Into the Amazon or the Best Unintentional Diet Plan Ever
What do diets have to do with the Amazon you might say? Well, Kevin and I have just gotten back from our 8 day trip into the Manu Biosphere Reserve, which is part of the Amazon, and lost a combined total of about 15 pounds. Why? Well, our cook on the trip was pretty crappy and at times his meals were rather inedible. We just lost all interest in food--which, if you know us, takes a heck of a lot! On our last night, Kevin stared at his sad tuna fish patty and almost lost the will to live right there. Luckily, we had gloopy but edible chocolate pudding for dessert.
That said, the rest of our trip to the Amazon was really interesting and as we hadn't spent much time in the jungle before, we learned a lot about the pros and cons of doing a jungle trip. Also, a trip like that takes a toll on the body and now Kevin and I have caught colds probably due to the fact our guide had a cold and the weather fluctuated a lot. However, looking back at the pictures we took, I also realize now that we saw an incredible contrast of cloud forests, dense jungles and serene lakes against the amazing backdrop of the Andes.
Gorgeous cloud forest....
The lakes (where we spotted giant otters and loads of birds and monkeys) at sunrise and sunset:
And, this is us after 3 days of not taking a shower. Not too bad, eh?
Our trip took 2 days in and out, so we had about 4 days in the Manu Reserve. But even outside of the reserve there was a lot to see. And since Kevin and I have suddenly become extreme sports / adventure buffs (who knew?), we had to do the jungle trip where we mountain bike down 1000 meters in 3 hoursb through rough terrain, white water raft, and take a wild canopy tour. With all this activity (and recent bouts with bacterial infections), I sometimes feel like we need a vacation from our vacation!
In the jungle, you learn to be patient because the animals rarely come to you. You're lucky if you see three mammals within a week...but there are loads of birds to see. I think we saw over 30 kinds (though they're gone in a blink so no pictures!) and observed parrots feasting on a clay lick (a giant clay wall). As for mammals, my favourite one was the capybaras, the largest rodents in the world! We saw a family of five feeding away by the river. They were so adorable and looked like giant hamsters (about the size of a big dog)!
We also got to see cute giant otters, swimming as a family and chomping on some juicy fish, and the other half of our group even saw a jaguar though we just missed it (out boat was behind theirs). And we saw so many black and white caimans (like crocodiles) I lost count.
There is a lot of waiting time though, lots of time on the water (the best place to see animals from as you can scope the jungle out with a wider field of vision) and without a good guide, you miss a lot of things. We spent about 35 hours total on this boat!
Even the small things are pretty amazing. Kevin took a huge fancy to these leaf cutter ants carrying this incredible load on their backs. Amazingly, we seemed to observe that the ants worked from 9 to 5! Maybe they're in a union?
And walking around the forest, we observed so many kinds of plant and tree life which were pretty amazing. We encountered this giant kapok tree which alone holds hundreds of ecosystems. (That's our guide explaining it all to us)
Our most exciting encounter was when we walked through the forest and then, as if we were in an episode of the TV show "LOST", we heard a crazy melee of grunting and teeth gnashing! We had almost run into loads of peccaries (wild pigs) who are known to attack humans, but luckily ran away when they heard our footsteps. We just saw back shadows making their way into the deep forest. But we had gotten a great scare and everyone's hearts were thumping big time. What we had heard was them galloping away...lucky for us, since our guide said that sometimes he and his group have had to climb trees to escape these creatures.
We also got a small glimpse into the way of life for the local villagers within the Amazon, but we wished we could have seen more. I think many jungle enthusiasts have to spend at least 2 weeks in the jungle but 1 week was certainly plenty for me and Kevin! Here is Kevin playing with the local village game of (I kid you not): Spear- the-turtle-skull-through-the-stick.
That said, the rest of our trip to the Amazon was really interesting and as we hadn't spent much time in the jungle before, we learned a lot about the pros and cons of doing a jungle trip. Also, a trip like that takes a toll on the body and now Kevin and I have caught colds probably due to the fact our guide had a cold and the weather fluctuated a lot. However, looking back at the pictures we took, I also realize now that we saw an incredible contrast of cloud forests, dense jungles and serene lakes against the amazing backdrop of the Andes.
