Facing the truth

We´re back in Rio after aprox. one month of traveling and it´s so nice to be back.

Now, before I start writing about the trip in the amazona I am going to have to tell you all about the truth mentioned in the title. So...here goes, actually this video might describe it to some point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N6jHsAU63g. Dont look at me this way, at least I have the guts to admit it.
I do like the nature and most (not mosquitos and parasites) that comes with it BUT after being out in the nature for a day I do prefer a hot shower, clean clothes, clean bed and even a nice G&T.  And I had totally forgotten about the fact that Miss Yasin is not the camping type.. at all. I dont like sleeping in a tent and when (or if, cause they dont ask any more) my friends ask if I want to go on a camping tour which involves sleeping in a tent and pissing in an outside public toilet my right eyebrow starts twitching. This I had forgotten about... which is strange since non in my family likes camping. My father would not for his life crawl inside a tent even for a quick look, similar story goes with my brother. My mother on the other hand tends to forget her dislike on camping, like myself and goes, returning promising herself that that tour was the last one.

Now, on to the tour. We were walking in Manaus (crap city) lookin for a raincoat because it tends to rain a lot in crappy cities (karma). Well we walked passed a hotel and decided to ask in there. A spookey looking german dude welcomed us with a story of a nice tour. And we decided to go and get some more details, turned out the tours are all more or less the same, the only difference is how far down in price one can go. And with this one we could go far below he set price so ofcourse we jumped.
Early next morning we were picked up by a guy who new about the icelandic vikings and the stories (impressing). We went to the office to leave our bags and meet the rest of the folks joining the tour: Two italian guys; Salvatori and Nico (we still dont know if they were a couple or what) and then an israeli couple; Nomi and Nilli (very much in love).
Now we had to get to the lodge, and I think this was the beginning of my misunderstanding...see I thought lodge was a word for something fancy...well it´s not. A car ride, a boat ride on the  black Rio Negro where it then meets the white Solimoes River. We actually saw it better on the way back but it is pretty awesom. The two rivers dont mix at all so it´s possible to see a clear line between the two. The reason for this is that there is a temperature difference, pH difference and speed difference. On the black river side there is not so much animal life and fewer mosquitos while on the white one there is a more change to see animals and get eaten my mosquitos. And we wanted to see animals with all the consequences. After the boat ride there was another car ride and then a boat ride.

And now we were in the "lodge". We had a very nice lunch: beans, rice, fish, salad, fresh orange juice and all that jazz. And that was also the only day we had such a nice meal...After we had been fed and were happy we were interduced to our guide: Damien. Damien was from Gayana (I know, I didnt know about that country either but it´s north of Brazil and it used to be British Guinea....I recommend Google for further info). He looked like a real indian, with long hair and alllll!!! After he had told us the whole plan (which I immediatly forgot) we were taken to our rooms. And that´s when I realised that a lodge is nothing fancy. At least we had a bed and didn´t have to stay in hammock, "always look at the bright side of life". We picked our bed and then we were ready for the first adventure: Fishing for piranya.
The dress code was long sleeves and long trousers..and you know why? Because there were going to be many mosquitos. So we went on our little boat on which we would spend most of our time on. Boats are nice and cosy. We sailed down the river with huge trees on each side and caymans (crocodile) hiding in the watergrass (or what it´s called). Before we entered the flooded forest, we changed to our long stuff and sprayed an unnatural amount of insect repellent on us and then we were ready to rumble. There are so many sounds in the forest...animals everwere calling each other, setting up a date or another kind of meeting. Our guide told us that it would probably be a good idea to be silent (hehe...). Then we came to the fishing point. The fishing gear consisted of a stick with a string and chicken skin. Everybody got a fish...except for me, those crappers were just eating the chicken of my hook instead of taking a proper bite and getting stuck. We stayed at the same place for quite some time and then figured that we had done more of feeding than fishing, it was time to change place. And that´s when I cought one...yesss!!! But in all honesty, I dont understand how people can find this amuzing: sitting with a piece of stick waiting for a stupid fish to catch the bate. My patiency doesn´t really allow that kind of thing...nono!

In the evening we had our dinner: beans, rice and chicken (well not for me). After being fed we went for aligator spotting or actually their called cayman and are a bit smaller. It was pitch black outside and the stars were really in the spotlight. The sky was so pretty.....Our guide, somehow, managed to spot the caymans with only his flashlight. By scanning the place with the flashlight it was possible to see the reflection of their eyes....and then he caught one with his bare hands. So quick...one and then he had it in his hands. A baby one, cause the adult ones can get real big..up to 4 meters. Dont think the guide would have been able to catch that one, it would probably have been the opposite way.
But it was mega cool to see.

To be continued......

ps. It´s so good to be back