the 'zon

So we started off at the airport and I almost had a nervous breakdown, my chest got really tight and I couldn’t breathe and I had to get away from everybody and I totally freaked out. We took a plane to Coca and that was like 35 minutes. Should have been 25 but we were flying through a thunderstorm. And then we got there and it was this little hut in the pouring rain and we went and took a bus to this hotel where it stopped raining but I was still hyperventilating. And THEN….

we were just waiting for a boat to come get us at this hotel. We were sitting outside and all of a sudden a pack of spider monkeys started crawling all over us and drank our beer and ate our bananas and oranges… They were SO cute! I want one…

So then we took a 2 hour boat ride to the edge of the Amazon, which ended up being pretty sad because right now there is an oil company drilling in the Amazon. I had no idea about that when I was in the states… I can’t believe that anyone would allow for a fucking oil company to drill in the most biodiverse place in the world. Like… reaaallly? So once we got there we went through customs where they pretty much took our yellow fever cards and made sure that we weren’t bringing any hunting weapons in the jungle. Theeennn we took a bus ride for 2 hours to another boat, which was 2 hours to the station we stayed at.

So what sucked about that is, the station can’t survive without the oil company and all the oil for the boats and busses are off that company. The oil company did a lot of logging and ruined so much of the jungle and basically totally altered the way of life of the Waorani, an indigenous group (that’s basically no longer indigenous) that lives within the jungle.

So when we got to the jungle is was nighttime. About 6:30. (In Ecuador, the sun rises at 6 and sets at 6 because it’s on the equator… and it hasn’t been as pretty as Cape Cod so far…) I couldn’t believe the noise of the jungle though when we got there, it was deafening almost with all the bugs and animals. There weren’t any lights and bugs everywhere, and here I am shitting my pants swatting unknown critters off my skin and freaking out because I didn’t take my malaria medication (because of the funky side effects). Well anyway, we got to the cafeteria of the station and it seemed like a boot camp. Don’t shower because we need to conserve water, don’t flush because we need to conserve water, don’t talk because you’ll scare the animals, don’t use soap because it hurts the environment, don’t be late for meals or else you won’t eat, aaaand so forth. So, we just did what we were told, really, and had the time of our lives. Small sacrifices for such an amazing place.

One night, Scott and I were just sitting by the river and all the lights had turned off and we most definitely heard a predator attacking something some 20 meters away. I absolutely freaked out (we couldn’t see ANYTHING and bats and giant moths and bugs of species I have never heard of were zooming by and hitting our faces) Scott was intrigued but I got pretty nervous and needed to go to bed… I mean, it’s one thing being scared of something like a spider or something you can squish, but a jaguar in pitch darkness with absolutely no one in the vicinity to hear you being ripped to shreds? Sorry if I’m being dramatic (not really) but screw that. I hauled ass back to the safety of my cabin and passed out.

So the highlights of my time in the jungle were chillin at the canopy, the flotada down the river, and the bird watch and nightlife.
We went up to the canopy a few times, mostly on structures that were attached to trees. Sometimes there were bridges. We saw monkeys and toucans and other amazing birds and animals. The canopy of a rainforest is most interesting because that’s where the most photosynthesis happens, therefore the most activity with plants and animals. MMMM! The view on top of the canopy is gorgeous. Clear skies, tree tops in every direction, small specks that are birds flying all over the place. Amazing to think of all the crazy life that is happening below. Jaguars… (I get made fun of for pronouncing them like ‘jag-wahs’ but that’s how I thought you were supposed to say it) and ant eaters and owls and scorpion spiders and tarantulas, OH MY! I kept imagining myself and then zooming all the way out, as a spec on the map that is South America. I still can’t believe that I’m here…
For the flotada we basically just wore our swim suits and a life jacket and hopped in the Amazon river and floated down for a couple hours. We saw beautiful trees, birds jumping from tree to tree,

Connor hiatus : Free haiku: My name is Connor, Alex is the coolest girl, sitting to my left.

Thank you Connor.

… and then we saw a family of giant otters! They got really scared and ran away. But in the river you can’t pee, unless you want a parasite to swim up and latch onto your urethra. Needless to say, I was grabbing my crotch as hard as I could and crying by the end of the flotada. Didn’t really feel much swimming by me, though. And there weren’t any piranhas! Usually they swim in areas dark/dead water.
We also went on a night hike, full of insects, frogs, and snakes. Our guides spoke only Spanish, but slowly and with lots of hand motions so we were able to understand most of it. I can tell that my Spanish is already improving… Anyway, Scott lent me his headlamp for the hike and he didn’t have one, which was amazing of him. He knows that I hate insects and thought I’d appreciate it. (I really, really did…) So Ramiro, our guide, called me over to show me a snake. A giant grasshopper probably the size of my fist jumped on Ramiro and I stepped back, then it jumped on my sleeve and I got really scared so I put my hands in my sleeves and the little bastard jumped up my sleeve and I TOTALLY FREAKED OUT and Ramiro grabbed my shoulders and said ‘Tranquilo’ trying to get me to calm down. Then we saw a tarantula and I started crying. I really do think I’m getting better with the insect thing, though. Haven’t slept since I saw it, but that’s beside the point, really. There were also scorpion spiders and if you shined your light into the distance, you could see the little metallic flecks of the millions of spider eyes watching you. Then, Ramiro had us all shut off our lights for a couple minutes for a concierto. It was amazing and really put things into perspective for me. All the noises of the nightlife and activity in the jungle were incredible, the frogs croaking their unique croaks and the bugs buzzing around and the owls hooting and the night birds making awkward squawks. And this is their life, at night, with no lights. I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face. I almost freaked out and hugged Ramiro and started crying/running back to the cabin, but it was really way too cool to run away from, no matter how freaked out I was. Then I turned on my light and was much calmer about the whole thing.
We also canoed around a lake and saw amazing birds, one of which was a prehistoric bird (I forget the name) but the locals call them the stink turkeys. They’re huge and fly everywhere, they have crazy feathers and red eyes, and smell like skunks and garbage. Amazing. My sister loves birds and I’m beginning to appreciate them as well.


I really hated leaving.