First Full Day in the Jungle Comes to a Close

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Day 2 in the jungle is coming to a close and I hope to write a little more than yesterday.

After a great night’s sleep in unseasonably cool weather and a decent breakfast, I headed down river to do some piranha fishing off the Rio Napo. We found a quiet little spot in the middle of a grassy area growing to the side of the river.

Fishing for piranha is pretty simple - put some cut meat on a hook then dangle it from a strong on a sturdy tree branch. When you feel a nubble, just yank and hope you hooked the little beastie. I must have picked it up pretty good because I managed to snag five including one monster that was easily double the size of the others.

After that returned to the lodge then took a little trip to the Yagua Indian’s “show village” nearby. We were treated to a dance show complete with 20-25 villagers of all ages in which we were even asked to join in. It was typical tourist stuff and even the dancers seemed pretty bored with it all.

Next we tried shooting darts from the blowguns. It wasn’t tough at all. I managed to nail the target both times I tried. (Before you say “luck”, remember that I’ve done it before and it’s not all that hard.)

Right before dinner, and after dark, Segundo and I headed off into the jungle to look for wildlife. We didn’t see the one animal that I most want to see (a big snake) but we saw some very interesting creatures nonetheless: a big spider devouring an even bigger grasshopper, several walking sticks, and even a tarantula.

It’s about 8:30 now and I’m ready for bed (as is everyone else). They keep us pretty busy, but throw in enough down time to keep a person from getting worn out.

All in all, it was a very entertaining day with lots of interesting activities. Tomorrow we’ll deviate from the usual plan a little and spend the day visiting local villages and talking with some of the river people. That;’s something I’m especially excited about.

On Monday we'll visit the local rum factory -- always a crowd favorite here -- and probably a local school, too. Still have a couple of days left before returning home so I'm looking forward to everything even more. Wish i could post the great video that I've been shooting, but that will have to wait.

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