Day two in the Amazon Rainforest started early, with a boat ride to the swamps to see the sunset, and perhaps some fishing! We were asked to be ready at 5:30am, when we gathered at the lodge waterfront for a 30-minute boat ride to a spot best known for the sunrise.
[Waiting for our guide at the lodge waterfront]
[Right after sailing from the lodge waterfront]
[Before sunrise in the Amazon Rainforest]
[Before sunrise in the Amazon Rainforest]
[Sunrise in the Amazon Rainforest]
[Sunrise in the Amazon Rainforest, with Eduardo, our guide, sailing the boat]
[Sunrise in the Amazon Rainforest]
After heading back to the lodge at 8am, we had breakfast (scrambled eggs, OJ, bread, butter, jam, coffee/tea) and were asked to relax for the next two hours, before we set out for a walk in the jungle at around 11am.
The jungle walk includes activities like bird watching, swinging on a tree branch, eating worms (yes, you read that right!), snakes spotting, etc. The walk is about 3-4 hours and easy for all ages, but make sure to cover your hands and legs for any potential snakes or insects. Carry lot of water, a small towel (to wipe off the sweat), some bandages and good walking shoes.
The walk starts with a boat ride for about 30 minutes to middle of nowhere, from where your guide will direct you to the trail going in the jungle. Make sure to follow their trail and instructions because trust me, you have no idea what’s out there (see more below on that)!
[Boat ride to the starting point of walking trail]
These are highlights of our walking trail:
[We began to just walk around while trying to spot birds, but with the thick foliage it’s not easy to spot any animals or reptiles around you.]
[Stopped for instructions on how to cross the swamp on a wooden log]
[Yeah, that’s the wooden log we had to cross!]
[The part of a tress used as a mosquito repellent. Just put it on fire and the smoke will keep those pests away.]
[Eduardo, our guide, on the walking trail]
[If you find yourself bitten by a poisonous snake, then cut the bark of this tree and start chewing on it. They say you have 6 hours to reach a hospital before it will kill you, but chewing on this will extend that to 12 hours!]
[Swinging on the tree branch!]
[The sap of this tree has medicinal benefits. It was yucky though!]
[While walking around, I noticed this baby snake right next to my feet. I jumped and called out, when Eduardo picked it up. This is the baby of Surucucu or Bushmaster snake, a type of Viper, and extremely venomous!]
[Opening the mouth of the Surucucu snake]
[Mosquitoes make a pin hole in this coconut shells and lay their eggs. When the eggs hatch, the larvae eat the seed of the coconut and house there.]
[Some coconut shells have more than one larvae]
[We pulled out the larvae from the shells]
[And then you pop the larvae in your mouth and chew it!]
Upon finding the Surucucu snake, our guide was confident that there would be more snakes around the area, so we decided to get away and walk around a bit more in other areas of the jungle. Eventually, we got back to the boats and after sailing a bit more, we reached our camping ground where we would be spending the night.
We picked twigs and branches from the ground to create a bonfire, just before sunset.
[Our final campground]
[Bonfire was ready!]
[Put up the hammocks brought by the tour guides, which will be our sleeping “beds” for the night]
Next thing to do was to start the hunt for dinner – fish or anything we can find in the jungle. We hopped back on the kayaks, out to hunt for fish in the dark. This took us about 2-3 hours to gather as much fish as we can.
But surprises come along your adventure: and Eduardo was super quick enough to grab this baby Cayman along the banks of a swamp. Of course, we let it go in a few minutes!
[Baby Cayman with Eudardo]
[Me with baby Cayman]
[Andreas with baby Cayman]
And after catching some fish and a bird, dinner was served!
[Fresh fish and a bird]
After a good meal, some songs and chat later, we called it an early night!
Costs
Note: All values in USD, unless otherwise mentioned, are approximate and based on the exchange rate of USD 1 = BRL 3.73 at the time of publishing. Each cost is for one adult.
| What | Cost | Notes |
| All expenses are included in the tour. | ||
| Total Costs | $0 | Per person |
| Overall Costs | $825.52 | Per person |
Day 9 – NEXT »
Amazon Rainforest (Day Three), Manaus
Day three in the Amazon Rainforest & return to Manaus.