"Now, everyone turn off your lights and listen to the sound the jungle makes at night". One minute before this statement from our guide I had been shown a giant tarantula, out on a nightly hunt for its dinner. Now we are turning off all flashlights and standing here in the pitch blackness of the jungle for 5 mins? Kill me now!

The blackness suddenly engulfs me. Even though I know 5 other people are standing alongside me, I feel completely alone …. When I say 'alone' I mean just me and the tarantulas that is. I try not to think about them, but of course when you try not to think of something … that is all you can think about. Within seconds my skin is crawling, and my breathing becomes rapid. Apologies to those trying to listen to the sounds of the jungle but I take a big deep breath and grab onto my black tourmaline necklace for support. I ask the universe to calm me down and protect me.

The last 2 days, I watched my friends master their fear of heights as we tramped up and down cliff faces in the Amazon. My heart filled with pride as they pushed themselves, mostly against their own will, to overcome. It inspired me to do the same tonight and I had high hopes of crushing my fear of spiders ….. until I saw the tarantula. I was actually going to ask the guide to put a 'safe' spider in my hand and force myself to face into the fear …. until I saw the tarantula. To be fair, I was doing OK just seeing it sitting there on the side of the tree. When our guide prodded it with a small stick however and it reared up to protect itself, my eyes filled with tears and my heart tripled its speed.

That 5 mins listening to the jungle in the pitch black, felt like hours. But I made it through and the flashlights came back on. Unfortunately, 20 mins later our guide decides this is a good spot to do the same thing again. Are you kidding me?? We've heard the noises of the night jungle mate. At that moment, I wanted to strangle our guide. Give me snakes. Give me a puma. Anything with none, or up to 4 legs and I'm all in. More than 4 legs and we have an issue.

To be fair this was the only time I felt sheer panic. My Amazon adventure of a lifetime started when I boarded a small plane in La Paz. We are heading straight for Rurrenabaque (pronounced ruin-bark-ee) and an hour later, we are in this small Amazonian town on the Beni River. The town is the gateway to both the pampas and the jungle of the Amazon and has just under 20,000 permanent residents.

After a great night's sleep at a cute little lodge by the river, we depart in the morning for our 4-day guided tour;

DAY 1:

We meet our guide, and head out onto the river to a small settlement called 'Villa Alcira' where the family farm everything from bananas, passionfruit and coca, to sugarcane, selling them at the weekly markets in Rurrenbaque. We have a go at producing sugarcane juice ourselves the old-fashioned way - teamwork and sheer strength.

We continue up the river to Madidi National Park, where we have lunch and settle into our accommodation for the next 2 nights. After a siesta to avoid the intense heat of midday, we start our first hike into the jungle. Wow! The dense forest is imposing. The trees are huge and the fallen leaves that carpet the jungle floor are the biggest I have ever seen. This place really is the lungs of our planet.

Every few minutes we come across a tree or plant that our guide tells us is used for a specific purpose; roots a deep red colour that provide glue, plants that fix stomach, heart and kidney problems, tiny branches of a plant that provides a local anaesthetic numbing the area in seconds (as we found out after trying a little each - then we all started talking funny as we could no longer feel our tongues). Even the bark of a tree used for abortions as well as a plant for men that is a natural Viagra. No one needs medical companies with their synthetic crap here. The jungle provides everything you need.

We arrive at a 'mirador' (lookout) to an amazing view and I have yet another 'pinch me' moment. I'm in the actual Amazon. Wow, I'm so grateful that this place exists in our world and that I'm here in this moment.

DAY 2:

After a peaceful night's sleep listening to the thunder rolling in on the other side of the mountains, we head out early in the morning for another trek. This time we are hiking to find the Macaws. Little ratbags live on the side of a cliff though and our guide tells us we can go for the flat walk to the observatory on the other side to look up at them, or we can climb up and be on top of the cliff. He recommends the climb up, saying it's not too steep, and we obligingly take his word for it. He is the expert after all.

This is the 2nd time on the trip I could strangle him.

The climb was steep and wet from last night's rain. The altitude forcing us to consciously remember to take deep breaths. We set off at 5.30 in the morning and make it up there by about 8am. There are parts of the walk that have been washed out from the rain and we are forced to walk through the mud, making our way downstream in search of safer crossing points.

At one stage there is a nice big thick log we can cross the river on, however a bunch of leafcutter ants have taken it over, carting their little piece of leaf each ,across the log, focused on the task at hand. Our guide says we must find another way across. Of course we do! We can't be stepping on these amazing creatures all so hard at work. I ask what do these guys do with the leaves? Turns out they pile them up in a moist area of the colony and wait for them to grow a fungus, which they in turn feed on. Clever little monkeys.

