And the jungle swallowed them whole...Ashley of the Amazon

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to volunteer to be a trip liaison for a Semester at Sea trip to the Amazon, meaning that I got a discount that made the cost accessible to me. Unfortunately, Jason couldn't make the trip (cost and he wanted to do some other things) so I set off with 50 SAS students to head deep into the jungle.

We flew from Rio de Janeiro (on the eastern coast) to Manaus, right in the center of the country. Even from the air, it was very clear we were in a very different environment!

Manaus is starred.

Water, water everywhere

At the docks in Manaus we were met by our riverboat, guides, and crew. This would be our home for 4 days. The lower level had 3 small bathrooms, a tiny kitchen, and one open space for meals. Upstairs was one big open room where we would all hang our hammocks and sleep. Although there were showers on the boat, we were asked to not use them.

Our first stop was the Meeting of the Waters, where the Rio Negro and the Amazon come together but do not mix. For 3.7 miles they run side by side, clearly distinguished by their colors. The Rio Negro is much darker due to the high mineral content of the water.

We then enjoyed the first of a series of beautiful sunsets and climbed into small wooden canoes with outboard motors to go hunting for caimans, also known as alligators.

Alligator hunting takes place at night because during the day they blend in too well and can't be seen. Our guide pointed a flashlight at the banks of the river and we all looked for the two pinpoints of reflected light that signaled alligator eyes. Once we spotted one our canoe would head in that direction. Then one of the guides would reach into the dark, dark water and try to grab the alligator!

This kid was fourteen. He just reached into the water and grabbed this guy out.

I put on my big-girl panties and decided to hold one of the gators. By chance (but happily) I got to hold the tiniest one. He was only a few months old and had a piranha bite out of his tail! It wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be, although I was terrified one of the students in my boat would drop him and then he'd be running free around our canoe and in our panic we'd all tip over. It didn't happen, though.

Hard to tell who is more wild-eyed.

Exhausted, we went back to the boat and climbed into our hammocks. I have to say, hammocks are much more comfortable for taking naps in than sleeping all night long. Especially because we were all strung up so closely that when one person rolled over they hit the next hammock, which hit the next hammock, which hit the next all the way down the line like dominoes.

On day two we woke up (reallly early) to a beautiful sunrise.

We climbed back into the canoes for a jungle walk.

What I learned in the Amazon: EVERYTHING can kill you there. Ants, mosquitoes, spiders, trees, plants, piranhas, anacondas, jaguars, wasps, vipers, shipwrecks...you name it, there's probably a deadly version. Needless to say, I spent most of my time absolutely terrified. Especially in the jungle when the dangers were all around and often hard to see.

At the base of this tree was an anthill with ants an inch long. If just one of them stings you, you have a fever and vomit for a week. If multiple sting you, you might die. Of course, our local guide Domingo decided to use his machete to stir them up and get them to come of their hill. I backed away quickly.

The local indigenous tribes weave gloves out of palm fronds, and stick these ants in them so their stingers are all on the inside. For initiation, young men have to stick their hands in the gloves and endure the stings. Each round has progressively more ants and is more potentially deadly.

We saw amazing trees, vines, and plants.

This tree's nickname is "Telephone tree" because you can bang on it and get multiple sounds that echo through the forest. Rubber workers and indigenous people use(d) it to communicate in a jungle so dense that you can easily lose your way.

If I weren't frightened enough, we then almost stepped on a viper so poisonous that one bite can kill you. All the students wanted to hold it and take pictures, but I stayed very far back sweating profusely and frantically looking around my feet to make sure that this guy hadn't brought any friends.

Needless to say, this picture was taken with extreme zoom.

We also found a tree so covered in ants that they would fall off in heavy curtains of little bodies. Apparently the local tribes put their hands on the trees until they are covered in ants (this takes just seconds) then rub their hands together to kill the ants. They release a scent like turpentine. The people do this to disguise their own human scent when they are going hunting.

Later in the afternoon we went to a sandy beach on the river to cool off. It was a beautiful spot and the water felt great, especially when you managed to forget there could be an anaconda or some hungry piranhas nibbling at your toes. Our guides swore it was safe, but it's not like there is a safety net around the swimming hole!

Once we were refreshed and had eaten some lunch we went to Terra Preta, a small village upriver. They have electricity now thanks to government programs, but they are still very isolated. In order to get anywhere they have to travel by boat; there are no roads.

Heading up to the village

Baby clothes drying outside someone's house

Teaching children to count in one of the local languages (there are several)

One of the biggest sources of income in this village is acai, a palm berry used to make juice that then goes into ice cream and other foods and drinks. Acai is becoming very popular in the US now. It has lots of antioxidants but also lots of fat and calories.

Girl harvesting acai

You can't eat acai plain because it is mostly skin and pit. You have to boil the berries and then strain off the juice.

One of the coolest parts of the village was that some of the people had started to feed the wild birds and trained them as semi-pets. They were beautiful. We also heard that in another village someone had a pet anaconda. I guess these are the things you train when you live in the Amazon!

This parrot, Esmeralda, would hid behind her "owner" just like a scared child or puppy would do!

Our guide also used some sort of berries to paint our face. I'm looking good, right?

Antonio, showing off the berries he used to paint my face. He just stuck a stick into the pod, mushed around the seeds, and then used the stick to paint.

View from the village

That night we headed out on another alligator hunting mission, this time leaving a bit early to try to spot other animals and take in the beautiful sunset.

I wasn't so good at getting the horizon straight in my pictures. Rocky canoe!

We finished our night with a luau on the beach with the other two SAS boats that were on similar programs. We had a huge feast, danced, and played silly games like tug-of-war and limbo. Then it was back to the hammocks!