Amazon Adventure: Day 3 - On Top of the World

Today is the day LJ has been waiting for -- we're heading to the canopy zip line.

Given that it was named by Fox News as one of the Top 15 Craziest Zip Lines in the World, I have some pretty high expectations. (No pun intended).

We load into canoes and begin the 20 minute trek through the dense rainforest that lies behind the Tahuayo Lodge. 

We are visiting right at the end of the Amazon's wet season. As the dry season begins, the water level of the river will drop rapidly -- so much so that Cesar tells us that in just a few days, the water we are now canoeing in will be replaced by mud.

*******

The zip line platforms tower over us. In fact, I can barely see the top, which is more than 100 feet in the air.

LJ on his way up to the canopy zip line platform

Using their bare hands, our guides work a pulley system to hoist us, one by one, above the rainforest. It's exhausting work for them, I am sure. There are nine of us in the group and three guides take turns with the pulley.

Once atop the platform, the view is incredible. It gives me an entirely different perspective of the canopy, its birds, and yes, its flying, buzzing insects. 

LJ wants to be the first across the zip line -- and nobody stops him. I'm content to be the last one through the course. I figure that if the other eight group members make it across without the line snapping, chances are pretty good that I'll make it too.

It's my turn now, and our guide, Samuel, urges me, Vamos!

But I'm frozen. Even though I've been zip lining before, I'm mentally stuck.

The view from the top

This course is so high, so remote, I just can't will myself to move.

I take a few deep breaths and remind myself what Cesar told us when we first arrived at the zip line. Each year, engineers are brought here from the U.S. to check the safety of the course. Because the trees (which serve as the anchors for the zip lines), are under water for about half the year, they must be checked with regularity.

I survey my options and figure I don't have much of a choice. After all, I'm 100 feet in the air and attached to a rope, a harness, a steel wire, and a couple of carabiners. 

I don't really see any other way out.

I take a deep breath and decide to go for it.

Besides, if I chicken out now, LJ and Julianna will never let me live it down.

There's no turning back now

Amazon Adventure: Day 2 - The Jungle Love Triangle

During our return trip from Terra Firma, I start to drift off. But I feel the boat coming to a stop so I open my eyes to find us pulling up to the river bank just opposite a small village.

Here, we are greeted not by Peruvian villagers, but instead by three very curious woolly monkeys.

These monkeys have names -- Durilla, Chepa, and Rocky. Durilla and Chepa are female. Rocky is the youngest, and he is male. Durilla, by far the largest of the three, scrambles down the trees toward the boat. But the driver immediately backs away, not wanting Durilla to get too close.

Papaya was very popular with Rocky

Instead, we maneuver to a 3x3 wooden platform hanging from one of the jungle trees. Nelly places several pieces of fresh fruit on the platform. Durilla swings over to scoop up the fruit and then disappears back into the trees.

We steer toward the low branch of a tree that juts out over the river. Nelly tries to entice Chepa with a juicy piece of papaya. Chepa is intrigued by the offering, as is Rocky, but neither takes the bait.

Instead, Durilla comes scampering back through the trees, once again eager to socialize with our group.

As before, the driver instantly backs the boat into the river and away from Durilla.

*******

At a gathering prior to our Amazon trip, I recall Dr. Paul Beaver, one of the co-owners of the lodge, talking about how a gorilla had recently bit one of the visitors. 

I remember being horrified at the thought ... what an enormous, painful bite that must have been! 

Never mind the fact that there are no gorillas in the Amazon basin. 

I didn't really think about that at the time. I was too focused on my fear of being attacked by a vicious, man-eating, 300-lb. beast. 

Think Outbreak, but with me and Jack standing in for Rene Russo and Dustin Hoffman.

*******

The monkeys were just as interested in us as we were in them.

Now, as we play this game of jungle hide-and-seek with Durilla, the woolly monkey, I begin to connect the dots. 

It was Durilla that bit someone. Not a gorilla.

Oh.

Well, that's a little less terrifying.

Nevertheless, we avoid Durilla and continue to try and lure Chepa to the boat.

But Chepa is still leery. Instead, she climbs to a branch about 20 feet above us and hangs from her tail. Nelly grabs a piece of orange and tosses it high in the air. Not missing a beat, Chepa stabs her paw into the air and snares the fruit.

She devours the fruit, discards the rind into the river, and waits for more.

Over and over again, Nelly tosses and Chepa catches.

I am endlessly entertained. 

