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Published: November 23rd 2008
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Checking for Piranhas
Nothing quite like swimming in the Amazon. Swimming towards to pink dolphins. They are too quick for some reason. Benj is out of shape... Biodiversity. Noun. A sterile and clinical term, which in no way prepares you for full immersion into the throbbing and pulsating reality of the jungle, as it teems with a mindblowing multitude of minute to massive lives, living with and on each other. It is simply not possible for the humble human to appreciate more than a small portion of the complexity of this utterly unique environ.
But to get into the middle of it is no mean feat, as can be seen from a map of Peru. From our launch pad in Chachapoyas, the options included: a long bus ride to the unfriendly and grotty little town of Tarapoto, followed by 3 days in a hammock on the back of a river barge. Unsure if Benj would go out of his tiny mind from inactivity, and whether he would be able to stand, let alone lift a pack ever again, we baulked at this. The other option was to fly Tarapoto direct to Iquitos. Time pressure came on to get to the Jungle before the guide and other couple departed. So we Flew.
Into Iquitos our plane dropped. Robin Williams was right in saying it is hot, and
wet. Finely tuned for cold altitudes over 3000m, we were woefully unprepared for over 30°C and full humidity. With a population of about 700,000, this is the largest city in the world to have no roads connecting it. Ships and barges ply the rivers to keep it supplied with all the essentials they need - car and truck engines, motorbikes, concrete, ice creams, etc. The rest is a true #8 wire approach that any Kiwi would marvel at, the local variant being rebar (steel reinforcing rod). From chairs to window bars, to decorative home dressing, and of course some gets buried in concrete. Its great stuff.
But we were there for the Jungle... . Its hard to describe just how much a fish out of water you feel when immersed in the Jungle - more on that in a second. So finding someone to navigate you through it is a crucial decision. After some internet hunting, and a few emails, we found Gerson Pizango, from a village an ideal distance out of the city. With family and village backing, he tackled his English studies, and emerged as the front man of a small family tourism operation bringing people in
Arlene spots the monkeys...
... and our little boat charges to the side of the river to get a better look. to his village and the Jungle. It sounded perfect for us - and it was!
After joining our delightful fellow travellers, freshly jetlagged from the -10°C Alaskan Autumn, a car and boat ride cruised us in to a stilted house on the banks of a big brown river. Dolphins cruised sluggishly against the current, giving you the occasional flash of either grey or pink (depending on their age).
And so we began our five days of tuition of what it is to be in the Jungle. The first lesson was to chill out. Things are done in Jungle time - and you fit in with that. Given a few hours to take a daytime kip, Benj was intent on going for a walk instead. It wasnt long before the exhausting toll of sitting in a car, and the soothing roll of the boat ride in lulled him into a snooze as the heat of the day slipped away.
And then bagan three days of various outings. Loading up the boat with bags and tents and food, and putting upstream for a two night waltz right in the middle of the real part of the Jungle, where Benj
Out and about on the town
Bilge Boy (Benj), and the White huntress (Arlene) in action. proved his worth as bilge boy with the cut off plastic bottle. For our first outing, we slipped ´quietly´ through the foliage on foot under torchlight, Gerson found us a pretty tarantula to meet. With Arlene´s (aka ´the great white hunter´) night vision spotting a few extra critters for us to gawk at - a scorpion was minding his own business, before being oooh´d and ahh´d at, not to mention several flashes aimed right at him. When he had had enough he jumped, so did we.
Other exploits revealed a steady stream of monkeys following each others daring aerobatics to track single file through the heights of the trees, with one missing the springy landing and almost going for a skate. Gerson´s uncle Luis proved to be a master of his craft, and spotted some beautifully Jaguar tracks, with some nice freshly vomited grass.
But it was the night time boat trips that were a major feature of our Jungle experience. Whilst waiting at the waters edge in the dark for all of us to be ready and loaded, we went looking to see what we could see right around us. Two little snakes 100-150mm long darted off
Riverside Opportunist
Lunch must be coming by any minute. into the water to escape the light (and us). But the most elusive character of all was the Caiman. A small variant of the alligator, the Caiman hangs around in nice reedy edges of the river, playing well disguised wood. Not short of a supply of fish this is a pretty good strategy. Silently stalking the canoe through the river and across reed beds looking for the telltale glimpse of red light reflected off their eyes, Gerson and Uncle Luis pushed us along with quiet paddle strokes. Despite the determined tenacity of Gerson to introduce us first hand, no more than a glimpse of red was to be found of the elusive Caiman. But not short of other things to see, Arlene was nervously checking the edge of the boat periodically for the bizarre variety of spiders that hitched a lift in the dark next to her, having boarded as we pushed through the reeds. Rocking the boat slightly as she shifted suddenly and ejected an arachnid passenger from the side, he nonchalently scampered off on the surface of the water into the blackness. After almost dozing in the seated and balancing position, a fish got the fright of its
life when it launched out of the water, landing in the boat at Arlene´s feet. She sure screamed, and to think of the poor fish.
The rivers form fascinating corridors in the dense bush, and is just bursting with life. The insects and splendid butterflies circling and flitting randomly, being fed on by fish jumping all over the place. The birds, from small ones flying low and defensively to the raptors soaring at the top of the treeline. A snake sliding his way across the river, much to our delight (and pursuit). Whilst negotiating the trees at the river bank, our boatman Carlos performed a daring manouvre, only to end up in the river with the snake, which took the opportunity to disappear amidst the confusion. Since we couldn´t see through the brown water to the mass of fish that were jumping around the rivers, a fishing line did the trick to bring them to us. Pulling just enough fish from the water to bait our hooks, we captured a few nice little Piranha.
It was really nice to be a part of the Jungle, and also to be there with the welcome of Gerson and family. We
Need a bilge boy, urgently. Good rates.
Carved out a leaky tree trunk, and subject to frequent rain, this is a common sight. were practically adopted for 5 days, given motherly hugs by someone only just over half our height (especially when they found out Arlene has lost both her parents). It was so different to being escorted through someones elses village by a tour agency. We had the pleasure of a personal introduction to the Jungle, and the chance to hear how the villagers see it and its resources. Unlike so many other Human existences, they freely utilise the resources they need. The jungle provides food, water, entertainment, housing materials, and even (historically) matrimonial monogamy enforcement. But they seem to occupy a place that is a part of the proceedings, rather than on top of it. Being shown a magnificent old tree in its terminal years as a strangler plant advanced its sophisticated onslaught - instead of 15 minutes with the machete to prevent its death, they leave nature to take its course. And that is unique in itself.
As we loaded the boat up to leave this magnificent place to itself, of course we had time for a swim. Throwing ourselves out of the hot moist air into the opaque water at the birth of the Amazon was a pleasure.
Intermission between meals
This character, and his cousins, were masters of using the river corridors in the bush to attain their dinners. And of course the dolphins were not too far away, but even their sluggish tropical pace was more than a match for Benj, whose triathlon days are drifting further into the deep past.
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Krista
non-member comment
incredible!
Wow, this looks like the experience of a lifetime. I must show these photos to Rob, he has always wanted to see the Amazon. The no child sex signs are a bit scary and depressing indeed.