The Amazing Amazon

It has been done. I can finally say that I've been to the Amazon Rainforest! Most people have their idea of what the Amazon will be like, as I did mine. I pictured this awe-inspiring, species rich forest with huge trees and lots of animals. While it was this and more, there were things that were different from what I expected. For example, I never imagined how hard it was going to be to find wildlife, but it makes sense when you actually get there. The forest is very dense and most of the things that we found were small and camouflaged. You have to have your eyes peeled at all times so that you don’t miss anything, but even with the most vigilant observer, many things will be overlooked. That being said, I did get some decent pictures of some camouflaged things, so we’re going to play a little game! I am going to put the camouflaged pictures on here, and you have to find the hidden things. I will give you the answers at the end of this blog. Good luck!

1. Can you see me?

2. Where am I?

3. This one should be obvious!

4. This guy is good

5. This one is a bit tricky...

Of course everyone pictures the Amazon being hot and humid, but the weather was even more intense than I expected. In a sense it’s like Texas in that when you step outside you start sweating, but this was ten times worse. You would step “outside” (our rooms were not air-conditioned), and be drenched in a couple of minutes! It’s not so bad when you’re engaged in an activity, but just sitting around in the heat could definitely make you restless.

Because of this weather, our hammock sleeping was very welcomed. It would have been difficult to comfortably sleep on a thick insulated mattress because you would just sweat all night! It was interesting to find the right position on the hammock so that nothing would have a kink in the morning. It is better to sleep diagonally so that your body is more flattened out, but you also have to be able to support your head, so you have to mess with it for a while. Most of us had four good nights of sleep, and we all got to keep our hammocks so we can experiment with them later! Here are some before and after picture of our rooms when we put the hammocks up. The mosquito nets were only added protection, but there really weren't many mosquitoes in the Amazon.

We also spent two nights in Manaus before and after we went to the reserve, which was an experience all in its own. The first evening we were determined to get to the “meeting of the waters” before dark. The meeting of the waters is where the black water of the Rio Negro and the white water of the Rio Solimoes meet and mix to form the Amazon River. As we flew into Manaus, we could see it from the airplane and got some pictures! Our determination to see it paid off when we were successful in getting a boat ride out there, but we were bummed when he told us that we couldn't swim because there were “peixes grande” (big fish). We did get a pretty awesome view of the river bank and all the boats though.

View from the airplane of "Meeting of the Waters"

View from the boat of the river bank

Manaus is a very interesting city because there are some very nice buildings, but then the rest of the town is run down and dirty. During the late 1800s there was a huge rubber boom, and Manaus was one of the cities that felt the effects. They built the famous opera house there, which is still in very good condition today, but soon after that the boom crashed because the rubber tree seeds had been taken by the English and were being farmed elsewhere more efficiently. This left all the Brazilian cities that had relied on this income to fend for themselves. While the city was dirty relative to what we’re used to, it was rich with life and culture. There were numerous street vendors and tons of indigenous shops with neat souvenirs. The one crazy thing I did see though was that most streets didn't have any lanes! Cars were just weaving in and out of one another, and they all seemed to know exactly what they were doing. I’m not going to lie that I was scared once or twice as we passed a bus with 4 inches to spare.

The opera house from the huge rubber boom in the 1800s

No lanes?? No problem :)

I feel that I barely scratched the surface of the great Amazon Rainforest. I don’t think it will ever be known completely, and maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be. But as long as we’re able, we should try and understand this crazy ecosystem. If anyone ever wants to go, don’t forget to take me with you!

Answers to the camouflaged pictures:

The snake's head is right in the middle of the picture.
There is a lizard that looks like leaf litter in the middle of the picture.
This huge white moth looks like lichen.
There is a frog in the middle that looks like a leaf.
In the bottom left-hand corner, my friend Wendy is peeking through this huge tree!