When Nelly pitches the fruit too low and it splashes into the water, Chepa lets us know she is not pleased, unleashing a series of loud grunts. 

I suppose it's just her way of coaching Nelly to throw the fruit a bit higher ... a little monkey talk.

Apparently this game of catch has made Chepa feel a little more comfortable with all the strangers. She swings and jumps her way toward the river and then carefully shimmies down the low-hanging branch. 

And just like that, there's a monkey in the boat.

Chepa squats on the boat deck and finishes off the last of the papaya, and we humans take turns gently petting her back. She doesn't even seem to notice us.

*******

Up close and personal with the woolly monkeys

As we make our way back to the lodge, we learn that these three monkeys were once pets in a nearby jungle village. Despite what you may have seen on the TV show Friends, keeping a monkey as a pet is a bad idea.

After being rescued, Durilla, Chepa, and Rocky were rehabilitated and released back into the jungle. Durilla and Chepa lived together on their own for awhile. 

BFFs, I suppose. 

Recently, however, Rocky -- the lone male -- was introduced to the mix, and you can guess what happened next. 

Durilla, the eldest female, has become a bit territorial and aggressive -- which is likely why she took a bite out of the jungle tourist. Just staking her claim.

Figures.

Even in the Amazon jungle -- and even within a troop of monkeys -- three is a crowd. 

I guess you could call it a jungle love triangle. 

Amazon Adventure: Day 2 - Termites, Poison Frogs, and Bats

On the Rio Blanco, en route to Terra Firma 

Today, it gets real.

Today, we're going hiking in the Amazon jungle.

We each are issued a pair of rubber boots so as not to introduce foreign microbes into the jungle with our own shoes. We also are told to wear long pants, long sleeves, bug spray, sunscreen, and hats.

I have a bit of an allergy to mosquitoes, so I'm not taking any chances. By the time I am dressed -- in the 90 degree heat and 95% humidity -- I feel like I am sporting full body armor. And I look ridiculous ... sort of like a cross between Panama Jack and Martha Stewart in her gardening clothes.

We head out in the motor boats for Terra Firma or "dry ground." This elevated area is one of the few places that does not succumb to the rising waters during the Amazon's wet season.

Soon, we veer off of the Tahuayo River and onto Rio Blanco or "White River."

The White River gets its name from the color of the water within its banks. It's really just a muddy, brown color -- nothing close to white. But where the Tahuayo meets Rio Blanco, you can actually see the water change from nearly black to light brown.

It's not that either river is dirty -- far from it -- there is no visible litter in or along the rivers. The dark water colors come from the sediment in the river and the decomposition of the jungle's plants.

After about an hour on Rio Blanco, we unload into a clearing and split into two groups for our jungle hike.

LJ at the foot of the Terra Firma trail

This time our guide is Cesar (pronounced Say-czar). Through his thick Peruvian accent, Cesar tells us he's been a jungle guide for nearly a dozen years.

I calculate that if Cesar's been in the jungle a dozen years and he's still alive and well, then I should feel pretty good about my chances of coming out on the other side.

As long as I don't lose sight of him. 

Also guiding us is Celeste (pronounced Suh-lest-eh). I learn that the word Celeste, in Spanish is a color -- essentially what we would call "sky blue" in English. She's only been on the job about 9 months, and appears to be in her late teens or early 20s.

I try to remember what I was doing when I was 20 years old. I'm pretty sure it involved a fake ID and some poor decisions. But I'm also fairly certain it didn't involve machetes, anacondas, and tarantulas.

*******

The humidity in the jungle is oppressive. The air is so thick it feels like a weight bearing down on my upper body. For a moment I wonder if I can possibly survive hiking like this for three hours.

But as I begin to focus on my surroundings and not just my sweat-soaked clothing, I am enthralled by what I see.

I have been on jungle hikes before -- both in St. Lucia and Belize -- but there really is no comparison.

The richness of biodiversity is evident from the moment we step onto the trail. Cesar points out a variety of native trees, including those used for medicinal purposes like the iodine tree, as well as those used for household purposes like the rubber tree.

WHACK! 

Cesar strikes the trunk of the rubber tree with his machete, and a white, milky-looking sap begins to ooze. Cesar places a bit in my hand, and after rubbing my palms together for just a moment, a rubber band appears where the sap once was.

Next, Cesar stops our group at a huge dirt ball that clings to the trunk of a tree.

WHACK!

