So we have always wanted to visit the Amazon-especially Brittany-but never really knew whether we would be able to go, or if it would even be safe to go. Well, since we have been in Baños the last few days, and it's called the 'Gateway to the Amazon,' we thought we would at least check into it.
We talked with several tour guides and such to get the most information we could & we also did lots of research online (malaria/yellow fever risk, how will the indigenous people react to foreigners in their territory etc.) and even talked with a few of the friends in our congregation that have been to the jungle before to see what they thought. After our research & speaking with the friends, we decided it was a 'Go!' Here are just a few of the hundreds of pictures we took- Enjoy!
Many little creatures roaming around & in most cases, you don't even know they're there!
Map of the Jungle
Wes & our guide
The mud was the worst we've ever seen, it was more like quicksand than mud. Several times we were literally up to our knees in it and Brittany even got stuck where she couldn't get out.
This is one of several HUGE spiders we saw
Our guide showing us how the traditional Panama Hats are made. He asked Brittany to be his assistant, so when he was done, he gave her this:
Our guide brought us to a Quichua Village in the Amazon. This is one of the little girls that lives there. The entire village consists of her family, over 130+ people!
We saw Monkey's!
Can you spot the Monkey in the tree?
We can't remember the name of this, but it comes from the inside of a large plant leaf. The white part has a very fuzzy texture & comes on the outside of the black seed. It tastes super sweet & was delicious! The black seed however is poisonous. Fortunately, we understood not to bite into the 'negro' (our guide only spoke Spanish)
When we first saw our guide going up to what looked like a Bee hive to us, we thought 'What is he doing?' Then we saw this:
AHHH! Bugs ALL OVER HIS ARM! Not just any bug- TERMITES! In fact, we were pretty grossed out by this, until we learned the purpose... By crushing the termites & then rubbing the 'remains' on you, you have just created the Jungle's version of "OFF", or the equivalent bug spray, Pretty interesting!
Here Wes is getting his finger nail painted, well, actually, he wouldn't let the guide do that, so he only let him do this:
As you can see, there is a little 'face' drawn on Wes' finger, but this orange "paint" comes from the tip of a leaf! You can see the leaf in the above picture ↑
While we were in the Jungle, we took a ride down the river in dugout canoes!
On our way down the river, we came across this little village...
And these little girls from the village were so happy to see us, they started waving with excitement! It was so cute!
Our guide brought us to a lookout of the river
As we were hiking through the jungle, we came across this beauty
So we went for a swim!
Lots of Plants & Animals!
These little guys were all over the place! One even jumped from a tree onto Wes' back & then to Brittany's!
Hasta Luego Amazonia, until we meet again!
