5 - Monkeying around in the jungle
“To travel is to discover everyone is wrong about other countries.”
Anonymous
We’re spending the next five days at the Amazon Research Center Lodge (ARC), a separate entity of Amazonia Expeditions and a center for students, scientists, researchers, or anyone up for a few days of adventure. As remote as the main lodge is, the research center is a 90-minute boat ride into the northwest corner of nowhere. It sounds redundant to say we’re in a remote section of the Amazon, but at the main lodge we just came from, our nearest neighbors were several miles away, and we’d see an occasional canoe or boat pass by. But here at the ARC there is nobody around. It’s just us and the monkeys. Well, that and a few billion mosquitos. Oh, and two frogs.
At the main Amazonia Lodge, there is a rotating number of guests ranging from about ten up to a maximum of around 35, plus a support staff of another 20, or so. The day we arrived at the research center there was one other guest, two researchers and a staff of maybe five, which helped to give it another dimension of remoteness. I’d like to say the evening serenity is enjoyable, but the two bullfrogs out on the river’s edge are locked in some type of male superiority battle and they’re trying to outdo each other with a constant back and forth of RRRRRAK - RRRRRAK - RRRRRAK - RRRRRAK It’s been going on for several hours and rumor has it that it will go on all night.
The nightly cricket symphony continued with the bullfrogs playing the part of The Two Tenors. The frogs took their final bow around 5:00 am, allowing us an hour of uninterrupted sleep until the clock brought us out of slumber at 6:00. For the next several evenings though, The Two Tenors became The Three Tenors.
“Ladies and gentlemen, making his first appearance here in the Amazon, all the way from Washington D.C. and staying in Cabin #2, put your hands together and welcome on stage, Jeffrey. Let’s give it up for Jeffery!”
<Clap… Clap… Clap… Clap…>
Jeffrey snores!
It’s easy to sleep with crickets, bullfrogs, and occasional ‘paaaa – WERP WERP’s’ serenading you, but snoring is beyond obnoxious. Not only is he in the room next to us but we share a common wall and the ceiling is made from the same screen material as the windows. So, he’s pretty much next to you in bed.
"Oh well, shit happens"
After an early breakfast, we go on a 4-hour hike through the jungle understory. Pushing our way through the Amazon bayou, our trail is a mixture of water coming up to just below the tops of our knee-high rubber boots; boot-sucking muck above our ankles; or a soft path where we would crush the spines of the many fallen leaves we step on. There were also times when we created our own path when Manuel sliced and diced at whatever vine or branch blocked our pathway. Regardless of the terrain, we are on constant lookout for vines and roots that reach out and lasso our ankles as we walk past.
If you like piña coladas
And getting caught in the rain
Then you would’ve liked it
Being out there today.
We’re at Day 9 in the rainforest and it’s rained all but 2 of those days - varying from a light sprinkle to the horrendous dumpster storm we had last week. Typically, it rains in the late afternoon and evening, then by daybreak the rain is gone and spots of blue sky emerge, except today. Heading out in the open boat this morning in a light sprinkle that soon turned into a steady shower, we saw no animals or birds, which caused me to consider I may be able to debunk Charles Darwin and his bogus theory of evolution. Either that or full evolutionary development is still in progress for Amazonia animals. When it rains they go into hiding. No birds. No monkeys. No nothin’. Wouldn’t you think living in the rainforest the native animals would’ve carried on as usual? This has been their home for 17 million years, and they should have evolved into not letting a little dampness cause them to seek shelter. If Tour de France riders and NFL players are out in the rain, why do monkeys go into hiding? (Perhaps it's a lack of steroids in monkeys that give them the sense to hide while others continue on?)
Fifteen minutes into our wet boat ride and seeing only raindrops, we make the decision to go back to the lodge and wait it out. As soon as we got back, the rain let up.
After lunch, we saw two separate troops of squirrel monkeys and a few saki monkeys. Sitting low to the waterline in our little canoe, we had 20-25 squirrel monkeys directly overhead. As they fed on the fruit high in the tree top, chunks of what they discarded were dropping all around us and occasionally bits of food debris landed in the canoe.
We came upon the second snake we’ve seen on this trip - an olive whipsnake. It was the grey color of the branches it was resting on, and about four feet long. The first snake we saw was a boa constrictor coming out between the slats of the walkway back at the main lodge. It was the diameter of your finger and though coiled up, was estimated to be about three feet long.
As our search continued for anything moving, another storm blew in, causing us to pull out rain jackets, and for all animals to again seek cover in the jungle. We too sought shelter and headed back to the comfort of the lodge.
Our last full day at the Amazon Research Center was clear and sunny, a welcomed change to yesterday’s weather. Lounging in canoes paddled by our guides, we once again macheted our way through the vines, spending most of our time in the thick jungle instead of out on the river.
Relaxing while being chauffeured through the vines
When you’re on the river, you can see more birds flying around, but in the thick of the jungle, there’s a better chance of seeing monkeys. Which is exactly what happened; we ran into a small group of saki monkeys. Pressing the camera to my face and zooming in for a shot… nothing! This was the moment the camera’s memory card decided it had had enough of the heat and humidity, and quit working. Because of a series of rushed and last minute changes in plans, all our spare cards were back at the lodge. It was too bad too as the primates were within easy camera range and hung around.
Oh well, shit happens.
Fortunately, I’ve never subscribed to the ‘Pictures, or it didn’t happen’ theory. Yes, it was another minor setback, something we all experience in our everyday lives, but because we don’t have pictures of saki monkeys doesn’t mean we didn’t see them, or that the day was ruined. On the contrary. It was a fantastic twelve-day adventure and throughout our adventure, we used the best memory card of all, our brain!
Additionally, it was nice to sit back and be chauffeured through the jungle in a canoe with your own guide while you sit back and enjoy the beauty, undistorted by a camera lens.
Despite the overabundance of moments where shit happened, we did have a wonderful time and would love to go back.
I’m Rick Steves…. Oh, wait, that’s not right, but… Until next time, keep on travelin’!
“It doesn’t matter where you’re going, it’s who you have beside you!”
Andy & Mary