Introduction
The Amazon Rainforest has always being a place of fascination for me. When I think of the amazon, an image of an ancient forest teeming with anacondas, piranhas and many other exotic animals comes to mind. Definitely, a far cry from tame and orderly Singapore. Nonetheless, I was slightly uncertain about making this trip, owing to the fact that after having lived in South-East Asia all my life, I was not exactly enthused by the idea of going to another jungle. Nonetheless, I could hardly pass up on an opportunity to go to THE AMAZON, and so I made a 5 day trip up to this mysterious place.
Massive ancient trees within the Virgin Forest section.
Seasons
In the Amazon, only two seasons exist, high water and low water seasons. Each season creates a completely different experience for the visitor. During dry season, boats are often unable reach lodges, instead reaching lodges requires several minutes of walking after leaving the boat. Meanwhile, during the time I went (March), it was high water season. In fact, the water level was so high that as we rode our boat to our lodge, we were level with the top of trees along the way (this was really cool). Additionally, birds flying across the river is often much closer to you. Worth noting as well is that the difference in water level makes the sighting of certain animals more or less likely.
Daily commutes around the Amazon.
The San Pedro Lodge
I chose to stay in the community of San Pedro. A true kampong found on a river that connects to the Amazon, 4 lodges are available there. I was joined each day by several other travelers, each with a different itinerary. However, where our activities were aligned on a day, we travelled together. Facilities at the lodge are pretty basic, but I guess no one comes to the Amazon to stay in their room the whole day. Instead, the lack of amenities was actually a plus point as it encourages one to enjoy nature at its finest. For example, after dinner, I would return to my room, which had no lights, and just listen to the jungle’s song. Vibrant and impossible to guess, sounds from all directions seemed to bombard my cabin simultaneously.
My cabin!
Classrooms for the students of San Pedro.
Typical house in the community.
Activities in the Amazon
Several activities were available within the part of the Amazon that I visited. With my guide’s recommendations, I visited two animal rescue centers that rehabilitated injuries or illegally held Amazon animals. Owing to the various fragile factors, many animals such as butterflies are experiencing low survival rates. Additionally, the illegal trade of exotic amazon animals such as Ocelots posses a huge threat to their kind. Clearly, these animals cannot be kept as pets, yet humans continue to do so.
Would definitely recommend a visit to the rehabilitation centers as a form of support for their efforts and to learn plenty about many of the animals in the Amazon. Unlike the zoo, the cage is around us, humans instead, while many animals have free reign to move around. One of the rules is to minimize interaction with the animals so as they are being rehabilitated for the wild.
At this point I must warn: mini-rant incoming. So there was this lady who joined me on my tour of the center, she was incredibly obnoxious. Holy moly, she was so desperate to take photos of each animal that she would defy all the rules of the place. She would try talking to all the animals (which is prohibited as some can be trained to pick up commands), hitting the cage near them, and in the process agitate & stress out the animals. Heck, she stressed the guide and me too. Was secretly wishing that the jaguar or hippo would somehow escape and go after her. End of rant.
Ocelot - An absolute beauty of a wild cat.
Pygmy - the smallest breed of monkey in the world!
The Sloth - one animal which does not have a problem keeping still for photos.
I also visited the Bora Bora village, a community of indigenous people. Here, tourists get to witness their traditional dance, partake in it, and purchase handicrafts. Honestly, it was too touristy for me and I kind of felt sad to see their sacred culture being turned into a performance that is repeated for each tourist. Nonetheless, I guess tourism does provide a valuable source of income for the community. Of more interest to me was the time after the performance and handicraft display, where I could talk to the locals and freely walk around their village. Having a glimpse into their lives was a much more enlightening experience.
The Bora Bora Community.
Jungle Walk
I took a 5.5 hours hike through the Amazon on the morning of my fourth day. While this walk does not challenge one with altitude or steep gradients, it nonetheless posed many obstacles for us. For starters, if you are planning to take a walk in the Amazon, then trade out your hiking/sports shoes for high cut rubber boots. You certainly can expect multiple water crossings and muddy paths throughout your day. Also, cover every inch of your skin, the mosquitoes here are fat and skilled. My friend who wore a singlet ended with a totally mutated back at the end of our hike.
The only creature I spotted faster than my guide :)
The walk was certainly fascinating as our guide, a village elder, carefully looked and listened for the presence of wild life, all while expertly swinging his machete to create a path for us. We spotted 5 different breeds of monkeys, a rare giant butterfly, spiders and frogs. We waited along streams to catch a glimpse of an alligator but were not lucky enough. At one point, we could a wild cat (e.g. an ocelot or jaguar) about 50m in front of us. This obviously being a jungle, meant that we could not spot it through the density of trees and branches, but it was a pretty cool moment none the less. Another highlight was reaching three giant ancient trees.
The size of these trees...
The uneven ground, humid weather and constant attraction of mosquitoes did take its toll physically and mentally. I would be lying if I said this was an easy activity as it left me pretty drained and hungry. But, we did have fruits and biscuits as snacks. Additionally, our guide let us try various edible jungle plants, which were surprisingly pretty good!
Nice try pal.
River Activities
Two common activities that tourists can try are fishing for piranhas (a staple food for the communities there) and attempting to spot pink dolphins in the Amazon river. However, me with my never ending bad luck failed in both endeavors as heavy storms dashed my hopes. Yup, standing on my boat in a heavy storm while fishing was perhaps one of the more crazy experiences on this trip. Soaked to the bone and slightly shivering, I summoned every last bit of determination to catch my dinner but sadly to no avail. Nonetheless it brought plenty of laughs as we looked at each other’s increasingly pathetic state. For those intending to make a trip to the Amazon, rain occurs frequently and travels pretty fast, hence if you are not a fan of wet weather, do pack a poncho.
My favorite daily activity was to spend the hot afternoons soaking in the river. While escaping the heat and mosquitoes, floating on the river was an awe-inspiring experience. As I lay completely stilled and drifted, it almost felt as if I had become one with the Amazon. The sky, the trees and the occasional group of passing birds provided a perfect backdrop to each moment. We would spend each day lazily chatting about the beauty and all the wrongs of the world while floating on the river, soaking in the Amazon and all of its goodness.
Daily Launch Point.
Conclusion
While slightly more expensive than I would have liked, I definitely enjoyed my time in the Amazon. If anything, it felt as if i had time travelled to an ancient world filled with logic that opposes everything of the modern day society. For anyone in Peru looking for compatible or alternative experiences to Machu Picchu & the partying in Lima, I would definitely recommend the Amazon Rainforest.
Other Stuff to Note
Getting there:
The Amazon Rainforest spans 6.7M km2, crossing into several different countries in South America. In Peru alone, 3 different parts of the Amazon can be entered from. I personally chose Iquitos as my entry point, in hopes of seeing the pink dolphins. Surrounded by the rainforest, Iquitos cannot be reached by road, with air flight being the most commonly chosen route in and out of the city. From Iquitos, small boats or cruises can then be used to access the rainforest.
Chances of seeing animals:
This is definitely a highly debatable question. For starters, most of the more in demand animals for viewing often shy away from human presence. Hence, they are likely to have ran/swam away long before you reach them. Nonetheless, I have read/watched several other blogs where the bloggers have managed to see many exotic animals. To me, I think having a highly customized itinerary (telling the guide in advance what you want to see) and having more time should definitely help your cause if this is a primary concern for you.
Peak Season:
Peak season according to my guide tends to be in June and July.
Disclaimer:
This blog entry was a mere recap of my experience. Given that my guide spoke spanish and my spanish is atrocious, my information may not be as exact as other bloggers.