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Published: June 30th 2009
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Belen
The floating house of Belen We were picked up by Mini Bus and then went and waited and waited for these other two girls who were also going with us to the lodge, the guide said they were just finishing breakfast, Yeh right, know women, they would still be pampering themselves as 2 minutes is 5 and 5 is 10. Sure enough we were right, these couple of girls were Irish around mid twenties and had the lipstick, eyeliner, hair done the works. . Come on girls we are heading to the jungle not the plaza!
We introduced ourselves and we were off to have a quick walk around the Plaza De Armos and some other sites before catching the boat at the river.
After our 30 minute tour we walked back to the office where there were other people waiting and we all boarded a Mototaxi each and were whisked away through the traffic to our waiting boat.
We all boarded this boat which is about 2mtrs wide by 10mtrs long with a Yamaha 200 horse power motor hanging off the back, we headed off up stream to a town called Belen, this town is built on stilts and all houses are floating,
Cumaceba
Our rooms this is because of the high tides of the Amazon and these people plant crops in the dry season when the rivers are low and sell in the wet.
After about 40 minutes we headed off down river for an hour at around 35 miles an hour and just taking in the scenery of this amazing eco system that so many people and countries depend on is pretty good stuff.
We pulled up to the river bank where we all hoped out and walked up this muddy bank and along a thatched walkway until we came to the main dining area of Cumaceba and was greeted by management and had a complementary drink, we were handed out our keys and made our way to our rooms.
Cumaceba Lodge is by no, means your four star resort, this is a budget resort and it's what I was expecting. The beds are basic singles with full bathroom facilities, there is no hot water for showering, you have a sheet and pillow, you have no windows as the whole bungalow is open and covered in mosquitoe netting and light curtaining, you have a towel each and the resort has no
The walkways
At Cumeceba Lodge electricity. The netting is keep mosquitoes, snakes and tarantulas out. Other than that staff are great and very friendly and obliging, a very back to basic sort of place, if you enjoy camping or want to be one with nature you will enjoy here.
Around 1:30 we sat down and had lunch with the other guests that were here, we had salad, rice, golden catfish, and fruits, more than enough to satisfy us.
At 3.00pm our group of six went on a river cruise to spot the river pink dolphin, in our travels the guide talked about the river the people on it etc. We went and saw this sanctuary that was full of monkeys, they were so cute they were all over you and just loved to play and very cheeky, there was a sloth we all held, anaconda, mother tarantula with babies, Howler monkeys, spider monkeys, some other four legged creature that looked like bandicoot, caiman , they were all there and you could pick up and play with what out liked, these animals were orphaned and are free to come and go said they please, but they all seem to stick around, got some great
Swimming
Having a swim in the Amazon photos of the cheeky monkeys . .some are so tiny they just run all over you and play.
After about an hour there we took of in the long boat again to look for the pink river dolphins, we pulled over in a fork of the river and just floated waiting for them, in the meantime the guide asked if anyone wanted to swim, we all looked at each other and thought Piranhas, but nobody said anything, guide said it was safe to swim and Jeff and I thought why not, how many people can say they swam in the Amazon river?. So I first over edge follow by Jeff, the water was terrific nice and cool not cold, then the guide came in and so did a couple of the others, we swam around for about 15min . . .the word piranha kept going through our heads I think. I felt a couple of things like touch my toe a few times but just thought it was river reed, so I lifted my feet higher and still felt it so I ignored it. We jumped back in the boat and just dripped dry, then I told Jeff what
Spider
One of the many small Taratulas around the palce was touching my toes and he said he felt the same but thought it was me, the others never felt it. Told the guide and he said probably piranhas, whether he was having a go or no we'll never know.
We waited a little and they whistled for the dolphins, a couple of grey dolphins came and about 20 minutes later we saw a baby pink one, pretty ugly looking thing, not your standard dolphin, you had to be quick to see it as it wasn't a good day to see the dolphins the guide said.
After out night meal which was chicken, we hope we headed out and dodging a jungle walk, we all put on gumboots and gathered up with insect spray, then into the night we went . . .mosquitoe heaven it was and very humid in there, we were looking for the big frog and anything else the guide could find, it had been raining here and they had a lot of flooding so the path or track was just mud and heavy going, my flashlight broke about 30 minutes into the jungle and Jeff’s was running low on battery so we had to
Sunset
Sunset on the Amazon rely on everyone else's while we were sliding and slipping everywhere. Certainly a good and funny time watching these two miss prissy Irish girls who must have thought they were going on a four star guided tour . . . how wrong they were. After and hour or so we made our way back and I was bitten on the wrist by the biggest ant I've seen, it was just over an inch long, hell it hurt it, it was as though someone had shoved a red hot poker up under your skin and my arm was burning. We headed off to bed after we got back and didn't worry about a shower it was to hot ( work that out) Jeff had his old faithful ear plugs in and I couldn't be bothered looking for mine. Jeff was snoring in 10 minutes as usual and me listening to the jungle frogs with a burning wrist.
It was a good day and evening with no complaints, it was a perfect day . . . Matt you would have been eaten alive in the jungle and Jacqueline you wouldn’t have made the first 5 minutes into it.
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Jo Takle
non-member comment
meeting the sloth
It must have been wonderful to be reunited with your own species. (The sloth).