Rumble in the Jungle
Shortly after arriving in Manaus we were keen to leave – imagine rush hour on Oxford St (the cheap and horrid end), only 38 degrees and unbearably humid. Luckily we only had to spend the day there before heading into the Amazon with well reputed Gero Tours. We were a small group of 5 people including a German mathmatics genius and a Hollywood premadonna called Kyle. Several boat trips eventually took us to the Jungle lodge, where we slept in hammocks inside a spacious straw roof dorm. Every night the room filled with more bugs than you could imagine and several frogs in the bathroom soon became my friend. Each day our guide took us out for both morning and afternoon excusions to explore the Amazon. We learnt and did everything you need to survive in the jungle, from Pirana fishing in the pouring rain (Chris catching the biggest, Sophie catching a slightly stunned catfish), to treking through the forest looking at medicinal plants (quite incredible really and slightly peeved I spent £90 on our Malerone when you can chew a leaf for the same effect!). We also saw the forests deadly insects as well as stunning pink dolphins and sneaky looking caiman.
The trip wouldnt have been complete without being hit by a stomach bug. Having spent all night on the toilet trying not to wake the dorm, Sophie had to spend the morning in bed to recover. Chris went to see sloths which almost look like they belong in Sesame Street. Sleeping was pretty hard given the seriously loud sounds you hear at night especially the howling monkeys and a stunning sunrise made the lack of sleep well worth while.
The final highlight of the trip were a couple of cheeky monkeys coming into the lodge to grab as many bananas as they could handle…check out the video. Allthough the experience was an amazing one we were quite relieved to be out of mosquito infested land and a toilet that had a light switch (not Chris holding a torch for me).
Southern Hemisphere Shenanigans... 