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The sky roared like the belly of a hungry jaguar...
Our small boat was headed right toward the navy blue storm
cloud. By small, I mean large enough for five passengers and
the three live chickens cramped behind my seat.
We had only been on the Amazon River for ten minutes when
the sky opened up and sheets of rain poured down upon us,
filling our ride with puddles of water. I had total confidence
in our driver, although I must admit it made me nervous when
I saw him cross himself and begin to pray. The five of us
each grabbed a corner of a plastic tarp to shield us from
the pounding rain.
Soon nature's fury was over and all my belongings I meticulously
packed for the next 17 days were completely soaked! ¨Thats
life in the rain forest¨ my guide joked in broken English,
¨You can always expect some rain".
Moments later we were baking in the tropical sun, coasting
down the murky brown river like a condor on a mountain breeze.
Civilization disappeared behind me as I headed into the great
unknown.
The Amazon River is one of the world's great natural mysteries.
It stretches 4,000 miles long and most of it has yet to be
explored. The basin is home to 2,000 species of fish (more
than the entire Atlantic Ocean) and 4,000 species of birds!
Its greatest biodiversity is in its insects - millions of
them - needless to say, I packed my deet bug spray.
After two hours on the open water the river started to become
very thin and shallow. The underside of the boat was taking
a beating from the sunken logs and debris. Suddenly, our boat
became lodged on the bottom, scraping its belly on the muddy
surface.
Patiently, my guide waited for a local to arrive and literally
tow our motor boat the remaining five kilometers upriver.
Amazonian children curious to see what all the commotion was
about rushed out of their ramshackle stick huts to give us
a wave. At 135 km into the jungle, this 'excitement' was probably
the highlight of their week.
After clearing that obstacle we docked our boat and made
our way to the Muyuna Lodge where I was to stay the
next three days. Muyuna is an ecological establishment with
eight simple wooden cabins built on stilts. They are sometimes
underwater during the wet season. Fortunately, we had two
months until the rain really began to come down. Muyuna is
literally in the middle of nowhere, about 20 miles due east
from ¨Bumblef*ck¨. It has no electricity, gas or hot
water. Here, nestled in the heart of the Yanayacu branch of
the Amazon, life is simple. The area is filled with tons of
trees, animals and all the oxygen the world will ever need.
This deep in the jungle you can see colors you've never seen
before or even knew existed! The combined sounds of the birds,
insects and running river can lull one into a state of complete
serenity.
Nocturnal Hunt
As night sprawls across the Amazon basin, the mosquito army
arrives in swarms. The massive amounts of pesky insects call
the attention of their biggest predator - the bat. As dusk
envelops the area, hundreds of bats awaken for their feeding
frenzy. It is like witnessing an airborne buffet. One bloodsucker
eating another. The bats erratic flight is an unbelievable
sight to witness; they whizzed inches from my face, never
once crashing into one another.
After sunset, I accompanied my guide, Horhay, on a nocturnal
hunt where we would shoot nothing but pictures, take nothing
but memories and leave nothing but footprints. We trekked
through the jungle under the luminous moonlight until we came
upon a massive fig tree. It looked like an arboreal labyrinth
with its entire root system above the ground. The tree had
lots of hiding spaces for the Bird Eating Tarantula. You can
imagine how big these arachnids are if they eat BIRDS! They
were everywhere, creeping, crawling and eating. The tree appeared
to be alive with the furry legged creatures. Horhay caught
one with his bare hands and put it on my arm. He assured me
¨It won´t bite if you don´t move¨. Needless
to say, I was as still as the night...petrified as wood!
After the adrenaline rush of the tarantula tree we boarded
our small boat to witness some of the nocturnal life along
the riverbed. With the choral soundtrack of a million frogs,
we coasted downstream, motor off, to avoid scaring away the
Amazon Caimans (gators). We shined our flashlights into the
mass of vegetation hoping to see the reflective reptilian
eyes staring back. ¨Theres one!¨ my guide whispered.
Fifteen feet from our small boat lay the prehistoric beast.
It´s crazy to think that only hours before, the local
children were bathing, swimming and fishing in this very river.
Such is life on the Amazon.
Fishing for piranha
The following morning we awoke early for a sunrise fishing
trip. Dawn in the heart of the jungle is a different kind
of visual feast. A light fog pulls back like a blanket revealing
nature´s intense colors. Within minutes the universe
changes from misty gray into a blinding green. A light layer
of haze hovers over the waters surface until the intense tropical
sun beats it into submission.
