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Published: November 16th 2009
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Hello all!
I'm back! And still alive!
This has been quite an interesting weekend, to say the least. Let me preface this by telling you some of the stories that made me a little scared to go to the jungle in the first place; a fellow exchange student’s friend’s boyfriend who died camping in the jungle (they woke up and he was just dead, stung by a scorpion in the middle of the night), the exchange student who came back from the jungle with a rash only to discover a month later that it was a nest of bugs in his arm that had to be surgically removed, and my roommates who saw a venomous snake on their trip two weeks ago that makes people bleed out of their skin and eyes if bitten by it. While I love new experiences, I have to admit that I do not find all animals interesting and have quite a hatred towards fish, snakes and spiders.
Three other exchange students from school and me decided we were ready to take the plunge. We got to Iquitos (which is the largest city in the world that you can only get to by
boat or plane) Wednesday night, and man was it hot; and not sunny and nice hot, but humid, sticky and uncomfortable hot, which is why I look disgusting in all my pictures. Thursday we spent around Iquitos, which I found very amusing because of the ridiculous amount of mopeds, motorcycles, and mototaxis they use to get around town. They were everywhere, and I loved it.
Friday we started our jungle tour. We headed out on the Amazon river towards a tributary called the Yanayacu River where we would be staying. We stopped to feed some Caiman (jungle crocodiles) and Paiche (largest freshwater fish in the world) along the way. By Friday night we had already seen some interesting animals; a tapir, giant jungle frog, tarantula, and some other huge spiders (and for the record I did not freak out!). We went for a night boat ride that too. The trees were lit by tons of fireflies and the stars were amazing. Our guide kept turning his flashlight on and off to see if there were any animals on the river. All of a sudden, he says he sees a Caiman on the riverbank (which we thought meant a 4-5
foot crocodile). He pulls the boat up to the riverbank, jumps out, and easily just grabs this little 2 foot baby Caiman. After seeing him do that, I decided he knew his stuff and felt completely safe. Sleeping in our bungalow at night was another story. I can’t remember the last time I was so uncomfortable or terrified. There were bats flying above the mosquito net in our bungalow all night and by far the weirdest animals noises I have ever heard in my life.
Saturday we went to visit tribal people. It was pretty legit, from their vestments (or lack thereof) to their cool dart guns. In the afternoon we went for a trek through the jungle. From far away, this forest seemed like any other forest; lots of trees, underbrush, etc. But then our guide would pick things out that made me realize that this is not like any other forest like “Don’t touch this tree, it has spikes. Watch out for this tree it is covered in biting fire ants. And stay away from this tree because if the ants on it bite you, you will feel intense pain for 24 hours.”
Sunday we went
need another family activity?
go on a motorcycle ride together! Piranha fishing and I actually caught three! By this point we had already been swimming in the river a couple times, after being reassured that there were no threatening animals in it. But after piranha fishing about 100 meters from the dock we went swimming off of, I had my doubts. After lunch we hiked for an hour to monkey island, where we got to play around and hold the monkeys on the reserve there. They were mischievous little guys and kept trying to steal my camera and dart gun. After that we headed back to Iquitos on the river and even passed some pink dolphins. Overall, it was a very interesting experience. I am so glad that I did it, but do not think it is something I will be doing again anytime soon. It was a little stressful always being paranoid that some animal was going to come eat me or something.
Well, enjoy the pics!
Megan
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Marilyn Wilkerson
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Big, brave girl!
Good job in the jungle, Megan. I remember how spiders, even granddaddy long legs used to freak you out. You have grown up! Thanks for the pictures. Mom-mom