Amazonas - Cuyabeno Area

Finally, we took the overnight bus to Lago Agrio. The starting point of our Amazon tour. Unfortunately, we arrived a few hours earlier than planned.... who would expect that!? In South America, known for its cozy unpunctuality! Well, it was half past four in the morning, so time to kill. In the daylight and after another taxi ride, we finally arrived at the meeting point. After some organizational stumbling blocks on site, goodbye Germany - hóla South America - cliché expectations fulfilled, we were dropped off at the edge of the jungle. We had lunch before taking a 2 1/2 hour motorized canoe ride through the Amazon to the lodge.

I couldn't stop marveling! This immense green is so impressive that you just sit there and... stare! I've always wanted to travel to the jungle - the Amazon! Actually being there, feeling the humid air, smelling the vibrant air... I was simply overwhelmed by what nature had to offer me! It may sound very romantic, but I was so overwhelmed and at the same time so at home with all the impressions. Some places you visit touch you, they change your values. Show a new perspective. Experiencing such a powerful and present nature has moved me in a very profound way. On one hand, you feel small and insignificant as an individual, but at the same time, you feel like part of a greater whole. Even the sounds that hit you! For me, it was impossible to distinguish one animal from another! And the butterflies! Red, orange, yellow, turquoise, pink! I was even fascinated by the lianas!

I was so moved by my impressions during the boat trip... the 2 1/2 hours flew by. We were a small group, together with two Swiss women, we occupied our lodges. We were lucky because the four of us were the only guests in the small establishment. Just in time for sunset, we drove to the 'big lagoon'. Luckily, the water level was incredibly high due to the start of the rainy season and heavy rains in the days before. Impressed by the magnificent play of colors of the sunset and the entire setting, we were able to take advantage of the moment and jump into the brown, warm water. It may not sound that great - but it was! Our guide had promised that neither a piranha would bite us, nor would a mama anaconda snatch us! The feeling was unique! Excitement & pure freedom!!! We were completely excited by all the impressions of our first day! Despite the loud noises, we were pretty tired and went to bed and slept like angels!

We started the second day with a 3-hour hike. No uphill, but we sweated like construction workers anyway... Francisco (our guide) told us all about the plant and animal world! What used to be used and what is still used today. Which lianas only paralyze and which ones kill, what helps against foot fungus and which tree prevents malaria - yuck, bitter!!! We even ate some ants that he had cut from a branch - yuck, sour!!! It's incredible what Mother Nature provides! Since I'm already quite interested in natural medicine, I found it incredibly interesting what can be derived from the plant and animal world. The idea of a people living so close to nature, partly still living, is beautiful.

At the end of the tour, all my childish fantasies were destroyed! Let me explain a bit: it has always been my dream to go to the Amazon because as a child, I was allowed to watch all the documentaries about it at my grandma's house! All the animals in close-ups, slow motion, for hours! I loved it! Loved it! So we come out of the jungle and who is filming there? Exactly, a team on behalf of National Geographic! I was immediately excited! Very curious, I went there and what did I see - they couldn't find the animals in their 'completely natural' habitat! They don't sit for hours waiting motionless for the animal to appear! No, there is a local person who catches the exotics for them beforehand. They wait in boxes for him to put them in front of the camera team! That's how it works! And what may have always been clear to others came as a complete surprise to me! And there I am, getting upset when someone calls me naive... I think the local guy who was with the team felt sorry for me, I was genuinely shaken too! Well, since the animals were already there... the guide put a tarantula on my hand! A small one, still - a tarantula!!! You can hardly feel it, but it's still gross! Lucky in the misfortune ;) In the afternoon, we observed animals and birds and waited for darkness to catch caimans.

The next day, we took a boat to one of the surrounding villages. On the way there, we had to pass a spot that was blocked by a fallen tree. We could only go underneath at one end. So the command was: duck your head and off you go. Let's just say... it would have been easy, if it weren't for that wasp nest! One of the Swiss women and I had the bad luck to scrape past it! They weren't poisonous wasps that can sting, but they did bite quite fiercely! And we were screaming at the top of our lungs: Get them away, get them away!!! Probably 30 of those creatures! Per person! I never had an excessive fear of insects, but for the moment, my limit has been reached! Even in the shower, parts of the wasps were still coming out of my hair! I feel shivers again just writing about it! Better go back to the village. There, we were shown how traditional bread is made from tapioca. Or rather, falden. Very interesting and very delicious! Finally, we went to one of the shamans. In his traditional outfit, he looked exactly how you always imagine it! A short but still interesting experience. We were given answers to many questions about Ayahuasca. Interesting, but still too scary for me! We then spent the rest of the day observing birds and animals. From monkeys, parrots, sloths, anacondas, and dolphins! We really had all our wishes fulfilled! At night, we went on a small expedition back into the jungle. Many (poisonous) animals that you don't get to see during the day come crawling out of their holes. Personally, I found the scorpion the most disgusting! But each of us four probably has our own opinion about that ;)

Too quickly & with a heavy heart, the next morning it was time to return to civilization. The Amazon was truly an enriching and awe-inspiring experience! I think it will be one of the most exciting and lasting memories of this trip!