30 April 09
"In the (Amazon) jungle, the mighty (Amazon) jungle, the lion sleeps tonight…".
It poured all night last night and it hasn't let up yet. Our mosquito net did us proud - no bites (good start!).
Last night we were lucky enough to be visited by a shaman or 'witch doctor' who performed a cleansing ritual on a couple of fellow travellers around a blazing fire. This involved some singing, whistling and spitting of Ecuadorian rum (or something similar) to get rid of supposed evil spirits in the body. He was dressed in true witch doctor styles complete with grass skirt and feathered head gear (which later turned into jeans and a Lakers cap! I thought that was pretty funny as I was under the impression that they dress in traditional shaman clothing all the time. Weren't you?).
Today's activity was superb! We went on a jungle trek for 4 hours…in the pouring rain!! Everyone besides Tim and I opted for wet-weather gear, but not us! We wanted to be one with the jungle! Haha
When I say it poured, it POURED! We were trekking through mud (we had gumboots on) and slipping and sliding everywhere. It was so awesome - and I didn't get cold because it was so warm (well, I didn't get cold until the very end! By this stage I was soaked - but still super happy!).
Our guide was an Amazonian local and he was just brilliant. He explained the medicinal qualities of different types of plants (e.g. the crushed bark of one tree acted as an antiseptic) and made baskets and hats and all sorts of crazy things out of leaves. Tim was stoked with his rain jacket, hat, bag and earrings - he looked like a real jungle boy. Crazy kid!
Oh! We also ate ants! Lemon ones! Sounds pretty gross, but they were delicious. Really. Plus, there was a tree in the jungle whose bark smelled like Hungry Jack's pickles!. The jungle is full or weird and wonderful things, no?! I could go on and on… I just loved it!
After the trek our guide took us to a museum which housed replicas of different types of animal traps used by the Amazonian people. They're pretty clever. We also had the luxury of having our faces painted with traditional Amazonian designs with bead-like red seeds which, when crushed, made the paint. My design represented a waterfall. Tim's, a warrior - I think it all went to his head though, as soon enough he was sporting nothing more than jocks, his jungle 'armour' and a spear. Yes, like I said, crazy kid!
Before heading back to our lodge, we tried out a blow-dart gun. I managed to kill the (foam) parrot first. Call it beginner's luck, as I couldn't manage it another time. Tim, on the other hand, started slow and finished like a pro!
Did I mention that we played with a tarantula?