S: Today was going to be a long day, we had booked a bus that was going to take about 20 hours. We packed up our things, brought some local snacks and caught a taxi to the bus terminal, or so we thought?! We arrived and eventually found the office we were looking for only to be told to go to another office, so we hopped in a cab again and finally found the right bus. I don't know quite where to start about the bus, it had no front or back bumper and looked to be around 30 years old and needed some major repairs. I had already read that this journey was awful, and most tourists opt to fly but we had decided that it couldn't be that bad could it?? The truth is it saved us about £100 one way. So, I gave James a kiss, told him I loved him and see you at the other end. It didn't start off too bad but then we hit part of the most dangerous road in the world and it soon became clear why most people flew. The road was dry thankfully, but soo narrow and the bus drivers are a little loco (crazy) with their driving, there were moments we held our breath. But we got there in one piece and found a nice hostel to put our heads down for a couple of hours.

J: Once clean and refreshed we had a relaxing day around the town, and in the hostel hammocks. We even found a great Mexican restaurant.

The next day we set off early on our Pampas Tour, the first 3 hours were on an extremely dusty road to the point that it was hard to breath without choking. Then it was onto our boat which was a proper traditional style one, a tree trunk carved out to make a long thin boat. Our guide Danny took us for a ride on the flooded waterways which was lovely on the hot day. We saw lots of birds including a zebra hawk, turtles, monkeys and at the lodge an alligator which often hangs around. The "Eco lodges" are some wooden shacks with connecting walkways all sitting a foot above the water, it was a beautiful place to be in the Amazon.
A little later we set off to another lodge which had a stunning view of the sun set, it was incredible to be there and hear all the animals around..... Then just after the sun set, the Mosquitos come out!

S: OMG, in about 5 minutes I was covered in mosquito bites. Which I was not loving at all. We waited for dark and then we set out looking for alligator eyes with our torches. We found a few and a guide went a caught a baby alligator in the water to show us and we could touch it. It was so cool to be in the Amazon and because it was so dark you could see the Milky Way Galaxy clearly and it was beautiful. On the way back we kept spotting fireflies, which was the first time we had seen ones in the wild. The next morning, we were up in the dark and on the boat to watch the sunrise. It was amazing, so peaceful and tranquil. Next on the agenda was to go Anaconda spotting - I couldn't wait lol. We didn't find any Anaconda as they are becoming less due to farmers killing them, but we did find three false Cobras. We also managed to see the Pink Dolphins, it was fantastic to see them playing naturally in the water.

J: We stopped on another island to search for snakes, we didn't find any but found some interesting fruit, which tasted like coconut cream. Another fruit wasn't edible but looked like a kiwi, we were able to use the juice to write on each other and an hour later it had gone black like a tattoo, Danny tells us it will only last a week..... Or 6 months! Good job Sam didn't let me draw a penis and got a flower instead lol, I got our new Taiwan friends to write in Chinese on my arm, it said "never give up" I wanted "never stop exploring" but exploring doesn't translate apparently.

S: After lunch I had a quick siesta which was lovely and refreshing. Piranha fishing was next, and it started slow and then suddenly, we were all catching Piranhas, some which were big enough to eat. We kept these and set off back to the lodge. The guys cooked these for us, and just as we were eating them, we hear a whoosh and the gas canister piping had come lose and had caught fire. I heard myself shout get out to everyone and everyone left quickly. Now we are surrounded by water thank goodness but it's full of alligators. The men living there jumped in the water to start trying to put the fire out whilst I helped find buckets for the fire (It's funny to think we are all scared of the alligators, but the men didn't care about them). After a few minutes it became apparent they couldn't put it out, and soon James got involved and asked the lady cook for blankets, neither speaking a common language, but understanding. He wet them and put the fire out and due to his quick thinking saved the kitchen, dining room and the guys business. Our group went to bed to keep out of the way whilst they cleared up, but another group got dinner that was cooked by the cooks on equipment borrowed from the neighbours. It's amazing to think how these people 5 minutes ago were about to lose their business and there they were cooking for another group. Their mentality is amazing and the fight they have to survive is something you cannot describe, but only witness.

