In the Amazon, Part One

It’s 6:28am on Saturday, and I’m sitting up inside my mosquito-netted bed, typing this blog update, which won’t actually post until we’re back in Lima on Tuesday evening.

I’m writing from the Amazon, specifically the Tahuayo Lodge (www.perujungle.com), situated on the Tahuayo River, a tributary off the Amazon River. We got here about lunchtime last Tuesday, February 1. In the past few days, I’ve alternated between “this is amazing!” to “get me out of here stat.” Let me tell you about our stay thus far.

If you read our last post, then you know we had an early morning flight last Tuesday. We got to the airport about 3:45am, all bleary-eyed and kind of grumpy. Even at that early hour, the Lima airport was packed. We made it through security and headed for our gate. But what did we spot en route to our gate? A Starbucks. We never ever saw a Starbucks in Ecuador, and here we are – 12 hours in Lima – and we see one at the airport. Seeing as that was the only option for food and coffee, we handed over some dollars to Starbucks.

Our flight left Lima about 5:30am, and we landed in Iquitos nearly two hours later. We were met at the Iquitos airport by our Tahuayo Lodge guide, Lander. When guests stay at the Lodge, they are matched to a local guide; this guide stays with you throughout your trip. Lander and two co-workers put our bags in the back of a van, and then drove us into the city of Iquitos. Our destination was the Lodge’s office in the city.

Driving through Iquitos was wild. Iquitos is only accessible by boat or plane, so cars appear to be limited in the city. However, there are a ton of tuk-tuks – motorcycles with a carriage affixed on the back. And these tuk-tuks are constantly weaving in and out of traffic. After 35 minutes in the van, we arrived at the Tahuayo Lodge office, which was right next to a bustling market; people were selling all different kinds of food – fruit, fish, plantains, chickens, and so much more. 

We went inside the office and upstairs for breakfast. Following breakfast, Lander took us on a quick tour of the market…and that’s where we started sweating. It. Was. So. Hot. And. Humid. We were dripping by the time we got back to the office. 

Fruit, fish, and more for sale in the market.

Following Lander through the market. Can you feel the heat all around us?

We didn’t have too much time to be uncomfortable, though, because Lander soon ushered us down many steps to the Itaya River and onto a boat that would take us to the Lodge. We climbed onto a skinny boat, and were joined by Lander and two other Lodge employees, in addition to the driver. We put on life vests, and off we went. Twenty minutes into our ride, and we had reached the Amazon River. It was so cool – it was so big! And as we motored along the Amazon, we encountered more and more debris – like logs and branches and parts of bushes. Our boat driver did his best to avoid this debris, but sometimes couldn’t see it all. So there were times when he’d have to stop the boat, lift up the motor, shake out the debris, and then get going again. 

About to leave Iquitos on our four hour boat ride.

Lander is showing us the map with Amazonian rivers.

Hello, wide and mighty Amazon River.

After about four hours, we reached the Lodge. Once the boat stopped, the heat smacked us in the face. OH MY LANDS. I knew then that the next week wouldn’t be all fun and games. 

We climbed up the Lodge’s front steps and entered the main dining room. We were greeted by two Lodge employees, who handed us a camu camu drink. Mmm, delicious! Camu camu is a fruit found in the Amazon – it looks like a cherry – and it is crazy sour (we know – we tried some; a camu camu fruit is also packed with 30x the Vitamin C found in an orange!). But squeeze it and add some sugar, and you have a fabulous drink.

Camu camu fruit. There's like a gazillion ounces of Vitamin C in there.

Lander then showed us around the Lodge (there’s not too much to see; it’s not that big of a place) and took us to our room/hut, which had two stories (what they call a matrimonial bed on the first story and two twin beds on the second). The entire Lodge is built on stilts, because during the high-water season, the water rises very high and floods the area. We visited during the low-water season.

The Tahuayo Lodge

Our hut at the Lodge.

Walking through the Lodge.

We put our bags down and went back to the dining hall for a 1pm lunch. There, we met other Lodge guests: Laura and Jim from Spokane, Bam and Gretchen from Los Angeles, and Aoife from Ireland. 