Today we would be fishing for the Amazon´s most feared
predator - not the caiman or the jaguar - the pirhana! Catching
these infamous beasts is quite simple. They eat anything and
eat often. Within an hour we caught enough pirhana for lunch
and dinner. They're actually quite tasty - once you
get past the bones.
Jungle trekking
If the Amazon River is the spine of the forest, than the
trees are surely its lungs, breathing life into the land.
I saddled up my knee high rubber boots and grabbed my machete
and agua. In the Amazon, a jungle trek requires a machete
knife; any semblance of trail can potentially be covered with
plants and vines within days. Thats how quickly vegetation
grows here.
Our boat docked at the trail head. We would walk another
two hours through thick mud to reach the village of San
Juan. The dense mud clung to my heels like a vice grip
as I hacked my way though the fallen trees and branches.
Monkeys, sloths and tropical birds were hidden, however,
Horhay's eagle-eyes seemed to find them with ease. The air
was thick, humid and so dense you could almost drink it. The
mosquitos were absolutely relentless, after the first hour
I became used to the sound of buzzing in my ears. They hovered
over me like a busload of seniors at an Atlantic City buffet.
I was definitely their main course that afternoon.
We finally arrived at the village, only to be surprised at
the presence of a soccer (err...I mean futbol field) in the
center of their small community. Besides fishing, what else
is there to do in the middle of nowhere? I wandered around
and took pictures of the children. I later showed them their
faces on the digital camera screen...you would think I was
a magician the way their angelic faces lit up. They surrounded
me in utter amazement. It´s quite possible these children
had never seen a digital camera before...there was no electricity
for 100 miles!
There was an elderly 'medicine woman' in the village with
a blind pet owl. It was quite tame and let me pet it. And
I thought MY pets were strange! As I strolled around I noticed
I had a trail of curious children following me, perplexed
by my magic camera. Since I had a captive audience I did some
simple magic tricks for them (detachable thumb and pulling
coins out from their ears). Their laughter was a language
that transcends all boundaries. It warmed my heart and soul.
After a couple more tricks I departed on my boat. I figure
I better leave before the tribe adopted me as their new Shaman,¨Magic
Josh¨
The pink dolphins
For my last day in the Amazon we embarked on a quest to find
the elusive Pink Dolphin. These freshwater dolphins can reach
7 feet in length and weigh 350 pounds. Their bodies are entirely
pink (they have blood vessels right below their skin). We
cruised down the river until it bottle necked into a thin
stream. Tall jungle reeds slapped against our boat, startling
hundreds of resting yellow butterflies into the air. They
fluttered about, creating a living kaleidoscope against the
bright blue sky.
We reached an opening in the dense reeds and the thin river
transformed into a large stagnant lake. Horhay turned the
motor off and we waited patiently. Within minutes a vibrant
pink head emerged from the murky brown water and blew a spritz
into the air. WOW! It mesmerized me. Here I was, one hundred
miles deep in the jungle and dolphins - PINK dolphins - were
frolicking around my boat. Deep in the Amazon, life can be
full of wonderful surprises.
After our sighting, we docked the boat on an embankment.
¨You can swim here¨ Horhay said reassuringly ¨No
Pirhanas aqui¨ What the hell, you only live once, and
if he was wrong it was going to be a short life.
I nervously inched my way into the lukewarm murky water.
It smelled like a pile of wet leaves on collection day. Despite
the smell, it was heavenly warm and felt great on my tired
muscles. The bottom was sandy, yet sticky. It was a substrate
like I´ve never felt before. With each step, the riverbed
clung to my feet like bubble gum. Funky...yet I never sunk
into the mud. I relished in the moment. Here I was, swimming
in the infamous Amazon River. A childhood dream of the ultimate
nature lover had come true.
Just then, out of nowhere, I felt a bite! I screamed and
jumped out of that river faster than a jaguar in heat! I was
totally freaked out by the whole experience. My guide and
boat driver were totally hysterical at my reaction. They had
never seen anyone move so fast. I had a little nibble mark
on my elbow...my newest travel scar with a cool story behind
it. I don´t think I´ve ever been so scared in
my entire life! Who else can say they've been bit by a pirhana
and lived to tell the tale? |
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