24/10/2022 Amazon Day 1
Starting with a river cruise
After a 12-hour-night bus ride, we made it to the Amazon. From the starting point we went on a motorized canoe that took us to our lodge. On the 2.5-hour-river cruise we already got to see bats, different species of monkeys, many colourful birds (including a white-throated toucan, parrots and yellow macaws), a non-poisonous snake and a baby anaconda – what else can you ask for?
bats 
snake
Great lodge
Our Toucan Lodge was only built in 2020. The staff was friendly, the food was fresh and the huts were clean and spacious!
Refreshing river dip
After our first lunch, we all went into the river to cool off. I tried not to think of all the snakes, caimans and other animals that might be swimming with us in the water.
Amazing sunset on the lake
In the evening we went to the lake “Laguna Grande” by boat from where we watched an incredible sunset! We also spotted pink river dolphins, an Amazon tree boa (snake) and a two-toed sloth.
Seeing a toucan (“Blake’s animal”) and a sloth (“my animal”) in one day was the perfect start to our time in the Amazon! I still have no idea how our guide was able to spot some of these animals. Even when he pointed at them while we were right in front of them, I had a hard time seeing them.
When we rode back to our lodge in the canoe, it was pretty amazing to think that we were driving through the Amazon right now with a million stars above us and probably a million animals around us.
25/10/2022 Amazon Day 2
Perfect way to wake up
Waking up in our little jungle hut to the sound of many different birds felt amazing! The day started with a very tasty breakfast consisting of freshly baked bread, scrambled eggs and fresh fruit.
Hiking through the jungle
After breakfast we hiked through the jungle for four hours. For that hike we were given gum boots which were very necessary as we were soon to find out. We learnt so much about the different trees and other plants while we were walking through waist deep water!
“Do not fall down!” was my mantra for most of the hike. You were also not allowed to touch any of the trees as many of them had either spikes on them or poisonous ants. So holding onto Blake whenever I lost my balance was my only option.
The waist deep water changed into lots of mud later during the hike in which our boots sometimes sank in all the way to our calves. It was clearly an adventure!
Time to relax in the jungle
After a full fish (trout) for lunch, we had some time to relax. So most of us chilled in the hammocks (me) on the upper deck, lay in the nets right by the river or took another swim in the water.
Paddling in a canoe on the Amazon River
Next we did a canoe trip on the Amazon River where we all paddled ourselves. You definitely appreciate the engine of the boat again afterwards.
Coffee and chocolate making
After that exercise we learnt a lot about coffee beans and cocoa beans and how they are made and roasted. Then we put the beans on a hot pan over the fire, roasted them, peeled the cocoa beans while they were still hot and grinded them through a machine. We then added sugar cane to the grinded cocoa cream and created very tasty organic chocolate. In the end we added hot milk and enjoyed out self-made hot chocolate and coffee!
A night walk with lots of spiders
Before dinner we went on a night walk, saw massive spiders (including the banana spider – the most poisonous one), massive frogs and lots of insects.
At one point we all turned off our torches and just listened to the sound of the jungle, while watching fireflies in the pitch black rainforest.
26/10/2022 Amazon Day 3
Birdwatching in the morning
Our alarms woke us up at 5.30 a.m. for a birdwatching trip in the slow boat. Before the trip, Blake and I lay down in one of the big nets in front of our hut and looked out for toucans (saw one) and other birds (saw many). After four days of seeing and hearing lots of different birds in the jungle, we can actually differentiate a lot of birds by the way they fly, look or sound. Maybe we do become birdwatchers after all…
On the birdwatching boat trip we saw so many toucans, parrots, macaws and even dolphins and monkeys – welcome to the jungle!
squirrel monkey 
two white-throated toucans
Visiting a local tribe
After another very delicious breakfast we visited a local community that was an hour away by boat.
Making yuca bread
We first learnt how to make yuca bread. For that we dug yuca plants out of the ground.
After that we grinded them on a metal board with sharp knobs. We then put all the grated yuca into a wooden robe and closed it tightly to get out all the remaining water. Of course the whole time a girl from the local tribe showed us how to do it. (Not that we had any yuca bread making skills!)
Lastly, we put the dry texture through a siff to create yuca flour which we then put onto a hot stone over the fire inside the hut. And magically it didn’t stick to the pan and created one big yuca bread (like a massive wrap). We added some tuna and veggies and enjoyed our self-made yuca bread.
After such a long process we are definitely having a greater appreciation for all the kitchen utensils and food that is so easily accessible back home.
Visiting the shaman
And then we got to see the shaman of the local community.
He was a barefoot old man in a green dress with plants on his head, animal teeth around his neck and lots of different drinks in skull-formed bottles in front of him. Okay, let’s do this! He told us about his rituals and plant-based medicine in Spanish which our guide tried to translate in broken English. We were given a shot which we all drank out of the same shot glass. They might have a lot of diseases in the local village here, but covid is definitely not one of them.
After a very strong shot, we had to show him our palms which he slapped with a spikey leaf. What was happening here? It actually burnt like stinging nettles and only seconds after the slap we all had big rashes on our hands.
The ceremony ended with one voluntary girl sitting in front of the shaman, who wiggled a leaf around her and hushed something in his mother tongue. This part is usually followed by an ayahuasca treatment, but I guess we are leaving that part for another time.
It does sound quite hocus pocus, but it was also very new and interesting at the same time.
When we took the boat back to our Toucan Lodge, a late lunch was already awaiting us.
Sunset at Laguna Grande
After some rest in the hammock overlooking the Amazon River, we took the boat to the Laguna Grande again for some dolphin spotting and to see other wildlife (lots of snakes and birds).
A different night walk
We then did another night walk in another terrain and even passed the equator point again, just as we did near Quito. Again, we saw massive spiders, including tarantulas and banana spiders.
Finding us a kaiman
When we got back onto the boat, we were looking out for kaimans in the water which are related to alligators. By “we”, I mean the guide of course, as we had no idea how to spot them in the pitch black dark. It was so impressive how he kept flashing his torch into different spots in the dark, waiting for eyes to reflect back. Only by the size of the eyes in the far background, he could tell whether it was a snake, a kaiman or a sloth. And we saw them all!! The sloth was of course my favourite! But seeing the snakes up close and also watching the kaiman in the water next to us in the boat was scary and fascinating at the same time!
During dinner we had a nice chat with the other internationals of our group. Shortly after, we fell happily asleep after another amazing day in the jungle.
27/10/2022 Amazon Day 4
Last canoe ride in the morning
Another 5.30 a.m. start – but we weren’t tired at all, just very excited for another day in the Amazon. We started with a boat ride to spot different animals. I think we’ll never get tired of seeing toucans, macaws, parrots, monkeys and dolphins in the wild.
Our breakfast was delicious again! After packing, it was time to say our goodbyes to all the great guides, fantastic cooks and to the Toucan Lodge.
We had one last (two-hour-) boat ride along the Amazon River to the next bigger town where our bus back to civilization was already waiting for us.
Back to civilization
On the 11-hour-bus-ride (during the day!) we had enough time to reflect on the incredible past four days in the jungle, which will always hold a special place in our heart.
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