Just another day in the jungle... by Kirsty Miller
Monday Escape: Since Leap Local received so many excellent travel stories, we've contacted the writers of the top 25 pieces to ask if they'd like to share their story in a website series we've called Monday Escape. Each Monday we'll bring you a story that will either make you glad to be at home and not travelling, or one that will have you shopping for flights. This is the first story in our series.
Just another day in the jungle...
By Kirsty Miller
I was precariously balanced in a dug-out canoe watching my boyfriend and guide wade into the distance and deeper into the muddy waters of the Amazon.
We had arrived in the jungle three days previously. Alex had been desperate to experience all the adventure that the rain forest had to offer. This was his opportunity to trek through the burst banks of the largest river in the world, to look for a giant Ceiba tree. Unfortunately for me there were only two clear choices, stay alone in the boat that had taken us a far as it could into the flooded dense woodland and wait for their expedition to be over, or join them, and whatever else lurked beneath the waters of the Amazon.
After just two minutes, engulfed by the unfamiliar beat of the jungle, I opted for the second option and tentatively stepped out of the canoe and into the unknown treacle beneath me. Within seconds the water I had been trying to avoid since my arrival in the jungle had filled up my wellies and crept up my legs. The moment it reached my thighs I rushed forward to meet Alex and Gerson, desperate to feel the safety of numbers.
Gerson looked behind and beamed a reassuring smile. Suddenly the water was up to my chest and there were no signs of it retreating. It was at this point I asked Gerson what I should most fear in the water, the list that followed did nothing to calm my nerves. With thoughts of piranhas, electric eels, anacondas and caimans, we immersed deeper and deeper into the water until unable to stand. Gerson was swimming ahead keen to scare off any predators that lay in our path.
After another tense fifteen minutes in the water we finally arrived at a 70-metre high Ceiba tree which had been used years before to film a nature documentary. It had a series of ladders and platforms built up around it. Gerson helped us up to the first platform and then took the lead cautiously trying each step’s strength before moving on.
The fear of plummeting 60 meters to my death while trying not to fall through sodden wood as we clambered up higher and higher did not completely obscure the spectacular view.
Finally we were at the top, and we were met by the absolute beauty of the Amazon rainforest, miles and miles of dense jungle as far as the eye could see. Its true grandeur had finally been given its rightful platform and we were absolutely awe struck.
And then it was over. We headed back down the perilous ladders of the mighty tree, arriving at ground level with a huge sigh of relief which evaporated when I realised that we had the whole ‘walk in neck-deep Amazon water’ ordeal to contend with again.
Alex and Gerson were the first into the opaque water. Alex had left his jumper on one of the branches so I picked it up and threw it around my neck before getting into the water. Within 30 seconds I was chest deep and suddenly felt as though my neck was on fire. Never known to suffer in silence, my screams of torment were heard in Ecuador and Bolivia. Gerson rushed over. He instantly noticed that Alex’s jumper had collected hundreds of tiny red ants, which were now covering my entire upper body and head. Gerson explained that since there was no dry ground the insects had all migrated up into the trees, waiting for unsuspecting targets to prey on. After spending the day trying to keep my head above water I spent the next minute wriggling under it trying to rid myself from these ravenous insects.
Free from ants we waded back to the safety of our canoe. Gliding along to the sounds of the jungle I realised that even through the thousand itchy bites would soon be gone, the memory of what happens when you ask a local jungle guide for an adventure would last forever.
Kirsty was a top 10 finalist in the Leap Local Travel Story Competition. Kirsty Miller and Alex Higham were so impressed with their experience with their Amazon guide, Gerson Pizango, that they built a website for him: http://www.amazonjungleguide.com/
Gerson’s reviews on Leap Local: http://www.leaplocal.org/locals/view/303/