Bug spray for the brave, aka termites

Suddenly, hundreds of small, red termites swarm from the mound. Cesar summons Jack to the tree and tells him to place his hands over the termites.

This is definitely one time where I'm happy not to be picked first.

Cesar instructs Jack to smash the termites in his hands to make a paste, and then spread it on his arms and neck.Why? Because termite mush makes an excellent homemade bug repellant.

And we Americans think termites are just wood-eating, house-destroying nuisances.

*******

The elusive poison dart frog

One reason we came to hike at Terra Firma is to find poison dart frogs. They are supposed to be plentiful in this part of the jungle, but this has to be a hundred times worse than finding the proverbial needle in a haystack.

While brightly-colored (yellow, red, blue, etc.), poison dart frogs are no more than about a 1/2-inch long. So after a lot of searching and even more sweating, I am beginning to feel like this is a hopeless quest.

And then, Colby, one of the boys in our group, spots it.

How, I have no idea. The teeny tiny yellow and black frog was clinging to a tree, camouflaged by leaves. Carefully, Cesar catches the frog by scooping it up with a leaf.

But now, the frog is hopping up Cesar's arm -- and he's NOT in long sleeves. And now it's moved to the nape of Cesar's neck.

And he's cringing.

And you can tell he wants that frog off of his neck -- NOW.

Cesar with the dart frog on his shoulder -- before it lands on his neck

This is because Cesar knows that the poison dart frog -- depending upon the species -- could be carrying a very toxic substance on its back.

One of our group members is able to shoo the frog off of Cesar's neck and back to the jungle floor.

Crisis averted.

Cesar laughs and seems very relieved. He'll live another day -- maybe even see year number 13 as a jungle guide.

I ask Celeste whether she's ever touched a poison dart frog before.

Yes, she tells me. Once she got some of the poison on her hands, and after touching her mouth, could not feel her lips for four agonizingly long hours.

Crisis averted. Truly.

*******

My little super hero braves the "Bat Cave"

Eventually, we approach an enormous, rotting, hollowed-out tree that is sprawled across the jungle floor.

Along with two of the older boys in our group, Julianna -- without hesitation -- crawls inside.

No big deal, right?

Except that this tree is home to a colony of BATS.

Fruit bats, fisher bats, long-nose bats, and even vampire bats. Dozens upon dozens of them hang from the top of the tree's inside.

A closer look at a group of long-nose bats

Despite wading through ankle-deep puddles of bat guano, Julianna emerges no worse for wear.

But I cannot believe what I just saw.

Is this really the same 11-year-old girly girl who's afraid of houseflies?

Amazon Adventure: Day 1 - Plumbing, Pauraque, and Rats

Daytime at Tahuayo Lodge

We arrive after dark at Tahuayo Lodge, and are greeted with a welcome drink of purple corn juice. Delicious. Sweet and syrupy, it leaves a deep violet-colored mustache on LJ's upper lip.

Despite being immersed in the Amazon basin, there is electricity and plumbing here, but it's not quite plumbing as we know it in the U.S. Our introduction to the lodge includes a plumbing primer, which was most definitely eye-opening.

Our showers have only cold water, because, as stated on the lodge's website, "in the Amazon rainforest, (hot water) will become a soup of mycobacteria ... (which) can be be inhaled into the lungs and cause a serious, tubercular pulmonary infection."

Alrighty then. Cold showers it is!

Also, we are implored not to flush any toilet paper in the toilets because as the signs posted around the lodge warn us, "If you think it's difficult to get a plumber at home, just try doing it in the jungle."

Fair point.

We then head down one of the piers to our room - an elevated palm-leaf covered hut with four beds and a simple bathroom.

Dim, ceiling-mounted LEDs (one per hut) light our way as we unpack, and we get settled just before the drum bangs signaling that it's time for our first Peruvian meal.

Our dinner surpasses anything I could have imagined. We enjoy a feast of rice, vegetables, and meat, finishing our meal with a honey-flavored cake.

I'm beginning to think that my plan to lose a few pounds during this vacation may not materialize. 

*******

This bird didn't stand a chance.

Our first excursion is led by our guide, Nelly, who has worked for Amazonia Expeditions for three years. It's a pitch black, cloudy sky, and we head via motor boat in search of nocturnal creatures. Armed with only a headlamp and a machete, Nelly, who grew up in the the villages that pepper the jungle landscape, fearlessly leads us down the Tahuayo River. 

Everyone is silent as she signals to our boat driver to slow down and kill the engine. 