As we get closer to the cliff, the birds are just waking up. Screeching takes over the jungle as they chatter away to each other. Finally, we arrive at the top and the noise is deafening. Their chatter is hilarious. Almost like they are telling each other off. Each bird is in a pair, lovers for life. Their waking up ritual involves preening each other and discussing their plan for the day. Their colours are stunning against the green backdrop of the jungle.

After a good hour or so watching and listening to these beautiful creatures, we head back down the cliff to the observatory on the other side. There we grab some last-minute photo opportunities before the birds fly off in their pairs for the day, only returning to their comfy cliff face nests as the sun sets.

We trek to another campsite for lunch and a short siesta. Our guide tells us we have two options; go upwards, see if we can find some monkeys, then boat back to camp; or take the longer but flat walk all the way back to our campsite. This option sounds familiar .... my peers on the tour say 'whatever, we don't mind'. So, the guide chooses the 'going upwards' option. Great.

This time, the steep and rugged terrain is completely insane. I loved every bit of it!!!

There are times we have nothing to hold onto, to haul ourselves up but thin and old looking vines. A true test of trust and a true jungle experience. A couple of the team have a fear of heights and this climb up and the return back down, was a massive challenge for them. As I said earlier it was amazing and inspiring to see them conquer these fears. We trudged through mud, slipping and sliding, successfully making our way to the top. Not a monkey in sight.

Out guide blamed it on the fact that we were too noisy. Jungle fever had set in and even the smallest things seemed ludicrously funny (not helped at all by the roots of a tree shaped like penises) but we didn't care. Life is too short not to laugh. Its good for the soul. So, we did a lot of it. The Swedish couple, that were in our tour with us, joined in and our poor guide was surrounded by 5 crazy lunatics finding the dumbest things hilarious. I think he secretly loved it.

We arrive back at camp for a well-earned beer and dinner. As darkness envelopes the jungle, we head into the forest to spot the nightlife. Not my finest hour as you have already heard.

We are nearly back at camp when I manage to cut my finger on a plant as I walk past it. Terrified it might be one of those super dangerous, no antidote ones, that the guide had told us about the day before, I ask him to take a look at it when we get back to the lodge. He smothers on some Amazonian homemade potion and while everyone else gets to go to their comfy beds I have to head back into the night filled forest of my nightmares, to show him the plant. The fact that he wants to know exactly what plant we are dealing with, in itself freaks me out. Let alone having to go back into the jungle and past the tarantula lair!

Finally, we come across the plant that I think it was … although to be fair I'm not 100% certain. He shrugs and says "nah, you should be fine".

I should be fine? What does that mean? No response. A man of few words. Great.

I have a fitful sleep that night, waking every hour to check my finger. Is it getting worse? Is that redder than before? Is that swelling? Eventually I don't wake and sleep till the morning light shines through the netting. I look at my finger and there is not a trace of a cut. I'm confused. Maybe I have the wrong finger … was it the left hand or the right? Nothing. Both look perfectly fine. Did I dream the cut? Nah, I'm pretty sure I felt the pain as it sliced me, and the blood ran down my hand. I have a shower and head to breakfast where I show the guide my hand. I say "look, there is no trace of the cut". "Yep" he coolly replies, "that's good then".

I guess this is the 'should be right' part.

DAY 3:

Time to leave the jungle and head to the pampas. We jump on the boat and head back down the river to Rurrenabaque. From there we take a 4WD along the worst road I have travelled on so far in South America. Yes, I know that is a bold statement, given some of the places I have been, but it was pretty appalling. An all dirt road, all of it 'under construction' with millions of pot craters and detours. It was a long 3 ½ hour trip but fortunately it was interspersed with stops as the guide spotted sloths high in the trees, caiman in the waterways and capybara for us to take photos of.

When we arrive at the pampas, my god, the crazy dusty road all becomes a distant memory. The river is teaming with wildlife. Beautiful white herons and pink dolphins greet us as we climb out of the grimy vehicle. We jump on the boats and head up river to our campsite. It is stunning.

Don't get me wrong, it was amazing to be in the heart of the jungle at Madidi .... but this place feels like a anctuary. The climate is drier than the humid jungle and the water is warm and welcoming. The birdlife is plentiful. Turtles sunbathe on the logs and the pink dolphins follow us around any chance they can, playfully leaping out of the water as the boat skims along, too fast for us to capture on film.

We have lunch and settle into our chalet. The guide announces we can go swimming with the dolphins this afternoon. Yes! We head out and I jump straight in - don't have to ask me twice! Unfortunately, there are too many of us in the water (other tour groups join us) and the dolphins are around but not in the mood for much attention. Was still pretty cool though and I head back to the lodge a happy camper to have just been in the water with them. Little did I know; this wasn't going to be my only dolphin encounter.

