Thursday, 11 September 2014
This morning we woke up at 5 am, and I awoke to find a giant stag beetle (I think that's what it was but I'm not sure) upside down and wriggling away in my room. There was also a wasp and a cicada in my room, luckily it was dark and I couldn't see properly but knowing that I was not alone was a big part of the problem. We left the lodge at 5.20 am in the boat to go to a nearby clay lick, which is a natural formation by the river bank. This is a popular spot for birds to lick the clay which is rich in minerals. Through the telescope, I saw 4 gold and yellow macaws, green parrots, some parakeets and green and blue macaws, I think it is called chestnut macaws.
We were given boots to walk in because there are certain areas that are muddy, and everyone here is so sure footed, I'm the only one who is losing my balance all the time, and then I have to walk really slowly if I want to keep my balance and that holds everyone up, I don't know why I am so clumsy when I walk! Maybe I haven't completely evolved into a 2 legged creature, I feel I will be more comfortable on all fours, which is how I trek through the jungle most of the time.
Anyway, we came back to the lodge and had breakfast at about 7.30 am, and then at 9 am we left to walk to the canopy for the zip lining activity, which is basically swinging from a line about 40m above the forest floor onto the next platform, there are 3 platforms altogether and from the last one we are supposed to swing down horizontally onto the ground. I was all harnessed, I climbed onto the platform, and then I had cold feet when I saw the people in front of me doing it. I asked myself whether I would regret not doing it and at that time my bloody brain said no regrets so I backtracked and came back down. So I trekked through the jungle back to the lodge with this old German couple (I saw a snake on the way), and all the way back, I began to feel more and more resentful that I didn't do it. I think I just needed a little bit more encouragement. If Philip was here I would've done it for sure because he would've said all the right things (for eg, don't be a wuss, even my grandmother can do this etc) until I did it. Without him, I just didn't have the courage, and then I had to cry quietly in my room for half an hour because I really regret not doing it in the Amazon jungle. I am such a wuss sometimes it is unbelievable. This is one of the reasons why I hate myself. Always so afraid of everything. I feel like such a failure now.
I asked the guide, Jose, to catch the insects from my room and he did so, thank God. Then lunch, and in the afternoon we took a short boat ride to a nearby lake, it is actually a meander, which means when the water overflows, it sort of cuts off a section of a winding river, forming a sort of lake. It is also known as an oxbow, a horseshoe or a billabong in Australia. While we were trekking to the lake, we saw a caiman and a chestnut macaw. At the lake itself, we saw many different types of birds, orioles and ibises, leaf cuter ants, fire ants, a balsam tree, and I also saw a baby capybara! How cool is that! We took a short raft ride on the lake and then back to the lodge for dinner. After dinner, I spent some time talking to the guides about the jungle, South America, Peru and the world in general, while drinking beer. The people here like to mix their beer with Coca Cola, of all things! It tasted foul. Then lights out and off to bed.
This morning we woke up at 5 am, and I awoke to find a giant stag beetle (I think that's what it was but I'm not sure) upside down and wriggling away in my room. There was also a wasp and a cicada in my room, luckily it was dark and I couldn't see properly but knowing that I was not alone was a big part of the problem. We left the lodge at 5.20 am in the boat to go to a nearby clay lick, which is a natural formation by the river bank. This is a popular spot for birds to lick the clay which is rich in minerals. Through the telescope, I saw 4 gold and yellow macaws, green parrots, some parakeets and green and blue macaws, I think it is called chestnut macaws.
We were given boots to walk in because there are certain areas that are muddy, and everyone here is so sure footed, I'm the only one who is losing my balance all the time, and then I have to walk really slowly if I want to keep my balance and that holds everyone up, I don't know why I am so clumsy when I walk! Maybe I haven't completely evolved into a 2 legged creature, I feel I will be more comfortable on all fours, which is how I trek through the jungle most of the time.
Anyway, we came back to the lodge and had breakfast at about 7.30 am, and then at 9 am we left to walk to the canopy for the zip lining activity, which is basically swinging from a line about 40m above the forest floor onto the next platform, there are 3 platforms altogether and from the last one we are supposed to swing down horizontally onto the ground. I was all harnessed, I climbed onto the platform, and then I had cold feet when I saw the people in front of me doing it. I asked myself whether I would regret not doing it and at that time my bloody brain said no regrets so I backtracked and came back down. So I trekked through the jungle back to the lodge with this old German couple (I saw a snake on the way), and all the way back, I began to feel more and more resentful that I didn't do it. I think I just needed a little bit more encouragement. If Philip was here I would've done it for sure because he would've said all the right things (for eg, don't be a wuss, even my grandmother can do this etc) until I did it. Without him, I just didn't have the courage, and then I had to cry quietly in my room for half an hour because I really regret not doing it in the Amazon jungle. I am such a wuss sometimes it is unbelievable. This is one of the reasons why I hate myself. Always so afraid of everything. I feel like such a failure now.
I asked the guide, Jose, to catch the insects from my room and he did so, thank God. Then lunch, and in the afternoon we took a short boat ride to a nearby lake, it is actually a meander, which means when the water overflows, it sort of cuts off a section of a winding river, forming a sort of lake. It is also known as an oxbow, a horseshoe or a billabong in Australia. While we were trekking to the lake, we saw a caiman and a chestnut macaw. At the lake itself, we saw many different types of birds, orioles and ibises, leaf cuter ants, fire ants, a balsam tree, and I also saw a baby capybara! How cool is that! We took a short raft ride on the lake and then back to the lodge for dinner. After dinner, I spent some time talking to the guides about the jungle, South America, Peru and the world in general, while drinking beer. The people here like to mix their beer with Coca Cola, of all things! It tasted foul. Then lights out and off to bed.
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