About two years ago I saw my first ever episode of Survivor when my roommate was watching the finale of what I think was season 25. That one episode initially peaked my interest and after watching the whole of the next season, I was hooked. I went back to season 1 and started watching all the seasons in their entirety and consecutively. It was a bit of a marathon to say the least (it was sometimes difficult being interrupted by some pesky school work and going to my job...) but was made possible by persistence and the website TV Torrents for easy download. However, the site ultimately went under and that halted my progression with watching the full history of the series since it was no longer easy or convenient. But that really isn't the point. The point is that the "Survivor" mentality caught me and I particularly enjoyed the nature components of the challenge of participating and in particular, the Amazon was a cool location. Since I had been planning on going to travel through South America, I knew I would make going to the Amazon a priority since in my mind it was so iconic... and so I did and I went!
I chose to go through the high traffic location of Manaus, Brazil. The Amazon is actually accessible from a few different countries but this access point is quite typical and authentic with the experience it offers. Lonely Planet and guide books alike warn again scamming agencies which can be worrisome when you are booking a once in a lifetime experience. I got in touch with a specifically recommenced agency through a hosteling international hostel (also known to be reliable) and despite It's slightly higher price, I booked it for ease of mind and the convenience of the airport pickup that came with it (which was also good because I arrived at 1:15am). The company originally told me that if there would be anyone else leaving Manaus on the same day that I was planning on leaving then I would receive a discount of approximately $50usd. When I inquired if there were other participants for my 3 days/2 nights trip leaving on the same day I was told the answer was no but to check on the next day (which was the day I was flying from Recife and the day before my departure). As I was packing up my bags to get ready to head to the airport the next evening, I received an email from the company saying that someone else signed up and I would be getting the discount! It turned out to be much more significant than just a financial savings because I later found out that until that point, I would have been the only one on my trip - just me and the guide - which would have meant a very quiet and likely lonely experience. Two English buddies came to save the day and signed up for the same itinerary that I signed up for and ended up being my fantastic jungle companions!!
So since I arrived at the hostel at only 1:45am and was being picked up at 7am for my jungle departure, it didn't leave me much time for sleep. But who needs sleep when you take off on a crazy Amazon jungle adventure??? We had a 2.5 hour car ride to start us off heading about 200kms North of Manaus. The ride was quite nice until about an hour left to the drive the street became the most dangerously potholed landscape I had ever seen. There were literally massive crater holes in the middle of the road that caused the drivers on both sides of the street to dance between the asphalt shortcomings, making it look like very drunk slash artisticly dance-y cars making their way down the road. We then got to a small shack/house by the river and transferred to a motorized boat for another hour's journey. At this point it started to rain a bit (I mean it is the rainforest so It's kind of legitimate... ) so on the boat we were surrounded by water from all ends. We were also accompanied by our lovely guide, Chris, who would be with us for the duration of our stay.
Arriving at the lodge was really great. It's literally at the riverbank and is super serene. No electricity during the day (solar panels to allow for limited light usage in the evenings) and a splattering of wooden bungalows as well as an outdoor but covered dining room area and an outdoor but covered general hammock sleeping area (that was my lodging for the first night). After getting settled (which meant putting my bag down and hanging up my hammock) we went for a quick dip in the river which is swimable right by the river's edge. I did feel the occasional touch of something underneath the water which of course scared me as there is wildlife underneath the water but I stayed close to the edge and kept my legs kicking. After lunch we went out in a 4 person canoe to go fishing!! Our guide, Chris, brought with makeshift fishing rods which were long sticks and a metal hook attached with fishing line. As bait he brought with a chicken leg and thigh which he cut up using his machete as a knife and his oar as a cutting board - very rustic. We paddled around to a few different areas looking for piranhas - our targets. Over the course of an hour and a half Chris caught quite a few piranhas which became a dish at dinner that night for those who wanted. I caught one for about a second and a half but when I tugged on the line it jumped off the hook once out of the water. For the rest of our time out there I continued my benevolent ways and just fed the fish with the bait on my hook. The paddling back to the lodge was just gorgeous as the sun was setting. Being on that lake, surrounded by nature and this magnificent sky being reflected in the mirror-like water became my new peaceful space.
After dinner (for me without the piranhas which BTW didn't look any more appealing cooked and dead than they did alive!) we got back into the canoe - this time with an external motor - to go look for Caymans. Unfortunately, despite our keen searching we didn't find any. Chris explained that it was likely because the sky was so clear and this great big moon was shedding quite a bit of light on the river which kept nature's hidden treasures hidden. It was still a beautiful excursion and quite extraordinary to see the moon so bright out there from the water! At one point we did see a set of eyes from afar which could have been any kind of creature so to make things interesting we decided it was an anaconda :)
I slept that night in a hammock for the first time ever! It was better than I expected but not the most 5 star experience. It started to pour in the middle of the night (this was clearly going to be a trend) and it was pretty incredible to be sleeping outside but under the protection of a roof yet hearing the power of the downpour. I made sure to lather up with mosquito repellent beforehand and it proved to be pretty effective thank God. In the morning were were initially going to take a nature hike but it was still pouring so we settled for some jewelry making with local natural resources (I now have a super cool bracelet made out of Amazon tree bark as the "thread" and indigenous colored seeds as the beads!) and played cards to the tune of the rain. Later in the afternoon the rain actually let up which was great because we packed up for an overnight stay in the jungle. It was about an hour walk to our site and on the way we learned about the Flora around us and some natural remedies using the nature (malarial treatment, diarrhea storage, headache cures...). The campsite itself was small yet sufficient. There was a large blue tarp propped up by logs to protect us and our hammocks for when it rained (of course that came in handy when it rained if possible even harder that night). We collected firewood, built a fire, cut up the veggies we brought with by machete and Swiss army knife and basically roughed it for the evening. We had a few single candles around that provided a bit of light as well as the campfire, but for the most part it was pretty dark. In the morning after getting the fire back up running and finally caving to go pee in the woods, we boiled some water for coffee, cut up some fruit (pineapple here is to die for!) And went out on another nature walk to keep seeing more of the jungle and learn about Its wonders. It was a pretty gorgeous experience, unique and quite cool for me since it was the fricken Amazon!!
We hiked back to the main lodge, showered, had some lunch and finally started to head back to Manaus. staying in a bed with air-conditioning in the room was a real luxury that night! Friday's adventure was heading out to Porto Ceasa - there is a place in the river where the black water meets the white water and because of their separate chemical properties, the waters don't mix. You can actually see a divide in the water where one ends and the other begins! One of nature's true phenomenons... (and Yes, I have some pictures).
I once again headed to a different hostel to be by Chabad for Shabbat. A pretty cool experience spending Shabbat in the Amazon (not the jungle, but in the state Amazonas ) and a special treat for me to see another Jewish community.
I'm now officially out of Brazil. Currently sitting next to an outlet, charging my phone at an airport in Panama waiting for my next connection to Peru! It's going to be weird to switch back to not understanding Spanish from having not understood Portuguese so I'll have to adjust my brain once more!
And on that note I would like to wish all the mother's out there (especially my own with an honorable mention to my sister who is also a mother) a very special Mother's Day! While It's true that ever day is mother's day, It's nice that we can make a public recognition on this day. Thanks for birthing us and being mothers!!!
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