J: The only thing to have made that night with the fire more extreme would have been if the alligators had started to attack as well!
The next morning we set off to dolphin watch, they are unusual dolphins, quite pink with a long nose/mouth. But as they are in mating season they weren't over interactive, so we left them alone and set off in search of other animals from the boat, we found many monkeys, birds, but the highlights were the Macaws and a Sloth.
After lunch we set off back and I'm sure Danny was running late as his driving on the river went crazy and you would definitely say we crashed a few times into the bush, or he just had too many beers with lunch. We made some new friends on this tour, a couple of German sisters; Marion & Anika and a Taiwan couple; Jerry and Tracey. We all booked up for a jungle tour for the next morning and had a meal together, I love meeting new travellers/friends around the world.

S: After a night of being clean and washing done I'm ready to hit the jungle again. We arrive after a 3-hour boat ride and it's like "I'm a celebrity, get me out of here." Apparently nobody has been out to visit the camp for 2 months and I started to wonder after our guide has to cut away the jungle with his machete, what we actually might find. We finally arrived at the camp after crossing over rivers by walking on tree trunks - I think I was starting to regret agreeing to this jungle tour.
We went for some lunch in the dining hut and we meet 'Bob', who was the resident tarantula. It was massive and above our heads, and poor 'Marion' had a breakdown every time we mentioned it. In fairness I wasn't keen on it, and it definitely made you eat quick lol. We went for our first walk after lunch and our guide Zenon (who didn't speak any English!) found lots of fruits like coca pods and ones that upset your belly if eaten. We found massive ants that if you stepped on would give you a painful bite.

J: We started to track down some wild pigs. Zenon said it was a big group and we followed the tracks, we could smell them and hear them, but the jungle was so thick I was the only one to see as they ran away. Then our guide exampled a use for the vines and made me a carry strap for my water bottle which I was very impressed with. We saw some Macaws again flying above us which we both love the look of, but more creatures than I could possibly list. Later we had a huge meal that could feed 12 and thankfully Jerry eats a lot so cleared the left overs, for a tiny guy he eats more than me! We taught them all some card games and had a laugh while enjoying the sounds of the jungle, we even saw Fire-flies.

S: We had a rude awakening the next day, rain and thunder had arrived. It was so noisy, it woke us all up about 5am. At breakfast Tracey wasn't well and it was still raining so we decided to do jungle craft making rings from nuts which made for a happy morning. In the afternoon we saw Cappuccino and Yellow monkeys with babies, Zenon made baby monkey noises and they were all inquisitive to what it was. It was brilliant to see the monkeys in the wild and how they interact. James had been mentioning the Aqua vine since we arrived, and Zenon found us one. He cut a vine in half and we all drank from it, it was delicious and refreshing, but I wouldn't know how to recognise the vine so maybe I'll stick to taking water bottles in the jungle.

J: Later we got to hunt down the wild pigs again. Admittedly it was only tracking them down, but it was a fantastic experience to track down a large group of 40-50 boars. But when we got near we had to be silent and they walked really close to us then the lead male spotted us, told the group and they ran away and left a horrendous smell so that we didn't follow. But Zenon didn't give up and eventually we saw them all cross the river, a brilliant experience.

S: We walked back to camp and had some dinner. The food is amazing and the portions are massive, we asked Rosita, the cook, to come home with us. We then discussed going for a night walk and this was the bit I was petrified about. We hadn't even left the camp and we had found a venomous snake, great start I thought in my mind lol. Then we continued and found more and more spiders - some toxic and some not. Poor Marion was having a meltdown, but both the boys and Zenon just found it hilarious, but it stopped me from panicking as I knew two people freaking out was not a great idea. We had decided not to shower in the jungle - yes we are both mingers but if it saves us both from getting bit by mosquitoes, I can put up with being smelly. We helped pack up the beds, had our last meal, said bye to "Bob" and then walked back to the boat, it was a lot quicker this time as we had less to carry.

J: Once back to civilisation we had a long shower which felt amazing and the dirt coming off was truly epic. We had our last meal out in the town and Sam lost the necklace I spent hours making just that morning. I don't think she really liked it and just said she lost it...?

The jungle trips were brilliant a real highlight for me. It was like being in a BBC documentary, I could almost hear Sir Richard Attenborough whispering, I always wondered if the program's made it look more than it was, but it really is full of life and a really beautiful place to be.