When we finished eating, Lander returned to talk to us about our schedule for the next few days. We told him what we wanted to see and do, and he told us our options and gave us new ideas. Here’s the schedule we decided on:

• Tuesday afternoon: Hike
• Wednesday: Canopy zip line in the morning; looking for pink dolphins and swimming in a lake in the afternoon
• Thursday: Boat ride to terra firma (higher ground) followed by a hike to look for poison dart frogs
• Friday: Fishing trip in the morning; canoeing in the afternoon to look for giant river otters
• Saturday: Head to the Amazon Research Center in the morning (leg two of our Amazon trip)

And here’s how those days panned out:

Tuesday

We agreed to meet Lander for a hike at 3pm. All of us dressed in pants and long-sleeved shirts except Tim; he wore shorts. We packed a day back with our binoculars, bug spray, and water. Lander gave us rubber boots; he himself carried binoculars and a machete.

Before we got started, I asked the Lodge manager if we could purchase a water bottle, as we arrived with just two freebie plastic bottles of water from our Lima hotel. Thank goodness there was a larger water bottle we could purchase; otherwise, those flimsy plastic waters wouldn’t have gotten us very far.

Lander took us below the Lodge and showed us two plants – one that was the Amazon’s version of cilantro (it smelled incredible) and another that local villagers crush up and use as shampoo (it’s also supposed to help your hair grow). We hadn’t even left the Lodge grounds, and we were in awe. 

So then we started hiking; we headed out the back of the Lodge and into the rainforest. We stopped just before the entrance of the rainforest so Lander could tell us: “Don’t touch anything. If you’re going to fall, let yourself fall. Do not grab onto anything.” One of us asked, “Are there poisonous snakes in the forest?” And Lander replied, “Yes, there are. I’ve seen them.” And he proceeded to tell us about a few encounters he’d had with a bushmaster and about the time he was bit by a fer-de-lance and spent a week in the hospital. But Lander told us: “Don’t worry. The snakes, they are scared of us. And I watch all the time for snakes.” So right there, I knew this would be a different kind of hike. 

The four of us gringos started sweating profusely just a few steps into the rainforest. The air was really, really thick. While we were walking, it was manageable. But each time we stopped to look at something, it was unbearable. And the mosquitoes, ohhhhh the MOSQUITOES. They. Were. Everywhere. And they tore us up. I kept grabbing the bug spray and spraying myself in new areas (fingers! forehead! ears!), but it was too late. Lander didn’t seem bothered at all by the bugs – or the heat.

We did see super cool animals on our hike: owl monkey, squirrel monkey, bartender rat, macaw, nun bird, and an oropendola – a bird that makes an insane and lovely sound like a raindrop hitting a puddle. 

Lander also showed us a special nut, about the size of my fist. He used his machete to crack it open, and then tapped on the nut to show us what was inside. Soon, he had a white grub in his hand. “Anyone want to eat this? It’s edible for humans.” Wyatt replied, “Yes, I will.” Tim and I looked at each other in shock. Lander handed the grub over to Wyatt and HE PUT IT IN HIS MOUTH. He chewed the grub, and then spit it out. Tim and I were crazy impressed. Then Wyatt said, “Daddy, you have to eat one now.” And Tim agreed, especially considering his 9-year-old son just made an attempt. Lander tapped another grub out of the nut and passed it over to Tim. Tim gamely put the grub in his mouth and chewed…and swallowed. And then said, “I need a beer.” Lander looked at me and Taylor and asked, “Would you like to try, too?” “Nope, nope,” we quickly replied.

HE PUT IT IN HIS MOUTH.

Lander's working on getting a second grub -- for Tim.

HE ATE IT.

We walked through the forest some more, looking at plants and trees and insects and birds and other animals, and then hiked back to the lodge. All of us were just dripping; we were drenched with sweat. I couldn’t get back to our hut and in the shower fast enough. It took me too long to peel my sticky clothes away from my skin.

Tim took the kids to the dining hall for a Coke and an Inka Cola (a Peruvian favorite), and he had his well-deserved beer. After my shower, I met them in the dining hall, and we compared bug bites. I had them all over my legs, all over. Turns out leggings might not be the best pants in which to hike in a rainforest. Taylor had bug bites on her face, and Wyatt seemed to have just a few on his hands. Tim said his legs really itched; by the next morning, he’d have a full-blown rash on the part of his legs that wasn’t covered by boots or his shorts (he clearly brushed up against some kind of poisonous plant on our hike; that was the last time he wore shorts in the rainforest). While Tim and Wyatt played cards, Taylor and I escaped to the hammock room – literally a room with five hammocks overlooking the Tahuayo River. We read, encountered minimal bugs, and loved it. 