After a break, we head out again before dinner to have a crack at piranha fishing. If we manage to catch any, the chef will cook them up for us. We use a traditional fishing line but only Emz manages to catch something, a catfish! It was pretty cool and a big achievement but alas, it's too small and we have to put it back in the water. Our guide catches a couple of piranha but again they are too small to eat. They are fun to look at though. Scary looking razor-sharp teeth.

That night, after dinner we head out for a night cruise. Our guide takes us away from the lights of the lodge and into the heart of the pampas. He turns the outboard motor off and we drift for 20 mins or so, watching the stars and listening to the sound of the jungle. For the first time in my life I get to see the true and clear milky way. It is magical. The stars are thick and bright. At times the boat drifts into the trees on the river bank, but we don't care. We are all so mesmerised by the view of our galaxy and the sounds of the night.

As we return to the lodge and spot a couple of porcupine high up in a palm tree. Yes, you heard me right. Porcupine up in a tree. And a porcupine with a tail. Weird looking things. Different to any I've ever seen before. They don't care about us staring up at them, they're busy eating the nuts off the tree.

On a high with all the wildlife we have seen today, we head to bed. Only to find a rather large frog waiting for us in the bathroom. One of us needed to use the toilet and yet again, jungle fever had set in. Apparently, we must have been pretty loud, finding the stupidest things funny and teasing each other. All over a frog. The guide came all the way over to our chalet to check "are you ladies alright in there"? Its hard to keep Kiwis and Aussies under control.

Day 4

Our last day and we get up before dawn to see the sunrise over the pampas. As we get to the area where we swam with the dolphins yesterday, there are a number of them around. We stop the boat so we can watch them for a little bit and enjoy the peace and quiet as the sun rises on another day. I dangle my hand in the water and make small splashes. Next thing I know I have two pink dolphin noses checking me out. Lightly nipping at my fingers. This blows my mind as I turn around to look at the guide with pleading eyes. He says with a sigh "you want to get in don't you"? I smile. The look on my face says it all. No one else is around, the other tours have gone further upstream. I am in my PJ pants and the last dry top I have. I don't care though. We are all friends now, so I strip off my PJ pants and jump in before anyone has the chance to say no. I literally hear our guide roll his eyes at me again, as he ties the boat up and jumps in himself.

By the time we have swum to the end of the boat the dolphins are nipping at my feet and legs. Curious and keen to play. What an amazing experience and so different to yesterday's swim. As no one else on the boat is prepared for a swim either, it's just the two of us in the water. Dolphins are special to me, they are my spirit animal and I'd do anything to be in their presence.

They continue to follow me as I swim around, nipping at me to suss me out. Gentle and inquisitive. Then they ramp things up and start sneaking up behind me to splash me with water as I patiently wait for them to come near. This is heaven for me and the highlight of my Amazon adventure.

Eventually we must leave, breakfast is calling, so we climb back into the boat and head to the lodge. I choose to take a shower first and since I have the room to myself in that moment, I come out of the bathroom wrapped only in a towel to get dressed. As I am getting dressed I look up to see a monkey in a tree right outside the netting window looking at me. Tilting his head from side to side, as if to say 'who are you and what are you doing'? I guess there are worse perverts in the world, right?

After breakfast we head back out on the boat to find the capuchin monkeys. We hear them before we see them. Screeching, the trees trembling as they dart in and out at top speed. Fast little monkeys. We ram the front of the boat into the trees and within seconds they all flood down to check us out. Inquisitive but wary, they come in close. I climb up to the front of the boat and sit across it with my legs resting on the ledge. Next thing I know some of the monkeys decide this makes a great bridge to the next tree and run across my stomach and legs. So light and gentle and super quick. I try to tempt them with scrunched up leaves in my hand, they come over but are soon distracted by the jewellery I have on, preferring to grab onto that. Probably not a smart move on my part.

We head back to the lodge for lunch and it's time to say goodbye to this special place. It has been an amazing adventure and I could not have had more fun. My travel companions Emma and Barb are amazing, supportive, inspiring and more than just a little crazy. I've never laughed so hard in my life. Mashaquipe Tours provide an extremely well-run tour. I am so sad to be leaving this place but so grateful to have had the opportunity to be here in the first place.

At the end of the day I may not have conquered my spider phobia, but I did achieve a lot. They say that 'to travel is to take a journey into yourself' and my experiences so far have certainly allowed me to do that. Everyday I learn something new about myself and become more and more comfortable in my own skin. But my Amazon adventure have given me a new-found respect for our planet and the impact we are having on it. The decisions we all make everyday influence these amazing environments and its beautiful inhabitants. Let's protect these lungs!