IV.II.VII – Jungle Drum
IV.II.VII
JUNGLE DRUM
Okay, here is where I recount the tales of what was another hell of an adventure. One that takes us in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest! I flew into Iquitos as soon as I got to Lima – all sweaty, stinky and exhausted but super ready and excited for what was about to come.
The Amazon is a moist broadleaf tropical rainforest that covers over 5,500,500 km2 of South America; with the majority in Brazil, Peru and Colombia and the rest in territory belonging to six other countries. The rainforest boasts the largest biodiversity of any other biome; with the largest collection of both flora and fauna in the world. Also something super cool – around half the dust fertilising the Amazon comes from… I’m giving you a head start… Okay? Did you think about it? Yes? Okay… The Sahara! Yup, that’s right. By wind if you’re wondering how, and it’s importance lies in the fact that it is full of phosphorus, a compound essential for plant growth. Another cool fact? A 3oC rise in temperature would kill around 75% of the jungle. Scary right? Wanna know what’s scarier? The fact that when 25% of the Amazon is destroyed (currently at around 20%), the rainforest will irreversibly turn into a savannah. Scary. Just in case anyone’s wondering, yes, this description was brought to you by Wikipedia and summarised by yours truly.
Upon arriving in Iquitos, I hitched a ride on a tuk-tuk which was very reminiscent of our drives way back in Nepal. The same chaos and lawlessness that ruled the roads also reminded me of my earthly tether and my will to stay alive.
After dropping me off at the tour agency along with two others, another tuk-tuk took us (see what I did there?) to a local market right besides the inland port. Being an internationally acclaimed connoisseur of all that is weird and funky, I simply had to try some of the local food. Let’s see… Gonna rank them from best to worst. First off would be crocodile meat which, to my non-sophisticated tongue, tastes a bit like a mix of fish and chicken. Then came turtle eggs and their stale tap water flavour. And finally Cocotero. But maybe you know them as Suri. And if they still sound unfamiliar, they’re simply big, yellow, squirmy worms. These protein-rich critters are usually eaten raw or grilled on skewers. Their crispy exterior gives way for a fatty mayonnaise like interior that tastes slightly sweet and, well, wormy. If you can get over their appearance, they’re not that bad. I wouldn’t go as far as saying they taste good though.
After the culinary adventure, we headed down to the port of Nanay where a wooden fishing boat with a thatched roof was waiting for us. We set off on the muddy brown waters, civilisation ebbing away from us as the greenness of the Amazon started to enshroud our surroundings.
Finally I was in a jungle; again! Having been promised a sighting of the elusive pink Amazon river dolphin, my eyes were practically glued to the waters for the two hours that took us to get to where we’d be staying for the next four days; a bungalow in the middle of the Amazon. Unfortunately none graced us with their presence, however we did get to observe some rare species of birds along the riverbank (whose names completely elude me at this point of time and probably at any point in the future).
That said, in the Amazon I quickly learned to not be disappointed by the things you don’t get to see; only cause you’ll see ten other things you’ve never even thought of seeing. Such is life in a jungle! In fact, I have no idea what to write about in this section.
It’s like when you’re madly in love with someone and they ask you what about them makes you so crazy and you come up short of answers cause there’s just too many things. My god, I can’t believe I used such a cloying allegory, I apologize! So anyways, over my four days in the Amazon we got to go on tons of walks in the middle of the jungle and participate in a number of activities that had us come in contact with all kinds of cool species. And I’ll try and mention only those… I’ll try, can’t promise anything.
Well, let’s start off with plants. Banana, coconut, starfruit, cacao, pineapple trees and all the fruit trees you can think of. Sandbox trees, AKA dynamite trees, AKA my favourite trees, which have a spiny bark, poisonous sap and tiny pumpkin-like fruit which explode at a speed of around 160mph once ripe. Then there’s the walking palm, (or as I like to call them, Ents) whose trunk is supported by numerous spiny roots that project directly from it above the ground, allowing the entire tree to move about the jungle by a few centimetres every year. Oh and the chumba wumba palm tree whose trunk is covered by long, sharp, black needles, the wasai tree whose red roots are used as a natural diuretic, and let us not forget, the sharinga tree, which is more commonly known as the rubber tree whose inner bark oozes creamy white latex when tapped. Oh trees. Then there’s the usual, gloriously beautiful flowers you always come to expect from such places like heliconia and hyacinths, grias and begonias, and, last but not least Victoria amazonica – the largest water lily in the world. Mushrooms and mosses, parasitic plants and roots, tendrils and vines, an infinity of plant species. Or, more specifically, over 40,000 of them.