Nelly has her eye on a small bird that is sleeping amongst the brush along the riverbank. As our boat approaches the bank, she crouches on the bough of the boat, slowly reaches her arms to the bird, and then grabs it with both hands. 

Nelly's prisoner is a common pauraque, a nocturnal bird that's native to the tropics and sub-tropics. Right now, it just looks petrified.

After telling us a few fun facts about the bird, Nelly gingerly places the pauraque back where she found it, and we head off in search of more creatures.

Edible tree rat

Just up the river we come across a Peruvian tree rat. It's the stuff right out of nightmares as it's three times the size of any rat I've ever seen before.

Rat fact: Did you know that there are two different types of rats in the Amazon? The kind you can eat, and the kind you can't. Nelly explains that certain tree rats are poisonous to eat because they consume toxic flowers.

The one we have found, apparently, is edible.

I consider this for a moment as we head back to the lodge. 

I suppose it is best to know which is which if you are a connoisseur of rat.

In this case, I'll just take Nelly's word for it. 

No need for a taste test.

Amazon Adventure: Day 1 - The Arrival

View of the Amazon River as we land in Iquitos

My high school Spanish is failing me other than simple words like "nombre" and "pais" -- I'm having a very difficult time deciphering the declaration ticket for Peru. Between the four of us - and with a little guesswork - we piece enough together that I feel comfortable that I won't be detained by the Peruvian immigration authorities. At least I think I won't ...

*******

Long, long customs wait

After an hour-long wait at customs in the Iquitos airport (there was just ONE official working and he was painstakingly thorough), we board the bus and head for our boat to the jungle. The bus ride is both fascinating and sobering. Iquitos, which is the fifth largest city in Peru, is not what I expected. 

I expected a more modern city, but instead, the population of 400,000 seems to be very impoverished. Stray dogs roam the street, many citizens wander barefooted, and the majority of the homes look uninhabitable by American standards.

The kids' reaction? SILENCE. Until now, there were lots of questions, excited chatter, and a few complaints in the customs line. 

Now? Nothing.

For Julianna, who is outside the U.S. for the first time, and for LJ, who probably doesn't remember much about his only other trip abroad, I am pretty sure they are in shock. 

Iquitos sure is a hell of a lot different than the "bubble" they've known in North Carolina and Florida.

Julianna says she was expecting a city with skyscrapers. LJ says he thought the city would be in "better shape."

Iquitos homes

That aside, LJ does manage to find silver lining.

"Mom, there is something WAY better here ... the stoplights actually have a countdown so you know when they'll turn green."

Hmmm ... we could be in for a long week.

No doubt this is a kid who loves to know exactly what is coming next. 

But I'm thinking the only thing he may be able to count during this adventure is that there will surely be surprises at every turn.

Iquitos is the largest city in the world with no road access. You can only get there by boat or air.

Going off the Grid

Two days from now, I'm going to do exactly what each and every mother of a young child has dreamed of doing at least once.

I'm going off the grid.

It's true.

I'm turning off the cell phone and leaving my laptop behind. If you need to reach me, forget about it. I'm as good as gone.

For seven nights and eight days there will be no email, meetings, conference calls, deadlines, laundry folding, dish washing, lunch packing, grocery shopping, homework correcting, checking for monsters under the bed, or picking up dog poo in the back yard.

I need a break. And I'm getting one.

But I'm not opting for the white, sandy beaches of the Caribbean, or the secluded mountains of the Rockies. In fact, I'm not even heading for the Hampton Inn right up the road.

Moms, I know you're with me when I say that some days, a room alone at the Hampton Inn would be a freaking 5-star vacation.

Instead, I'm going to the Amazon jungle.

To stay in a hut.

With no air conditioning.

With no roads in or out.

With the kids.

And I can't wait.

I've never experienced anything close to this type of adventure, and as I begin my 40th year, I'm at the top of the proverbial hill looking down. It's exactly the perspective I need. I'm hoping to push both my mental and physical limits in a way I haven't done since, well, ever.

As for the kids?

They will be so far out of their iPod element that they won't know what hit them. And what could be better than that?

This will be a week with nothing but family time, new experiences, and immense challenges.

I'm sure we'll have many stories, photos, and memories to share when we return from Peru. But all in due time.

For eight days and seven nights, as they say in the jungle ...

Hasta luego y no trates de encontrarme.



For more info on where we're headed, visit www.perujungle.com.