Surviving the Amazon

It must be said, though it sounds ridiculous, but the Amazon... yah it's a pretty damp and buggy place. There are almost no mosquitos in the area where we ventured, so that was a huge win but when out on a night walk on our first evening we saw our fair share of giant crickets, grasshoppers and spiders! Yes Nicola this is not the place for you!

We also saw many frogs... in all sizes... some so small you would never notice them without a guide, and loads with plenty of poison in their skin to ruin your day if you touched them by accident so I wont suggest Franklin add this location to her list of must do's either. Will be sure not to post any photos of frogs either since I know what they do to you darlin!

For context Lago Agrio is located in the North East of Ecuador and thou I flew there from Quito on a 35min flight (my 11th and later 12th and  shortest flights to date) it still took 2 hours via mini bus and then 3 hours by motorized canoe to get to Siona Lodge on Lago Grande which was homebase for four nights.

Through the five days we saw anacondas and boas but I expected them to be way bigger. I mean this is the Amazon right???



I still find it hard to believe that we took a sunset dip in the AMAZON one night and then went fishing for piranas the following evening but I wasn't alone when I jumped off the side of the boat and I didn't see or FEEL anything scary when I was in there.

I even did my favourite under water somersaults during my dip!

Went on a long walk one day as well and our guide Luis showed us how tribes use the biting claws of one type of ant to sew wounds. It is a little hard to see here but close up you could clearly see them piercing through his skin...eeeeewwwww!!!!!!

I loved these little mushrooms growing on a tree trunk (so rainforest) because they, like all mushrooms, remind me of Skavie!!! Miss you my dear.

On the last day we visited a shaman to hear how he "trained" to be a healer (aka took hallucinagenics since age 8) as well as a local village to learn how to make yuka bread. Tastes like crisp/crunchy nothing and not in the celery with an ice cold Bloody Mary kind of way :(  These kind of experiences never feel very legit but hey when in the Amazon you just go with the flow.

At least I got to see the smallest monkey in the world (or so we were told and I therefore chose to believe). I never understand why people pet wild animals least of all monkeys. I steared clear of direct contact but it is pretty crazy to see how small this full grown ¨pocket monkey¨ gets.

That basically sums up our time in the Amazon except that we also saw, albeit briefly, the pink river dolphins which so many people are drawn here to catch a glimpse of. You only see their backs or ripples in the water where they have been so I almost forgot to mention them at all. The Galapagos will spoil you!

We also saw Snakes, giant bugs, caimans, piranas, monkeys, more birds, plants that will either kill you or save your life... the usual.

After five days Avisa and I were ready to head back to civilization where we would once again shower in water not drawn from the lagoon or worry about fist size bugs inside our mosquito nets... AND be able to buy bus tickets to COLOMBIA!

I did manage to get some allergic reaction rash slash souvenir on my neck that I really wish would go away but that was probably to be expected and it is pretty minor.  Still I would appreciate any positive vibes you could send my way towards it clearing up soon!

Okay well one more boarder crossing to do and I will be in my 43rd country and the last leg of this adventure. I promise to be safe and look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!!!

xox
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