Amazon Day 2
As we were walking out of breakfast, a staffer told us to come over to the bush and nervously lurking in there was this small deer.
We were told that normally it is very rare to see the deer. We had luck with us as we saw deer on three occasions.
Unlike the Galapagos where the wildlife just ignores the humans, in the Amazon they are skittish (due to hunting in times past) and most of the photos are taken at a distance.
We then went off for a four hour walk through the rainforest to look at flora and fauna and the rest.
These are poisonous 24 hour ants. Large and nasty. The 24 hours refers to time the pain from a sting lasts. The pain from a sting is rated equal to being shot and you have waves of burning, throbbing all-consuming pain.
The remains of a wild pig, killed by a jaguar.
A butterfly almost camouflaged on a tree.
The River Tuichi.
Most of the Amazon is green, but you get a fair bit of colour.
A brown capuchin monkey.
Two capuchins fighting.
Another butterfly.
Our hut. The hammock is superb – much more comfortable than NZ ones, and great for relaxing and reading.
This is me having a swim in the Chalalan Lake. I was somewhat nervous about doing so as around the sides of the lake, are several dozen Caimans. The guide assured me that they don’t tend to come out during the day, but it is fair to say I was somewhat nervous while in the water.
Was worth it though. It was very hot during the day, and cooling off in the lake was very refreshing.
This is a view of Lake Chalalan from a lookout on the far side of the lake. We canoed over to it, and around a half hour climb to the lookout.
My GF told me not to move as there was something on my hat. I froze, wondering if it was a tarantula, or some other nasty beast. It turned out to be this butterfly she wanted a photo of. I suggested next time she tells me why I am freezing 🙂
A red macaw way up in the tree.
A reflection of the trees in the lake.
A couple of cormorants.
A Caiman, which despite what I was told, was out during the day!
I spotted this frog on the path which was quite hard to do as it blends in so well.
These are Walking Palms, and are all over the place. They look like the roots grow up, instead of down. I suggested they could be the long lost Entwives!
We ran into another wild pig.
A couple of red howler monkeys enjoying a rest. You can hear their howls from around 4 kms away.
Almost all the food in the lodge is local, and prepared by local villagers. In fact the lodge is owned and operated by the local village. Villagers take turns of three months each working at the lodge, and then return to the nearby village.