The only opportunity to see what is inside the Amazon jungle, is to go inside the jungle. We were given the privilege and opportunity of hiking all in. During the rainy season the challenge is more complicated than in dry season because access from the Cuyabeno lodge is difficult. The lodge is located inside an ecosystem characterized by semi-permanently inundated forests flooded by black-water rivers, or igapó. And water there is truly black. As it was explained to me, it is caused by decomposition of the natural matter - chemical characteristics of the soil and the leaves and everything else that falls into water makes the water turn slightly black and makes it more acid than in other water Eco-systems. Thanks to the acidity of water mosquitoes and other parasites do not survive hence making the "water experience" so much more pleasant.
 |
| Everything has its purpose. Eat or be eaten. If you look closely the big hopper is dead. Another species laid its eggs inside and consumed the poor b*stard from inside. All its left is this empty shell. | |
|
|
 |
| This poor little worm stays in a cocoon inside for many many years, and when the transformation is done and it is ready to get out, it does it only for a day - to procrastinate and die. |
 |
| There is color in the jungle as well. Mostly bright colors, displayed as a warning - do not eat me, do not touch me.. |
The hiking experience was quite well orchestrated. The day walk was around 2.5-3 hrs hike with many stops to look for examples or fauna and flora. It was extremely humid, even without the daily intake of rain it felt like it was raining all over us at all times. The condensation of water was very high. Mosquitoes/ bugs were bearable, with some help of strong repellents ;) In a high season there are many groups following the same hiking loop so chances of spotting mammals or birds are really slim. We did get to see a new monkey type that we hadn't seen before.
We missed the tiny poisonous dart frogs, they were nowhere to be found. We were told by other group that they were more lucky on their frog-safari.
 |
| Our German friends crossing overflown riverbed and trying to stay dry. |
 |
| Termites. Or an empty heap rather. Used to be home of some termites. |
 |
| Our local guide was great. He was born and lived in the Siona village. His was knowledgeable (graduated from a college with a tourism degree. On this picture he is holding the empty cocoon of a worm that transformed and left its ''home". |
 |
| Giant Fire Ants. Do not mess with them, very painful experience if you do.. |
During the night walk, which was also part of the whole Cuabeno experience, we did see a whole other world. The sound of nightlife and the amount of attention that needs to be given to moving forward in the dense forest was almost disturbing. Large spider webs with hunters waiting for their pray, tarantula spiders moving quietly from tree roots to tree branches and back. Occasional snake here and there. These are only the most typical and obvious. Typically on a night walk you can expect caimans and other reptiles, but not this time. The water level was simply to high for them to be around. They moved more inland waiting for water to drop to draw more mammals into the area.
 |
| The white three in the background has interesting medical properties. Its bark is covered with a type of fungus that provides a natural protection and can fight other fungus. You can use it as a chalk, just rub your hands on the tree bark and a voila! |
 |
| Another tree with "magical" properties :) |
 |
| A colony of little ants. These ants, if you disturb then, start producing a strong smell than reminded me a dried tomato aroma. Interestingly, the smell is a natural repellent from all kinds of bugs in the jungle. |
 |
| Flowers deep in the jungle look funky :) |
It does not look like that on the pictures, but inside of the jungle was very dark. I had to use night mode to be able to get enough light into my pictures. This tells you how dense the trees are and how deep the green is inside, actually. You can also see that everything is covered with a mist, the leaves the tree bark, the ground, it is a never drying always lush environment. How torturing it must feel to be fighting your way through the Amazon, thirsty and exhausted, not being able to find drinking water while so much water is around. Interestingly enough, there are some simple tests how to determine if the water is drinkable (it is also a common knowledge that 3 minutes of boiling should kill most of the poisonous microbes and parasites. How to start a fire in a moist environment like Amazon is a whole other story). A simple test to determine whether water is contaminated is to pour some
very fine sand on top of the surface of still water in a bowl. If the
sand floats, the water is contaminated, since it is then more dense, but
if it falls quickly to the bottom, it means that the water is
reasonably clean.
 |
| This was a massive tree with an empty inside. The tree species is known for... communication properties (!). If you hit it strong enough, the echo sound it makes can be heard from a great distance. It can be used as a very basic communication method. I did not attempt to hit the tree, I trusted our guide when he said it and when he demonstrated the sound. Some other group member tried to do the same and they hurt themselves. Apparently the tree is a hard-ass :) |
 |
| Another tree with medical properties - this time poisonous. If I remember well they used the bark to make poison used to knock out fish. The substance from the tree has property shocking nervous system temporarily and making fish go up to the surface of water where they get harvested by fishermen. |
 |
| This was part of our hike, crossing swampy and overflown terrain. The trick was to stay close to trees and use their roots for support. Otherwise the water was muddy and deep and you could not tell from just looking at it if it was safe to walk or not. |
 |
| "Walking" palm tree. This palm tree developed a special root system which year over year was able to move the whole tree toward more sunny spot. Interesting adaptation form of fighting for light and space in the jungle! |
 |
| Colorful fungus |
 |
| Vultures everywhere. |
 |
| This little palm tree fruit has some magical properties which I cannot recall now :( It had something medical.. |
No comments:
Post a Comment