Saturday, November 03, 2007

Jungle Fever

Earlier this year our travels took us to Iquitos, in the Amazon Jungle. As you might imagine, the jungle climate was hot and humid. The town of Iquitos is small, but bustling and overrun with motorcycles and mototaxis (something like a rickshaw with a motorcycle up front). There are few cars and buses because the only way to get there is by air or boat. From the airport we went directly to our speedboat and took a 45 minute ride on the Amazon river to our jungle lodge.

Because I'm sure you're curious (probably not, but I can't help it) here are a few facts about the Amazon River and Jungle/Rainforest: Though not the longest, the Amazon is the largest river in the world in terms of volume and accounts for 1/5 of the world's available fresh water. During the dry season the widest point of the river is 7 miles, but in the rainy season it has reached a width of 28 miles. Because of the vast difference between the dry and rainy seasons, the Amazon has no bridges. The Amazon Rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world and produces 50% of the world's oxygen. More than 1/3 of all species in the world live in the Amazon including more than 3000 varieties of fish alone.

We spent 5 days in the Jungle fishing for piranha, hiking/walking through the Jungle, watching pink and gray dolphins, feeding parrots and macaws, playing with monkeys, birdwatching, eating food we'd never heard of including fresh fish caught daily in the river, walking across the rainforest canopy (some 100 feet above the ground), hunting tarantulas, swimming, becoming acquainted with anacondas and centipedes and admiring a Capybara (world's largest rodent - I like to think of him as an ROUS - rodent of unusual size) named Charlie - he was as big as a Labrador. It was an unforgettable experience and we recommend a visit. Plus, you could stay with us on the way there and back - we're fun, I promise, even if Lima is kind of a bust.











8 comments:

Celia Fae said...

I loved this post. I felt like I was traveling in the rainforest. I can't believe they let you touch the critters, and I can't believe how incredible it would be to see all of the thing you saw. You really do have an awesome life.

One quetion: I'm a little obsessed with the heat and humidity. At what temperature does it become a G-Free Zone?

robin marie said...

in that first picture i know kenny is holding caleb but what are you holding!?

Paige said...

Is a Capybara good eatin?

Jessica said...

There is a book called 1491: Americas before Columbs (or something like that...) Totally fascinating and it had all this cool stuff about the Amazon. I can't believe you live in it.

Jake said...

Thanks for saying "hi"....I enjoyed reading your blog too. My husband served his mission in Lima many many years ago and is always trying to get me to go for a visit. Maybe now that I have friends there, I will be more inclined...

D-dawg said...

I like to pretend I have your life. You guys are so lucky with all of your travels!!!

Ilene said...

There is a great song/rap I learned in 6th grade about the rain forest:

Allllllll, all that beauty.
The rain forest, the tropical rain forest.

I forgot I knew that song until reading your blog. Can't believe you get to do all that. Exotic for me is watching Animal Planet.

Adrianne said...

I went on a bike tour with my ssiter AShley and once again the tour guide claimed the Parana River to be the widest river... whatever, the amazon is definitely cooler.

 

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