Day 4 in the Amazon - KABOOM!

I was jolted out of bed around 1 AM by brilliant flashes of lightening and crashing thunder!  I love thunderstorms, but this was intense!  Remember there are only screens on my windows so the noise is right outside our cabins.  I tried to count seconds between lightening and thunder, but it was impossible since there were so many flashes and booms.  It was raining, but it was secondary to all of nature’s fireworks!  

Hummm…wonder how flammable these thatch roof huts are?

As one thunderstorm tampered off, in the distance, another would begin and grow in strength until it was matching or trying to surpass the previous one.  I don’t know how long this went on, but we lost electricity and with it my friend, the electric fan.

I read a suggestion on the travel company’s website from several previous travelers on this trip who suggested bringing a small portable personal fan.  Purchased through Amazon, this may be my new favorite travel companion!  It’s rechargeable, folds flat, is lightweight, and every night it has blown a delightful breeze on my face with one of its four speeds.  I am in love!

Sleep was definitely shortened last night, but another delicious meal for breakfast prepares us for an almost four hour walk through the rainforest.  I wish I could remember all Juan taught us today.  Hopefully, pictures will tell a thousand words with maybe a little detail from me.

The  lodge provides tall rubber boots and wooden hiking sticks which are both indispensable!  It only took me four sets of boots yesterday to find the right size.  I told our helper I hoped everyone wouldn’t be so much trouble!

The rain had created a mucky bog in places along the trail so thank goodness for these boots!  The hiking sticks were also helpful as I slipped and skied along the trail a couple of times and only took one tumble.  Mostly it is up and down and watching the trail for rocks , roots, and vines.  Without these sticks I would be rolling through the jungle!  Without the boots, the mud would be sucking my shoes right off my feet!

We identify bromeliads

  

and weaver bird nests in the trees.  

  

I can’t remember all of the birds’ names, but they are stunning with their brilliant colors like this red and black one.

We learn about turkey tail lichen 

and also scarlet cup mushrooms growing along the trail.  

The dragon blood tree leaks a red sap which is used by the indigenous people to heal wounds.  As it is rubbed into the skin, it turns white and slight sticky.

  

Do you know the difference between a centipede and a millipede?   Well, I do now!  A centipede has one pair of legs/segment with pincher mouth parts that can bite and even inject poison into its victim.  A millipede has two pairs of legs/segment, no pinchers and is harmless.

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Sounds on the jungle floor are muffled in the Amazon.  I thought I was walking on centuries of ancient matter; however, 70% of the rain forest’s nutrients are in the canopy.  When leaves or a tree falls, termites and a host of other insects and fungi break the organic matter down.  

This fertile soil is only about two feet deep!  Red clay is underneath which means the plants’ roots are very shallow.  Some enormous trees have created “buttresses” to support and spread their weight.  

  

Others, called “walking sticks” keep sending down offshoot roots to find the deepest soil essentially “walking” around the trunk.

There are more beetles,

and spiders,

and funguses, 

  

millipedes and 

  

and our first snake!

I learn about the turtle egg tree named because the tree’s fruit looks like…guess what?

  

Our local guide, Abel, who is also Juan’s brother tries to call a toucan.  It answers his call but is too far in the treetops for us to see.  I figure the bird is saying, “ What are you doing down there, silly?”

Even the roots of the ficus tree are colorful,

 and I spot a plant many people have at home - a peace lily.

Abel shows us a jungle umbrella - a piece of palm fronds, and also how to construct a jungle basket from the same palm tree.

  



Juan and Abel teach us about a thick, curvy, unassuming curare vine.  A piece can be boiled for hours producing a paralyzing toxin which can be placed on the tip of a blowgun dart.  This poison can kill monkeys and even deer within minutes.
  

When we return, lunch was followed by a much needed siesta where I peeled my clothes off.  The back of my pants were soaked through and sweat dripping down my back in the first 30 minutes of our hike.  I had 3 1/2 hours more to go before returning to the lodge!  I’m drinking lots of water about every 30 minutes as we hike since I am sweating so much.  This can create another problem!

AND I won’t mention my hair which is filthy and frizzy!  I’ve kept it in a banana clip since we arrived and see no point in washing it until I am back in Quito with air conditioning and a blow dryer!  It is not a good look!

A red headed woodpecker is in the distance,

but this greenish speckled lizard is right next to us!

  

We head down to the boat dock 

  

for our afternoon boat ride and hike around Sapococha Lagoon for birdwatching and piranha fishing!  

Bright yellow weaver birds dart in and out of nests and across the water probably catching insects for their young, but they are too fast to photograph in flight. 

 A gorgeous pair of brilliant green toucans sit atop a dead tree stump.  

How many people can say they have been fishing for piranhas!  They eat the raw chicken bait almost immediately; there is no tug of the fishing line signaling a fish is on the line.  I managed to feed multiple piranhas but haven’t caught one yet.  Robyn also gave it a try, but only our local helper managed to snag one.

  

We found a giant earthworm!  Ahhh, this creature changed my life dissecting it in 7th grade science class when I discovered how much I loved science!

The humidity is playing havoc with my camera which is currently sitting in a bag of rice.  I love close-up pics, but all day, the screen has been hazy and the colors distorted along with my zoom feature not working properly, and I LOVE my zoom!   It might be camera time before my next trip!

After dinner, our group foregoes an evening exploration for showers and bed.  We can go bird watching at 6:15 AM tomorrow before our Day in the Life program, a cultural part of OAT’s itinerary.  We will be visiting a school and spending time with the children.  I have gifts of pencils with flags of multiple countries on them along with funny faced erasers.

After the school, we will have lunch with a local indigenous Ecuadorian family in their home.  I am really looking forward to this and brought along small cans of Whitley’s Virginia peanuts…salted, honey roasted, and Crabby Chesapeake Bay flavored…as a hostess gift for their hospitality.

I like sleeping under mosquito netting, and hopefully, no thunderstorms tonight, but I am so thankful for that experience.  I am also thankful my cabin hasn’t been visited by any “natives”…a few ants but no spiders nor other insects nor snakes.  At least so far!