If you’re not into botany perhaps you’ll appreciate this part instead. Unless you hate arthropods that is. Our day hikes were always populated with all kinds of insects; from the elegant blue morpho and tree nymph butterflies to the massive carpenter ants that swarm tree trunks when you tap on them and the massive horseflies that leave a red, swollen area the size of Texas when they bite you. But fear not, for if you approach an arboreal termite nest and gently place a hand on it, hundreds of those tiny critters will swarm you. Of course, you can then take the opportunity to crush the helpless creatures, effectively releasing a musky-smelling substance that doubles as an insect repellent. According to my guide, termite juice is equivalent to 100% DEET. Not sure if it’s quite evidence-based, though it did keep mosquitoes and flies at bay for a while.
Night walks, on the other hand, revealed the more sinister creepy crawlies. Like the black armoured jungle train millipedes and the red-bodied Peruvian giant yellow-leg centipedes. And spiders. Lots and lots of spiders. Wolf spiders and whip spiders and daddy-long-legs spiders and tarantulas and, well, more spiders. An entomophiliac’s (or arachnophiliac for the pedantic ones out there) dream come true. It is also at night that we got to witness most of the reptilian and amphibian wildlife; except for caimans, who decided to pull a no-show during multiple hunting sessions. Their loss. But caimans be damned, I still got to see tons of different frogs, lizards and snakes, with the MVP who stole the show being the one and only Kambo frog! Also known as the giant leaf frog, this green beauty secretes a poisonous substance full of opioids through its slimy skin. Of course, humans being humans, we managed to find a couple of uses for it. This secretion is harvested by scratching the frog’s skin and then applied to arrow tips used for hunting (understandable), or, applied to skin during a cleansing ceremony which makes the poisonee crap their pants, projectile vomit and possibly also flatline (not understandable). Humans.
Okay, one last part about wildlife, I promise, then we’ll move on. One of the many highlights of the trip was a visit to Monkey Island. So cool! Right? But don’t be fooled. It’s way cooler than one might think.
The island shelters a large number of monkeys in their natural habitat; from tamarins and woolly monkeys to capuchin and squirrel monkeys. Monkeys everywhere you look. Monkeys that come up to you wanting to play. Monkeys that climb onto your shoulders and pull your ears and try to kiss you. Monkeys that start fighting against each other because it’s their turn to play with you. Man do I love monkeys.
Then there was the animal rescue centre where injured animals or those requiring protection of some sort are taken in until it is safe to release them back in the wild. Amongst these were animals I had seen plenty of times, like the resplendent scarlet Macaws and parrots, which, in the jungle seemed to be totally different species. Then there were those I knew about but had never before seen in front of my eyes; an anaconda (had only heard songs about this one), sloths (cuter than photos show but possibly slower) and a yellow-ridged toucan (which no words can do justice when describing it).
And then ones I had no idea existed, like the South American coati. These are kind of a cross between a cat and a racoon, or possibly a dog and a small bear… hmm, a possum and an aardvark? Anyways, they’re brown in colour with an elongated snout, two Mickey Mouse-like ears and a tail almost as long as their body with numerous whitish rings all over it. And then. Then came one of the weirdest animals I have ever laid my eyes upon. A mata-mata turtle. These freshwater turtles are brown-grey in colour, have a super sturdy shell with spikes and ridges that make them look like bark for camouflage, and this freakishly flat head with two beady eyes, a Cheshire-cat smile that makes it look creepily cute and a really out of place, long tubular snout that pops out of the middle of its forehead. Also, a neck that looks and feels a lot like mud. Yes folks, it is as ridiculous as it sounds. And if you don’t wanna take my word for it just Google it.
So yeah, I really wasn’t kidding about the Amazon having the largest biodiversity than any other biome in the world. In just four days, I got to set my eyes on all kinds of flora and fauna!