The Walk into the Deep Wild Amazon

From Iquitos, we took a boat ride through the Amazon river spread wide and long. In an hour or more, we were asked to get off without much explanation. It felt a bit odd to expect what we didn’t quite expect! So begin here, are few days in the most dense and diverse jungles of the world – The Amazon!

The Amazon River

So off we got from our boats. We were told that we would have to walk through the jungle to get to our lodge.  The morning sunlight streaming through the dense canopy of the jungle felt warm and mysterious. Leaving the Amazon river behind, we started walking through tall tress embraced with ferns, creepers, dew captured by cobwebs all accompanied by a chorus of unusual birds. It was a beautiful warm day and it all began well. Our eyes tried to see everything around and our ears hearing the calls of the wild.

Walk through the dense Amazon

I am not sure how long we walked but perhaps we did for sometime. The fellow who guided us, brought us to this unusual town, which didn’t really seem like one. We walked into a circle of huts which stood tall, almost 12 feet from the ground. When we climbed up to peer into these homes, it surprised me how basic people can live with! This house had a thatched roof with walls that ran only 4 feet tall. There was no furniture, just 2 hammocks, some pots and clay stove. For a moment, it didn’t look like a home! I asked the guide what sort of lifestyle is this. He explained that the houses were always above the ground to protect them from snakes, rodents and other animals. Due to its warm humid climate all through the year, these houses did not have walls. The flowing breeze keeps them cool. They hunted, farmed, bred animals, cooked and lived simple!

The unusual houses if the tribals

A peek-a-boo into an Amazonian home!

Along the way, we walked listening to the flame-back woodpeckers hammering tree trunks unperturbed by us. Slowly we walked into a denser part of the jungle where the squirming insects and mosquitoes found us. Every now and then, we flapped our hands and thumped our feet to avoid bites. Several times during our walk, our guide rubbed his palms on tree trunks which seemed to be a nest of some insect. These mud nests had holes drilled through them and these insects crawled out after he rubbed his hands over them. After he did it a couple of times, Bipin asked him what was he up to. He casually replied saying that these were white termites and when rubbed against your skin, they keep insects off. We were shocked to know that termites could keep other insects off! Then he showed us the difference between white and red termites, red termites being dangerous. This worked, it was miraculous! We strutted along the way…less bitten and comfortable!

Bipin cautiously rubbing his hands against the termites

Deeper we went, the denser it got yet we came across another house in the middle of nowhere.  There was an old man lying in his hammock and a woman sitting on the ground washing something. Suddenly, between to two, something moved. Something large, yet flat and very slow. I almost jumped because it somewhat camouflaged into the pale white soil. And then it seemed clearer, it was the sloth! Wow…I loved it the moment I saw it. I was scared to touch it though somehow I knew it was friendly! Suddenly the woman grabbed it by its collar which was made with palm leaves and dragged him closer to her. It must have been its fastest walk ever! 🙂

The tribal & her pet – Sloth

Got my hands around the little fella – baby sloth of the Amazon

When we started towards our lodge, we came across a man lying right behind the hut. He looked drunk and wasted. The guide and the old man exchanged some conversation. Curious as much Bipin is, he asked what was wrong with him. The guide explained to us that the night before, there was some occasion because of which all villagers from villages around had gathered and partied hard. They decide such gatherings and prepare ahead of time. They pluck this fruit which looks much like the passion fruit. They all sit and chew it  together, collect it in a large pot and ferment it. Then later, it is guzzled down on occasions. The alcohol content in this is so high that apparently the next day, there is no activity in the villages. And yes,it seemed evident! 🙂

The fruit which is chewed, spat out & fermented & then drunk to celebrate occasions!

So along we went, reached our lodge with so much to share already.  The next few days went on riding through the eerie ponds full of weeds, excursions through the forest at midnight, a hunt for piranhas into the Amazon river and eating & drinking yucca fries, wild boars and coconut water. Loved it and above all experienced it!

Our guide who passionately tried to make us experience the Amazon to its fullest