Muddy Bums and Busted Feet

---

Up at the crack of dawn (Megan, woken up by crazy jungle roosters and Jarrod, having not slept much due to crazy jungle insects) and suited up to head out into the wilderness. Shacay promised us a relatively easy hike to 2 waterfalls, encounters with unique flora & fauna, and good times making like locals.

Clad in the elusive rubber boots that are a must-have for slopping through the quicksand-esque terrain that is the Amazon after a soaking night of rain, we 5 set out. After about 2 minutes, Shacay handed me a leaf which, when torn open, was teeming with ants. 'Lemon ants' he said 'try 'em, they taste like lemons' and down the hatch they went...they did indeed. Extra protein that would come in handy later, or so I told myself...

It's important to note that Shacay, Priscilla, and Kengu pranced along effortlessly while we (and by we, I mean me) slip-slided our way through the day. We formed a conga line -- Shacay and Kengu racing along with machetes in front and J & I bringing up the, at times, very distant rear -- and snaked up & down, left & right through the lush jungle. We had close-up encounters with all sorts of interesting wildlife -- mostly unusual plants (like the fern-like plants that would curl shut around your fingers when you touched them) and crazy insects of all sizes (like the medium-sized beetle Priscilla offered J as a natural asthma remedy and when he refused, she took a big crunchy bite.)

Clad in our jungle headgear & our faces painted with a therapeutic mud, we slogged to the 1st waterfall of the day. We could hear it before we could see it, as it was well-hidden beyond a lagoon and behind a few twists & turns of sheer cliff. Shacay gave us a little history, the waterfall is a holy site for the local Indian tribes where they go to commune with their spirits. To show the place proper respect and have an authentic experience, we had to follow a few simple steps -- we had our faces painted with red stripes with pigment from the achiote plant and we snuffed some 'jungle tobacco', leaves which Priscilla had collected along the way and pummeled with water to make a soup meant to be snorted up your nose. If we were to have any visions in the sacred space, the jungle tobacco would only enhance the experience.

Sufficiently prepped, we leapt into the icy lagoon (boots and all) and swam around twists and turns until we finally were face to face with the majestic waterfall. It was absolutely stunning, a violent rush of water from above -- one could easily see why the place was sacred to the locals. We followed Shacay's lead & stuck our heads in the waterfall, hoping for a vision of some sort, but no luck. Back on land, we wrung ourselves as best we could and continued on.

The remainder of the trek was a bit strenuous due to ill-fitting boots, extreme mud conditions, and our general lack of fitness but we managed to hang tough. We were rewarded with more exotic plants & bugs, including the red & phallic new shoots of palm trees (affectionately referred to as the devil's penis) and red-footed stripey centipedes everywhere, a lovely look-out point, and the 2nd waterfall. Less impressive than the first, it was still a sight to see and nice locale to unwind a bit after the hike. Upon our return to camp, we were treated to yet another gourmet meal and instructed to pack up for leg 2 of the jungle adventure -- we'd be heading 1 hour downstream.

The 5 of us plus the local boatman (plus all the gear/foodstuffs) were loaded into a long, narrow canoe -- constructed out of a single tree -- and we set off. For the most part it was smooth sailing, though we did have some close encounters with a few rocks and we were safely deposited at the next campsite. It resembled the 1st but had a bit more wildlife, including a turkey that took an extreme liking to J and A LOT more bugs. After a long full day, we were happy to snuggle into our cots, pull the mosquito nets close, and rest up for the adventures ahead.

---