Surviving the Wilderness (Manu Jungle)


Day 1: mosquito bites: 0 (v. g.) suitcases: 1, bottles of DEVACURL 4 (excellent), number of spiders in bed: 0

3 am: why the heck am I awake

7 am: morning sunrise over Andes mountains, and only 10 hours of travel to go~ very good progress

9 am: you call bread and premixed packets of lukewarm coffee breakfast? This is going to be a long trip 

12 pm: already raining

1pm: boat trip #1 

3 pm: boat part 2

6 pm: ugh we’ve made it, well not really~I wouldn’t call this a real place, just a cabin without real roof in the middle of the Amazon~but yes, we have arrived

(Also sign on door advertising wifi~non existent~ gives false hope: note to self to write bad trip-advisor review) 

8 pm: in middle of shower, called outside in towel with wet hair to see tapir (giant pig/hippo animal) named Pipo crawling through woods~surely filled with spiders 

     Also didn’t even scream when large cockroach crawled into shower~ v. G. 

9 pm: laying under mosquito netting (must pretend it’s a princess canopy bed rather than wooden cot 12+ hrs from nearest city), at least I have working battery operated mini fan 

10 pm: update: batteries dead, must sleep gn 


Day 2 

Mosquito bites: 6, effective mosquito netting: 0, minutes spent scratching bites: 17 (very good) 

6 am: thrilled to be alive

9 am: jungle guide stung by 7 wasps on scalp~effective immediately: must always wear hat and avoid medical emergency~ 

10 am: back at lodge after morning with birds and adorable monkeys, sweating profusely 

11 am: raining again~Mother Nature is absolutely FANTASTIC~

6pm: just climbed 150 feet to giant lookout on top of tree

6:01 pm: infested with bugs and bees, will head down now 

7:30 pm: must shower before hot water from solar panels is gone, sleep soon because nothing better to do


Day 3

Number of rodents in room: 0 (excellent), minutes spent contemplating which of 2 possible outfits I should wear today: 13 (v. bad, will improve tomorrow~less choices) 

4:40 am: dear tour guide, turn the lights in the shared sleeping quarters off please. Never is one allowed to scream “wake up it’s a buen dia for macaw watching”  because a) if I have to get up right now, this is not going to be a “buen” day b) its 4:40 am aka it’s not even “dia” yet and c) I still have 8 minutes of snooze on my alarm 

5 am: mud trekking while half asleep~not smart 

6am: dead asleep with face in book at macaw clay lick, (some weirdo came up with the idea that we have to get there before the birds do, or else we will frighten them) 

8 am: 2+ hours and NO sign  of birds

8:30 well well well, it’s about time they show up 

10 am: return to lodge for nap, red and green macaws (60 of them) were actually pretty amazing. V. indecisive though, couldn’t decide whether they were going to stay up in the branches or actually fly down to eat from the clay lick.

4 pm: fishing for piranhas, teeth v sharp 

7 pm: fried piranhas and Halloween costumes at dinner tonight, too hot to actually dress up, though Julia managed with a homemade white tiger costume thanks to Nana’s sewing skills.

8 pm: v sad to be spending this holiday away from home, despite best efforts, Halloween in jungle was complete failure and had small (but American, thnx to andrew) selection of Twizzlers and York peppermint patties. 


Day 4: So excited to get on boat and return to the safety of civilization. Manu was definitely an experience. Next stop: Iquitos, Peru…I heard they have malaria there, you’ll hear more if I survive 🙂 

  

List of spotted wildlife: 

Brown Capuchin monkey

Dusky titty monkey

Howler monkey

Squirrel monkey

Giant river otter

Baby 3-toed sloth

Black Cayman 

Piranhas

Tapir

Tarantula

Wolf spider

Silk spider 

Oropendulum bird 

Greater Ani

Hoatzin 

Red and green macaw

Blue and yellow macaw

Scarlet macaw

Chestnut fronted macaw

Military macaw

Green Ibis

Roadside hawk

Snake bird

Short nosed Bats

Toucan 

Amazon vulture 

Blue heron

Egret 

Morpho butterflies 

5 thoughts on “Scabies, Rabies, and Monkey Babies -Lena”

  1. Lena, here it is 2:17 a.m and I’m wide awake enjoying your commentary, but feeling guilty lying in my warm bed covered w silk comforter and no sign of any pests!!!
    Stay safe and watch those monkeys, they like to pick thru hair.
    Love you my triplet!
    Hugs and kisses to fam.
    Huvie

  2. Oh my good this seem crazy!!!!!! You guys are awesome! So excited to see you! Lots of Love

  3. Love this post for so many reasons. `1. I am a DevaCurl girl, too. 2. Your Bridget Jones is NOT lost on me. 3. I read the list of wildlife to my kids… they are inspired. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!

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