Amazon

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September 2002
Waking up with a mosquito net around your bed isn't the most ideal mornings for most of us, but then again it's better than the alternative, hundreds of mosquito bites all over your body. Unless of course you end up like one of the girls, Kelly. Mosquito nets may keep most of the little pests out, but what happens when a few get inside...all they have left to feast on is you, and Kelly ends up with over 100 bites on just one arm (I stopped counting after that). It's a miracle none of us got malaria considering the Brazilian authorities confiscated our pills thinking they were drugs.
If you've never been to the Amazon you should go. Take a boat up the river for a week or so, see the local people, experience their food, but be careful, it is a wild place. Where the Jaguars aren't penned and the Anacondas aren't behind three inches of indestructible glass. It's an amazing experience with the lush vegetation and the seemingly timeless villages that bank the shoreline (minus the modern clothing). The further up the river you go the more untouched the land and people become. Keep an eye out for the pink river dolphins, their a rare site, but one of the only places you can see them in the world. The whole 8 days I had one siting of two of them.
I went up the Rio Negro in September of 2002 and there were a few amazing storms at night, which created one particular beautiful morning. We slept in hammocks all week while we were on the boat and thankfully the mosquitoes were almost non-existent while on the water, the land was a different story though. I traveled there with a team of people to help the poor river communities in any way we could, which consisted of mostly playing with kids and helping with minor labor. I don't think I stopped sweating the whole time I was there. Overall it's an experience everyone should have. Oh, and one more think, get out of the water by 5pm, "that's when the crocs come out."
By-Tyler

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Photos

canoeing
we sank this right next to mangroves. though we were gonna be eaten by an anaconda.

Sloth with baby
It's hard to see, but there is a baby holding onto the stomach area of it's mother.

Our Boat
we have all our hammocks up for a good nights sleep.

Everythings bigger
Massive beetle we found.

Hammock
This is me chillin as we cruise up the river.

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heading out on the small boat.

Playing with the kids
Me again, playing with the local kids.

Mosquitos
A sample of the many mosquito bites to come.

Storm
during the night im pretty sure the lightening came within 100 yards of our boat. It made it shake and rattle like crazy.

Piranha
It's hard to believe these are the suckers that will eat you alive.

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pretending to fall

Small Crocadile
Those two shiny dots in the water, those are his eyes. Don't swim at night.

Breakfast
Daily breakfast of bread and eggs.