Disappointing jungle

16.07.2016

I woke up super early and did a bunch of laundry because I literally had nothing to wear that didn't smell like a drunken hobo.

After breakfast, we went for a walk in the jungle and I was extremely disappointed. Anyone could tell this was not "virgin rainforest" as advertised on their website. The ground was covered in dry leaves and detritus. Everyone knows that healthy ecosystems don't have any waste lying around like this. Everything is interconnected and in perfect balance. I could even still see the sun! Ilha do Mel had better jungles than the Amazon did.

While it was quite interesting, I ate a larva that tasted like coconut who lives in a tropical nut. We saw where cicadas live and grow, a lot of termites, some bats and our guide made us all souvenirs from palm fronds.

I asked him later if I could skip the camping part, because he told us the jungle would be the same. I'd rather stay in the lodge and not get eaten by mosquitoes, instead of staying in another hammock for 170 reais per night. Also, I'd have to deal with the British guy again. Group tours are definitely not for me. From this day forward, I vow to you, never again. Probably. Unless it's absolutely necessary. Maybe

So, I planned to go home and get a refund for the last two days plus my airport transfer. At least there was that.

For lunch, they cooked our wonderful piranha. It was thick and very oily. So fresh and good.

I took one of the row boats with a French guy Luc and as we paddled around nonchalantly, we saw some monkeys and even a dolphin came to see what we were doing.

When the rest of everyone left for their camp in the woods, I stayed there at the lodge. Another guide came out paddling with me and I tried to speak Portuguese with him as we watched the stars. Again, some curious dolphins circled around us as we drifted down the river.

All in all, the Amazon tour was not a bad experience, but it was definitely not a jungle. It was a good opportunity to see an imbalanced ecosystem and have a nice rest by the river (in stifling heat but still). The whole thing felt like just another trip to someone's cottage in Muskoka to me, actually.

Sunrise