Into the Jungle
Amazon Rainforest, Brazil - Day 5
The Amazon is pretty hot, but surprisingly it can be comfortable with just some shade and a breeze. It was pretty comfortable in our room with just those two things (no AC) and Katie and I slept pretty well. During the day, we did get into the habit of rinsing off with a cold shower and laying under our fans to cool off between activities. To welcome the new day, we woke up before the sun and hopped on a boat so that we could catch the sun rise over the trees and through the clouds. We spent the morning in the hammocks and then joined our group for a five kilometer hike through the jungle, at the entrance of which we saw our first wild sloth! A whistle that imitates a bird that attacks sloths will make them SLOWLY lift their head and look around. If the Sloth were to spot the bird, it will instinctively let go and fall from the tree. ABORT! And it is not a short fall.. this sloth was way up there!
On the hike, Ralf showed us plants and trees that could be used for medicines, including what "Vick's Vapor Rub" is made of, as well as a tree which one of the best antibiotics comes from. Turns out around 70% of pharmaceuticals come out of the Amazon. He demonstrated how to create gun powder from a Gun Powder Tree by burning a sap rich bit of bark. As the bark burns it sparkles and a liquid residue drips off of it onto a large leaf he had setup. After building up the amount of residue that you want, you fold the leaf and scrunch it up, turning the residue into powder. He also showed us how to build a fire in a wet jungle using both flint as well as a traditional friction method. In another proud moment, I was able to get a fire going. Among other things, Ralf also showed us how to set an animal trap, turn palm leaves into a roof, and cover ourselves in ants to mask our smell while hunting. In the afternoon, we did the only logical thing there was to do and jumped into a small canoe and made our way around the caiman, piranha, electric eel, sting ray, and anaconda infested waters. Fortunately, (Katie says no, UNFORTUNATELY!!) we saw none of that and had a good time weaving through the trees. To top the day off we got to play with the "Little Devil" again, but this time I tried to play back with him instead of just let him climb all over and I think he liked it. It also wore him out and he took a little nap on my lap and then hugged with Katie for a bit. Just before dinner Ralf gave a lecture and slideshow, teaching us about all sorts of plants and animals that live in the Amazon. All this combined has made for one of the best ever travel days we have had!