When in Rome...you gotta try an Inka Cola!

A Coke after a rainforest hike sure does taste good.

Hammock + book = happy girl.

At 7pm, Giovanni – the Lodge’s sole waiter – banged the drum and yelled, “Dinner!” We all filed into the dining hall and sat down to eat. About 7:30pm, all of the Lodge guides and staff came into the dining hall. Soon after, Giovanni emerged from the kitchen with a cake and placed it in front of Wyatt. The cake read, ‘Happy Birthday, Wyatt.’ Everyone started singing the birthday song to Wyatt, first in English and then in Spanish. Giovanni cut the cake and we passed out pieces to the staff and other guests. Wyatt enjoyed his Amazonian birthday celebration.

Singing happy birthday.

Look at that awesome cake!

After our cake, Lander sat down with us. We talked about our day and made plans for the next day. We agreed to start our day with a boat ride at 6am. From there, our family shuffled back to our hut and promptly fell into bed. I was woken up sometime in the middle of the night by Wyatt, who was very scared about animals that might be creeping into our hut (he probably heard a bat in the rafters). Poor kid – he got himself in a right tizzy and could not get back to sleep. And of course, getting yourself in a tizzy heats you up, literally. It was already flipping hot outside; it’s even hotter inside a mosquito net. Needless to say, it was a bit of a rough night. We cancelled our 6am boat ride with Lander and let the kids sleep instead. And that brings us to Wednesday…

Wednesday

We walked over to the dining hall for the 8am breakfast. By this time, we had befriended Laura, Jim, Bam, Gretchen, and Aoife. Throughout our stay, we would so enjoy talking with them, swapping stories from our days, learning about their lives, and commiserating/laughing together about the mosquitoes.

After breakfast, we went back to our hut to get ready for a forest hike. I steeled myself for more heat and more mosquitoes. Once again, I put on leggings. We covered ourselves in bug spray, filled our water bottle, and met Lander at 9:30am. Our plan was to hike 45 minutes to the canopy zip line, do the zip line, and then hike back to the Lodge. 

We made it to the canopy zip line, and three other Lodge staffers were already there. They had hiked from the Lodge, carrying large bags of equipment. We climbed up some steps to the zip line platform, and started getting gear on. The mosquitoes just ate us up. I could feel bites coming in on my butt. No surprise, we were drenched in sweat. 

In the past couple of years, I’ve developed a fear of heights, or maybe it’s a fear of falling – I haven’t quite figured it out. I was not keen on zip lining, but I didn’t want to get eaten alive by mosquitoes. So up I went; up we all went.

If you zoom in on this photo, you can probably see the bazillion mosquitoes around us.

Um, hi. That's a super high platform, right?!? I wasn't anxious for nothing.

There were three ways we could get up to the starting platform, which was about 75 meters high; you could get hoisted on a pulley, you could climb up a step ladder, or you could pull yourself up an ascender. Taylor and I opted for the pulley; Tim and Wyatt climbed the ladder. Lander climbed up first, the rest of us followed, and another Lodge staffer, Hugo, closed us out. Once I got up to the starting platform, I sweated some more; we were up high. The kids were chomping at the bit to zip line, and I was holding onto the tree for dear life. 

We sailed through four zip lines, the longest of which was about 150 meters. I looked up at the sky every single time. The breeze felt great, and the mosquitoes were non-existent.

Back down on the ground, we got out of our equipment and put our rubber boots back on. The mosquitoes again attacked us, and our sweat bath continued as we hiked to the Lodge.

We ate lunch at 1pm, and then prepped for a 2:30pm boat ride with Lander. Lander and our boat driver took us down river to look for dolphins, and find them we did. We saw both pink and gray dolphins, and it was really cool. After our dolphin sightings, we headed to a lake to swim. The water in the lake was hot in places and warm in others. The water was also black and acidic (tannic acid), so you couldn’t see hardly at all, but when you brought your hands near the water’s surface, they looked reddish. Taylor’s and my bathing suits are now stained by the acidic water (an Amazon souvenir, clearly).

Heading out to look for dolphins. We're so happy -- the mosquitoes can't really get us here!

See that white splash? That's a pink dolphin, I swear. I took about 15 photos, all of similar splashes. It's dang hard to get a photo of a dolphin!

