Exploring the Amazon

“It’s so hot!” I complained to my Couchsurfing host, as I felt like I was in the most humid city I’d ever visited.  I noticed that everyone seemed to be in jeans and tshirts and had no problem with the heat of the day.

“Hot?!” he replied.  “This is nothing…”  He then went on to tell me that this was far from the hottest part of the year, and I couldn’t even comprehend that.  It was boiling!!

I was in Manaus, Brazil, a city in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest and was heading to the Amazon the following day.  So the next morning we woke up early, leaving our huge travelling bags with our hosts and taking a small bag for three days and two nights in the rainforest.  You can’t just turn up in the rainforest, so we booked a guide who took my two friends and I there.  We boarded a bumpy bus which took us to the edge of where we were going, then got on a speed boat.  And just like that, we were on a boat in the Amazon River.  A surreal experience!

Before long we arrived at our home for the night; the hammocks were ready and we had a bit of lunch.  There was only one family living where we were staying and it felt like the next house must have been miles and miles away.  It was so peaceful and serene.  The water looked untouched and it was only the sounds of insects that could be heard.  Look how beautiful it was!

We dumped our stuff and set off on a rowing boat to see more of the river.  We went through parts where our guide had to slow right down to gently move branches out of the way.  When we found a spot we then started piranha fishing… something I never imagined I’d do!  Having said that, I didn’t really as I caught a grand total of zero piranhas (!)  The piranhas that were caught then became dinner for the night.  And it’s true what they say about their teeth… they are so sharp!

So it was back to the hut to have piranahs for dinner. We gazed at the beautiful scenes on the way back….  Peaceful is the word that sticks in my mind when I think back to these moments.

After filling ourselves up on food it had turned dark and our guide told us that we’d be getting in the boat again to explore the amazon by night in the hope of seeing crocodiles.  I think I hoped that we wouldn’t see any as that is a very terrifying thought!  Now, I don’t have any photos of that because well, it was pitch black.  There were no lights to be seen anywhere so we just had torch light to guide us, which our guide turned off for most of the journey as he said that would distract the crocodiles from coming near us.  He knew this part of the rainforest so well that he just knew where to go.  I was pretty scared the whole time as you couldn’t see a thing and I just kept thinking that a crocodile would be having us for dinner.  We did see a crocodile… it’s eyes shimmering.  Eeeek!!

However, despite feeling scared for the entire journey, we arrived back unhurt and headed to bed the hammock before we had more adventures the next day.  The next day’s adventures will be on the blog next Tuesday 😉

Where is most peaceful place you have ever visited?

Marcella xx

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The post I am featuring this week was written by Lauren from Lauren on Location.  Lauren shared her AMAZING photos from her trip to the Sahara, and they are breathtaking!

 

Now it’s time for the Travel Tuesday link up with Bonnie from A Compass Rose.

Here’s how it works:

1. Share a post about travel!  From roadtrips to trips abroad and from past travels to dream vacations.  You can write about travel tips and tricks, favorite places to stay or anything in between! Just make it about traveling somewhere!

2.  Grab the lovely button and link back to your lovely hosts:Michelle, Amanda, Caity and I.

3. Linkup goes live! Every Tuesday at 8 am GMT.

4.  Hop around and meet new travel loving bloggers! Link up will be open for a few days, make sure to check back to visit some of the newer travel posts!