get it to climb onto his arm. It did not want to do that either. At this point, it crawled under my bed. The suddenly, another girl in my cabin about 10 feet away yelled TARANTULA! Then I got really confused. The spider had just gone under my bed. How did it move 10 ft in two seconds? I kept saying, “no way, it can’t be over there because it was right here!” Then it dawned on me. There were two tarantulas. One of the girls was standing on her bed crying. I tried to comfort her while Niel chased the tarantulas around. He got one in a plastic bag and he grabbed the other one by the leg with pliers. We made quite a scene. Then we all said buenas noches to Niel and thanked him. 

TARANTULA!

Five minutes later, Niel came back because he forgot his phone in my bed. Then we all said buenas noches again. Finally I was ready to go to bed when Morgan found little bugs all over her bed. Sure enough, they were in mine too. Morgan went to go find Niel again to see what he could do about them. Suddenly, all of the power went out for the night. I immediately thought of Morgan walking outside alone in the dark. I ran out the door with my phone and made it about 3 steps before I turned around and ran back into the bungalow. There were so many nopes running through my mind right then. The jungle got a whole lot scarier at night, especially after two tarantulas join you in your living space. Eventually Morgan came back to the bungalow with Niel. He said they were little mosquitoes that were attracted by the light. He took a towel and whipped them off our beds. Once again, we all said buenas noches to Niel. Third times the charm, right? Finally, I was able to lay in my bed. I wrapped every inch of my bed with my mosquito net. Absolutely nothing was going to be getting in my bed. It took me a long time to fall asleep. Every time my hair fell, I flinched. It was so dark, all I could think about was hundreds of tarantulas crawling in through the hole in the wall and surrounding me while I slept. I pretty much laid there and prayed until I fell asleep. Even with the bonus experience at the end of the night, it was still my favorite day ever.