THE AMAZON JUNGLE (Part 2)

We had no idea what to expect on our first day as we travelled down the Beni River with Aurelio & our aptly named captain ‘Duck’.
After a couple of quick stops where Aurelio declared us as tourists to various officials that sat lazily in uniform on the riverbanks, we continued on upriver.The scenery soon began to unfold exactly as we had expected; just as in all of those documentaries we had watched over the years - like the front cover of a National Geographic magazine. The tree-smothered mountains way off in the distance looked blue behind the haze of thick humidity; plush trees on the river banks like green cotton wool; and light chocolate brown water between the banks that constantly reminds you you’re in The Amazon!

After about 3-4 hours we arrived at our new home for the next few days. The privately owned Bala eco lodge was in a setting of its own and inhabited by two families who all came out to greet us as we arrived .

The lodge was surrounded by Jungle on 3 sides and on the other, through an opening in the trees, was it’s entrance from the Beni River. Walking through that opening for the first time almost felt as though we were entering a secret hideaway on a deserted tropical island! On about an acre of flat brown dry ground (spotlessly clean – swept every day by Pablo) stood 2 wooden cabins with 3 rooms each parallel on either side with 2 pretty different coloured hammocks hanging outside our cabin for us and wicker type chairs all along the veranda. Between the rooms, facing us was the kitchen and dining room and in the middle of all of the cabins was a beautiful tree and wooden table & chairs sitting underneath.

 It looked like a complete sanctuary for relaxation, but we soon learned that this wouldn’t be the case for us due to the intense heat during the day and swarming mosquitos and other such bugs all out for our blood!
We couldn’t wait to ‘peel’ our rucksacks and smaller packs off our soaked backs and chests as it was just coming up to midday sun. When Aurelio announced that we should relax until lunch as it was too hot to do anything else we were so relieved!This would be the case every day between about 11.30am and 3pm, we happily discovered.

Miguel called us about an hour later for lunch, where the 3 of us (Niall, Aurelio, & I) sat into what would become the norm for each meal for the next few days here: soup and about 4-5 choices of local dishes (mostly beef or chicken, mixed veg, fried plantain – like banana, and yucca – like potato), always followed by something sweet – a fruit or pudding or jelly. One day for dinner we were greeted by a huge fish on the table which Pablo had caught especially for us the night before! We were spoiled by these more than welcoming families who always went out of their way to make our stay in the Jungle a great and memorable one.

Later in the afternoon, Aurelio called us for our first jungle trek. His apparel instructions for trekking in the jungle were; long sleeved shirt, long trousers tucked into socks, and hiking boots. The long sleeves and pants were due to mosquitos etc; the hiking boots for rough terrain; and tucking our pants into socks we were told was “so the ants won’t crawl up your legs”… (and yes – all of that did freak me out!!).
Despite the discomfort of wearing heavy clothes and boots in 35-40 degrees of heat with 90-100% humidity and constantly ducking and diving from the constant attack of bugs, trekking through the jungle was exciting. With Aurelio up front in his wellies, cutting away branches & spider webs with his machete while attentively keeping ears open & nose cocked for evidence of animals & birds, and the deafening noise of animal and insect life in the jungle; it really felt magical! Aurelio always giggled when I called him my Indiana Jones with his machete!

Each day, either in the morning or afternoon, we did a different jungle trek – sometimes including a thoroughly enjoyable (cool & breezy!) trip down the river with the fun loving messer ‘Duck’! During our treks we would spot many different & noisy birds, turtles, sometimes monkeys if we were lucky, and wild pigs. Often Aurelio would turn back with a finger pressed to his lips for quiet, and he would literally follow his nose which would lead us to a pig trail. He would whisper “pigs” back to us and then say “come”, and sure enough we would always find a family of pigs! They stank up close and snorted and shuffled around awkwardly. Then when he had enough pig watching, Aurelio would purposely make a noise to frighten them off, which he always found hilarious!


As well as the animals, birds & insects, Aurelio also had an extensive knowledge of every plant & tree in the jungle. He knew which ones were dangerous and which ones had medicinal abilities.

Aurelio using a plant to treat poisonous ant stings on Niall's back

He could also tell the growth pattern or general age of certain trees by looking at their roots or bark, and demonstrated to us how the indigenous people would use one particular plant for dye for their clothes or to use as make up.

We couldn’t believe his vast knowledge of the jungle – it was beyond anything you would expect any guide to know. We found out during the week that his knowledge came from his Granddad who brought him up in an indigenous community after both his parents were killed on the infamous ‘Death Road’ when Aurelio was only 7 years old.
Our various adventures in the Amazon, as well as Jungle trekking, included rafting and swimming in the famous river; caiman spotting by moonlight with head torches; and climbing a 300 foot cliff to witness beautiful macaws fly in pairs high over the green and brown of The Amazon.

With a hearty goodbye (and tip!) for Aurelio at the Bala Tours office back in Rurre, we told him how much we enjoyed our stay in the Jungle because of him. When we told him he was the best guide we had the pleasure of spending time with in South America he was both surprised and flattered!
Even though we were glad to be flying out in the morning and leaving this sickly intense heat (I thought I’d die for sure!), the Amazon was truly an experience of a lifetime – one which we’ll never do again but nonetheless will never ever forget!