Gorgeous cloud forest....
The lakes (where we spotted giant otters and loads of birds and monkeys) at sunrise and sunset:
And, this is us after 3 days of not taking a shower. Not too bad, eh?
Our trip took 2 days in and out, so we had about 4 days in the Manu Reserve. But even outside of the reserve there was a lot to see. And since Kevin and I have suddenly become extreme sports / adventure buffs (who knew?), we had to do the jungle trip where we mountain bike down 1000 meters in 3 hoursb through rough terrain, white water raft, and take a wild canopy tour. With all this activity (and recent bouts with bacterial infections), I sometimes feel like we need a vacation from our vacation!
In the jungle, you learn to be patient because the animals rarely come to you. You're lucky if you see three mammals within a week...but there are loads of birds to see. I think we saw over 30 kinds (though they're gone in a blink so no pictures!) and observed parrots feasting on a clay lick (a giant clay wall). As for mammals, my favourite one was the capybaras, the largest rodents in the world! We saw a family of five feeding away by the river. They were so adorable and looked like giant hamsters (about the size of a big dog)!
We also got to see cute giant otters, swimming as a family and chomping on some juicy fish, and the other half of our group even saw a jaguar though we just missed it (out boat was behind theirs). And we saw so many black and white caimans (like crocodiles) I lost count.
There is a lot of waiting time though, lots of time on the water (the best place to see animals from as you can scope the jungle out with a wider field of vision) and without a good guide, you miss a lot of things. We spent about 35 hours total on this boat!
Even the small things are pretty amazing. Kevin took a huge fancy to these leaf cutter ants carrying this incredible load on their backs. Amazingly, we seemed to observe that the ants worked from 9 to 5! Maybe they're in a union?
And walking around the forest, we observed so many kinds of plant and tree life which were pretty amazing. We encountered this giant kapok tree which alone holds hundreds of ecosystems. (That's our guide explaining it all to us)
Our most exciting encounter was when we walked through the forest and then, as if we were in an episode of the TV show "LOST", we heard a crazy melee of grunting and teeth gnashing! We had almost run into loads of peccaries (wild pigs) who are known to attack humans, but luckily ran away when they heard our footsteps. We just saw back shadows making their way into the deep forest. But we had gotten a great scare and everyone's hearts were thumping big time. What we had heard was them galloping away...lucky for us, since our guide said that sometimes he and his group have had to climb trees to escape these creatures.
We also got a small glimpse into the way of life for the local villagers within the Amazon, but we wished we could have seen more. I think many jungle enthusiasts have to spend at least 2 weeks in the jungle but 1 week was certainly plenty for me and Kevin! Here is Kevin playing with the local village game of (I kid you not): Spear- the-turtle-skull-through-the-stick.
posted by Karen at 5/28/2007 10:33:00 PM
1 Comments:
Wow, you 2! I am so impressed by your adventures and your lack of fear-factor! Rolf and I have been following your every move, so our appologies for not keeping you in our loop! But,really, our lives are so uneventful in comparison! :). I felt terrible after reading your request for comments and thought, I have to comment! So, in a nutshell, Rolf has started his own brand consultancy called 'Visioneering'. He really likes it, but as you know ,Vancouver is a small city, so work is hard to find. Muzi Tea is doing really well. Origins is selling our matcha in the US and UK....media will pick it up which is great. Our lives outside of work is good as well. We are getting ready for a road trip the 1st 2 weeks of July from SF to LA to Vegas to Death Valley and then to a cabin in the Sierras with family. My sis had her 3rd baby...a girl on May 3rd! I think that is it! Miss the two of you and look forward to seeing you one day soon-ish! I will be in NY June 2nd to the 7th just in case you are there then. Not sure of the rest of your itinerary. Lots of love from me and Rolf! xoxoxoDenise
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