Time to jump off the boat into some acidic water!

After our swim, we jumped back in the boat and headed for the Lodge. We played cards again in the dining hall and ate our 7pm dinner. Lander joined us about 7:30pm, and we confirmed plans for Thursday before all retiring to our rooms.

Thursday

Our plan on Thursday was to head to “Frog Valley,” where the poison dart frogs make their home. I was tired of having my legs chewed up by mosquitoes, so I pulled on bright blue joggers; I thought the thicker fabric might protect me better. 

After breakfast, we packed our day pack with our rain jackets, sunscreen, bug spray (always, always), and binoculars, and grabbed our boots. We met Lander by the dining hall, and walked to our boat. Paolo would be our boat driver that day. Lander and Paolo had packed the boat with extra water and lunch supplies.

We were soooo looking forward to the boat ride, for that was the one place where we were guaranteed to be cool. We jokingly called the boat rides our “air conditioning.”

Each time we got in the boat, Lander said we were going exploring. He would constantly look out for wildlife, and signal for the driver to stop so we could get a closer look. About 45 minutes into our boat ride to Frog Valley via Rio Blanco, Lander stopped Paolo. “I smell a snake,” he said. Paolo slowed the boat down and turned the motor off. Lander looked carefully at the river banks and trees, but couldn’t come up with a snake. We firmly believe he did, indeed, smell a snake. 

Not too much further on, Lander said, “Hmm, the weather is changing. Put on your ponchos, please.” And about five minutes later, the skies opened and rain gushed out. We grabbed our rain jackets from our day pack and hurriedly put them on. Lander had a poncho, which he put on over himself and his backpack and his boat seat. [Note to self: When going to the Amazon, bring a poncho, not a rain jacket. Two very, very different things.]

The rain poured and poured. The four of us plus Paolo got drenched; Lander stayed mostly dry. Those pants I had chosen to protect me from mosquitoes? A horrible choice in the face of rain; I would have been so much better off in my leggings.

After 30 minutes of rain, the deluge stopped. We motored on a bit further to Frog Valley. Paolo parked the boat and Lander helped us all climb out – onto a muddy hill. We walked 50 meters to a shelter the Lodge had built, and put all of our stuff down on the table and benches there. Lander and Paolo brought up the water and lunch supplies. And then it started raining again. We waited about 15 minutes to see if the rain would stop; when it didn’t, Lander said, “Let’s go.” We set off on our hike, and hoped to God we wouldn’t see a bushmaster (okay, I was the only one hoping).

The rain didn’t really reach us through the canopy. And the silver linings to all the rain? Less mosquitoes (although, trust me, we still got bit) and cooler temperatures. We walked and walked through the forest, seeing different things along the way, but never a poison dart frog. After some time, the kids had had enough and were getting hungry. Lander turned us around, and we headed for the shelter. Back at the shelter, Paolo got a fire going and Lander chopped vegetables. We ate some of the best chicken I’ve ever had in my life, plus rice, a tomato and avocado salad, and apples. I remained sopping wet.

Lander talks, and we listen. 

We also had a taste of what Lander called jungle butter – it was an edible fruit we found on the forest floor. Tim, Wyatt, and I ate some…and it was absolutely disgusting. It took a while to get that taste out of my mouth.

Making lunch under the shelter.

Attempting to dry out.

Cooking chicken.

Just maybe don't eat the jungle butter...

We were still under the shelter, packing up from lunch, when we heard Lander cry, “Everyone, come here! Poison dart frog!” We raced through the bushes and found Lander, and he pointed out the teeny, tiny, colorful poison dart frog. It was so, so cool. The frog stayed still long enough for us to snap some photos. Our visit to Frog Valley had been a very wet, very awesome success.

Poison dart frog with blue legs! It's soooo small -- about the size of a penny.

Once back at the Lodge, it felt amazing to put on dry clothes. We shuffled to the dining hall to play cards before dinner, and we also caught up with Aoife, who, along with her guide, had spent the day making a spear. (And yes, she was intending to use said spear to go spear-fishing that night.)

After dinner, Tim and Wyatt joined Lander on a nighttime boat ride, and Taylor and I gleefully returned to our hut to read books inside our mosquito net. 

