First day in the jungle

I remember we got up really early that day, perhaps 5-5:30 in the morning in order to get the bus.

Our guide was waiting for us downstairs at the hotel lobby, he drove us to the bus station and the 4 of us María ,Susana the guide and I got onto the bus that drove us through some windy and narrow roads for about 4 hours until we got to a small village. I'm using the word village in a very generous fashion here... as this said village was made up of about 4-5 houses.

One of these houses was the house of the guy that would take us by boat from this village to our final destination.

The trip by boat took about an hour, it was slow and really peaceful. It gave us the chance to appreciate the amazing surroundings.

As you can see, the water has a blackish colour. Most of the small rivers that feed the Amazon can be classified under two types. Black rivers when the water is a bit acidic and has a blackish colour like on the above and below pictures, and white rivers where the water is a bit alkaline and the water has a white kind of murky colour.

White rivers contain more fish and wild life around them... and more importantly... more mosquitoes, whereas black rivers are the opposite, contain less wild life, less fish and above all... less mosquitoes. :-)

Mosquitoes are a big thing in the Amazon... if you happen to find yourself in an area where mosquitoes are endemic, brace yourself because there is nothing, no net, insecticide, repellent or electric device that can save you. You'll find yourself surrounded by hundreds of them and as you kill four or five with one hand, some other four or five are already feeding off you.

One of the first things our guide did was explaining to us why we were going to this river instead of any other, and the main reason was the lack of mosquitoes... don't take me wrong, there were plenty of mosquitoes around... but if you managed to kill a few it would take a while for them to come back. ;-)

And luckily for me, provided I have some other human being around me, mosquitoes tend to ignore me. I always imagine that I am the equivalent of humans having to choose between eating a nice creamy pastry (i.e. feeding off any of my companions) or eating crap (i.e. feeding off me). So provided there are some creamy pastries around they never bother me... but sometimes, although rarely, they do go for the crap.

It really felt like in the movies. Going by boat up the river with nothing to the right and left but untouched and unspoiled landscapes. The river though had a few boats going up and down. As there weren't any roads in that region people tend to use the river to move about. Even the school bus was a boat. Children travel to school by boat!

Those roofs you can see on the below photo were our base camp where we were to spend the first night. The only way to get there was by boat as everything else around the camp was jungle.

As you can appreciate from the below picture, although it was all inclusive, it wasn't a 5 star resort with a private spa, gym and amenities, but it was exactly what we were hoping for. A taste of what it is like living in the jungle.

Kitchen on the left, dinning room on the right.

And below our luxurious room with off-suit bathroom

I know it looks very basic but it was pretty good. No running water nor electricity and no bathroom but we did have a roof and the hammocks are really good once you try them, it doesn't take long to get used to sleep on one of them.  :-)
We pretty much brought with us all we were going to eat during the next 3-4 days. Even a 20 litre water container and some chicken, pasta and eggs.

After we settled down for a bit, we ate something and went for a short trip by canoe.

Despite of the piranhas, there were some other dangerous fishes like the one that can get into your bladder and grow inside or the one that electrocutes you. Our guide chose a spot where according to him we would be "safe" from all those dangers...more or less.

It was hot, humid and we all really wanted to have a swim so we stopped in an area where there was no current and the water seemed to be a bit stagnated and we just went for a quick swim around.

Then it was time to do some fishing so while I went around taking photos, María and Susana tried their luck with the fish.

Fishermen at work

Our guide with his first piranha and María on the back still trying her luck.

And what you know, María caught a piranha!!!

Cook in the kitchen preparing María's piranha. :-)

Dinner was fantastic, we had pasta, fish (María's piranha included), some chicken, salad... spoiled by choice really. We were really tired from the long day but it was a great day!