Saturday 22nd July 2006: AMAZON JUNGLE TOUR: Day 1

Daniel arrived at our hotel at 9am with wellies, hammocks complete with mosquito net and all the food we would need for our tour. We each took a small rucksack of the bare essentials as evertyhing we wanted to take would have to be carried by ourselves and for the next three days the only mode of transport would be our feet! Having organised our packs with the added weight of food and hammocks, we were driven 8km outside of Leiticia to the small village where our guide lives. Sergio, our indigenous guide, lives in a village right on the edge of the jungle with other members of his tribe, and it was from here that we would begin our trek. Whilst at Sergio´s house we had to re-arrange our packs again this time to fit in the additional water needed and the necessary first aid kit complete with syringes and anti-venom, just in case anyone was unlucky enough to get bitten by one of the many deadly venomous snakes living in the jungle! Finally around 11am we were all set to begin our journey into the jungle. We said our goodbyes to Daniel until the tuesday morning when he would return to take us back to Leiticia. Our time in the Amazonas Jungle (aka 'El Pulmones Del Mundo' = The Lungs of the World) had begun! Our first walk (the shortest of the next three days) was thirty minutes long, towards the Maloca. A Maloca is a round traditional building of the indigenous peple of the Amazon. Sergio belongs to the Hutoto Tribe and he explained that he and the whole community helped build the Maloca entirely by hand (machete allowed!) and only using materials from the jungle. The Maloca is used by the tribes people as a meeting place for celebrations, rituals and for making Mambe (a product of coca leaves) and Yucca (made from the plant for eating).

The Hutoto Tribe Maloca

Inside the Maloca it was very cool and refreshing and Sergio explained that this was another purpose of its making - to be a contrast to the outside, i.e. cool when it´s hot and warm when it´s cool. We sat in the centre of the dark Maloca (no electricity here!) on tree stump stools placed in a circle whilst Sergio explained the purpose of Mambe and described the four stage process of turning a pile of coca leaves into a fine green powder. Mambe is continually used by all members of the tribe (from the age of 8 upwards) because as well as being hunger and tiredness suppressant it is also used for spiritual reasons. They believe that whilst taking Mambe they are more in tune with the spirits of the jungle and that it enables them to connect their mind and soul with the energy there. After this explanation of Mambe making and its effects, we were invited to try it! Sergio showed us the correct way of taking it (1 - Place a spoonful in the side of your mouth; 2 - Keep mouth closed waiting to saliva to form and swallow slowly when necessary; 3 - Wait for the Mambe to form into balls in the side of your mouth and leave there until dissolved) but it was awkward, especially trying hard not to swallow it all in one (we were warned that doing so causes violent vomiting!) but we managed and the three of us sat there in silence waiting for the Mambe to take effect. After ten to fifteen minutes the Mambe had formed into balls so with renewed energy and numb mouths (thanks to the Mambe!) we headed deeper into the jungle to our camping spot for the night.

Walking through the jungle was really quite spectacular and with the sunlight streaming through the dense and vast leaves along with the constant sound of of the birds and monkeys, it all seemed quite magical and very special.

Walking through the Amazon Jungle

We also felt like jungle explorers as we followed a machete and shotgun wielding Sergio and crossed rivers by walking across the log ´bridges´ which was slightly scary as the rivers below do contain caimans!

Traversing logs to cross rivers!

After four hours (with regular stops along the way to rehydrate), we finally reached our campsite for the night which was alongside a small river for ease of washing and water for cooking. Sergio´s friend (another tribesman) arrived shortly after we did and helped construct our campsite for the night. Whilst Sergio and his friend Tuto built the camp we stood back in awe at their ability to make something from seemingly nothing. Small trees were cut to act as the frame of the camp (to hold the tarpaulin and support our hammocks) and vines were used to bind the frame together. Everything used in our time in the jungle would be 'of' the jungle! Once camp was built we enjoyed a snooze in our hammocks and awoke later to the smells and sounds of Sergio building the campfire from where we would cook our dinner. A short hour later a delicious simple dinner of rice, salad and meat had been prepared and was devoured by the four trekkers around the campfire. At 8pm we left camp for our night time jungle walk in the hope of hunting some fresh meat for the next days meal and also to spot caimans. Once again we were walking across logs to reach the other side of the rivers and this time it was a lot more scary as you could see the caimans eyes below and the logs were a lot more slippery due to the recent downpour. After one hour we returned to camp without any fresh meat but looking forward to the comfort and safety of our hammocks. We fell asleep to the "Sounds of the Jungle" live version!

Our hand made campsite!