Friday

Friday morning came early, way early. We met Lander and our boat driver Acho (pronounced Ow-cho) at 6am for a fishing trip. Acho had cut our fishing rods from skinny branches in the forest, and Lander tied string and hooks on them. Initially, we used raw beef for our bait; once we had caught a few fish, we used fish bait.

Fishing was fun. We caught red-bellied piranha and catfish. All of us caught fish that morning, but of course, Lander and Acho – the pros – caught the most. 

Fishing.

Fishing.

Lander's such a pro.

Fishing.

Fishing, and poised for rain.

Mr. Acho caught a piranha.

At one point, we heard a river otter nearby. Lander made a river otter noise – and the river otter responded! We thought we might see the otter, but no such luck. We know it was quite close to us, but they can be hard to view in the wild.

We ate a breakfast of bread, peanut butter, jelly, oranges, hard boiled eggs, and instant coffee on the boat. And we talked and talked to Lander during breakfast time. We learned he’d been a guide for the Lodge for four years; previously, he worked as a guide for another company. He learned English just four years ago (his English is incredible), and he’s from the Yahua tribe. He grew up in the Amazon, but now lives in Iquitos with his wife and three children. He’s 31 and returns to his village often to visit. And Lander LOVES his job. We asked him, “Have you ever been to the United States?” He said, “No.” And then Tim asked, “Have you ever been to Lima?” Lander said, “I have a brother there who tells me to come visit. But I don’t want to. I love the jungle, this is my home. I don’t want to leave.”

We asked Lander about mosquitoes, too: “Lander, we’re getting chewed up by mosquitoes, but they don’t seem to bother you. Do they?” And he shared, “No. They bite me, but I don’t have a reaction. There’s no effect.” I guess when you grow up in the Amazon, your skin is a heck of a lot tougher (let’s face it, everything about you is a lot tougher).

During our fishing trip, we got rained on but weren’t soaked through. And we saw more pink dolphins.

We got back to the lodge for lunch, and Lander fried the piranha we caught. 

Piranha for lunch.

Tim and I were on a mission to find more bug spray, too. God bless the Lodge, which sold a spray bottle out of their gift shop cupboard. We snatched that puppy up, tore off the cap, and doused ourselves yet again.

At 2:30pm, we got back in the boat with Lander and Acho, and drove up river about 20 minutes. Lander tied the boat up on the river bank, and we climbed into two canoes that Acho had been towing off the motorboat. Lander, Wyatt, and I were in one canoe; Acho, Tim, and Taylor were in another. We paddled for 90 minutes before going back to the motorboat, and then heading back to the Lodge. We had hoped, again, to see a river otter, but one didn’t materialize. We saw instead turkey vultures, hawks, parrots, parakeets, herons, and more.

Tim, Taylor, and Mr. Acho.

Still poised for rain.

We canoed through this channel; it was so beautiful.

A walking tree. Amazon villagers never use wood from a walking tree; legend has it that if you do cut up and use a walking tree, your family will die.

That night, Tim and Wyatt went for their third boat ride of the day – this time with Lander, another Lodge guide, and two new guests from Montreal. In the darkness (and it’s dark-dark out there at night), from the boat, the other guide spotted a tree frog on the opposite side of the river. I mean, seriously, the Lodge guides have crazy skills.

*****

Today, Saturday, we leave the Lodge at 9am to head to the Amazon Research Center (ARC), a certified research institution about 15 kilometers up river. We’ll see Laura, Jim, Bam, and Gretchen at the ARC; they arrived on Friday. And we’ll see Aoife at the ARC on Sunday. We’re pumped to explore a new area of the Amazon. 

*****

So far, our Amazon trip has been both amazing and utterly challenging. I’ve never been this physically uncomfortable in my life, and I’ve never been so excited to go exploring and see trees and animals and a giant forest. I’ve had enough mosquitoes to last me for a lifetime, and I’ve loved being completely disconnected from the outside world (while there is a WiFi room at the Lodge, the connection is unbelievably slow, so I didn’t even try). 

Lander calls the Amazon the “lungs of the world,” and it evokes such a beautiful image in my mind. From what I’ve seen of the Amazon so far, it’s a wild and wonderful place. The ecosystem works here – plants and animals taking care of each other – and it’s absolutely magical. 

We want to thank Sachamama, the Mother of the Forest – one of three ancient snake mothers of the Peruvian Amazon – for all that she has shown us in just a few days.