Amazon Adventure

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Arrival
We took a plane, bus, and boat to arrive at our Amazon lodge in Tambopata. We booked Amazonia Reserva because the lodge has flexible a la carte excursions, good location, and a great last minute booking special.
Tapir munching on nuts

Hike
On the first day, we hiked and learned about the area's logging and mining history along with flora and fauna tidbits. Our guide Jesus showed us a larvae eating a nut from the inside out and encouraged Li to eat the worm. He did! I'll try to upload the video later....
Photo of larvae that Li ate

I also enjoyed Jesus' story of fire ants and public punishment. The punishment for cheating used to be tying the naked cheater to a fire-ant tree for 20 minutes. Each bite carries the pain of a wasp sting as the ants swarm to protect their tree. Ouch.

That evening, we went on a boat trip looking for caymans. We saw 3 huge white ones.

Canopy Walk
The next day, we walked on hanging bridges from tree tops. Although we didn't see many birds or monkeys, we still enjoyed the amazing views of the jungle. We then hiked along a creek and then canoed back to the boat. Loved hearing the sounds of the jungle.
Canopy Walk Photo

Canoe Trip

Hives
The next day, my skin broke out in hives. Not sure if I ate or touched something bad. At one point, my neck and lips and rest of body swelled up so much that I was taken to the hospital and given an injection of drugs. The entire hotel staff was so caring; they also took me to get anti-histamines. 1-2 week hives seem to occur ever few years for me (2002 - while working; 1999 - in college, 1995 - after a concert). After taking a litany of tests, I still have no idea of what causes these outbreaks. Maybe sulfate in bubblebaths which I accidentally skimmed while cleaning?

Otters & piranhas
While I was immobile, Li was lucky to see the rare and endangered giant river otters at Lake Sandoval. He also fished for piranhas at another lake. They cooked 'em up for lunch and also swam with the little guys.

Fishing

Lunch

Jumping in with the piranhas

Departure
On our way to Sao Paulo, we had a 9 hour layover in Lima (our flight left at midnight). Unfortunately, Li got food poisoning at one of the food court stalls (Manos Morenas, for the record). He was fine until we got up in the air and he made use of the barf baggies a few times. As you can imagine, we were pretty tired when we arrived - yet we still trudged over to the Policia Federal to get our visa extended. Then, we slept for 15 hours STRAIGHT! We needed it.

Full album
http://picasaweb.google.com/crondeau/Tambopata#

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