Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Amazon Jungle Escapades- Take 1

Well, I have returned from the Amazon jungle relatively unscathed- I have about a bazillion bug bites all over my entire body (those mosquitos are intense- biting through 98.11% DEET bug spray and through my clothes) and some pretty crazy tanlines (hopefully I'll have a picture to put up at some point that one of my friends took of this super-conspicuous line on my shins). Five magnificent days filled with sweat, sunscreen, and bug spray (among other things, of course). One word summary of the trip: INCREDIBLE. I think I'll try to do a day-by-day summary of events because that's just easier. Depending on time and space, this take up a few blog entries.

Thursday: We had to be at the Cuenca airport at 700 AM. Our flight left around 8 or 830 [pause in typing to scratch 5 of the 700 bug bites on my arms ;) ]. From Cuenca, we flew to Quito and from Quito to Coca. Stepping off the plane in Coca was like entering a whole new world. It was hot, sticky, and super-humid--- a little taste of the weather for the next couple days. Our guides/ boat staff met us at the Coca airport, and from there we took a bus to the place we were supposed to board the "canoe" to take us to our hotel boat (or "flotel"). Let me clarify quickly the use of the word "canoe"-- these were long boats with benches and 2 motors on the back; we were not having to row down the river :) There was a minor mishap about 15 minutes after leaving the airport in Coca on our bus. Somehow-- nobody knows exactly what happened-- our bus and a taxi had a little run-in. Uh-oh. So there was some drama, but after much arguing and some local police involvement, everything worked out. (Good start to the trip, huh?) We had 3 hours on the bus, then when we reached the location of the canoe, we had lunch and after, boarded the canoe for our 3-hour canoe ride. We had to wear these excellent orange life jackets every time we got on the canoe, so that was pretty sweet. Anyway, it ended up being a pretty long day of traveling. The landscape was extremely different than that of Cuenca though, so it held my interest for the majority of the 3 hours (until the end of the boat ride when I didn't know if I was going to be able to make it because I had to go to the bathroom so bad. The only option at our lunch site was to go in the woods- au natural- and I refused to pop a squat and expose my booty to the bugs and God knows what else was out there. I am proud to report I did make it until we got to the "Jungle Discovery"- our home for the next 4 days). It was a pretty relaxing first night on board- had supper, found out the itinerary for the next day, and just hung out.

I think part of the reason this trip was so wonderful was because, yes, we were trekking through the Amazon rainforest each day, fishing for piranhas, sweating our butts off, and just doing other nature-y things, but we always returned to our luxurious hotel boat. (Maybe not so luxurious compared to Caribbean cruises and whatnot, but relatively speaking, it was pretty classy). There were two people to a room, and we had our own bathrooms. There were 3 decks: the first had the kitchen, a few rooms, and the dining room; the second was all rooms; and the third included the bar (which some people frequented maybe a little more than they should have), a few rooms, and a nice 'sitting area' type place with couches and chairs. Let me tell you about one of the best things about our boat: the food. Now, I know most of you are aware that my stomach dictates much of my happiness ;) so this was perfect. The food was absolutely incredible. Every meal consisted of three courses (soup or veggies for course #1, then the main dish, then dessert; obviously breakfast was a bit different- we got a plate of fruit, bread, then the main dish- usually with eggs), and every course was DELICIOUS. They even made us tasty snacks between meals. They took good care of us and our bellies. The crew was great as well- not only did they cook, they cleaned, drove the boat, and some were even our guides in the jungle; they did everything. 

Now, time for a few pictures, and tomorrow I'll tell about Friday.

Picture 1: Kate and myself in the lovely orange lifejackets on our canoe to the Jungle Discovery.

Picture 2: Our home for the weekend! Isn't she a beaut?!


1 comment:

Unknown said...

That boat looks and sounded amazing.