Day 5 - Friday, May 22, 2009: Amazonas, Rio Negro

by Brant Lowe

I woke up this morning to the sound of whispers coming from a group of hammocks near me. Apparently some people had not slept as well as I did. It was around 5:30 and the sun was just beginning to make its way through the rainforest canopy. We had survived the night camping out in the Amazon jungle.

The others began to wake up as the jungle came to life with its unique sounds growing louder and louder. Everyone packed up their hammocks and we began the hike back to the boat. After taking baths in the river, we departed and made our way to another stopping point where we took canoes out to look for butterflies.

We saw several butterflies, and Professor cummings had one land on his hand. We returned to the boat and started heading towards the jungle lodge where we would be staying for the night. We crossed a very wide section of the river that was at least 5 times bigger than any lake in West Virginia.

After crossing the river, we made our way through a narrow channel full of wildlife. A few pink dolphins could be seen swimming near the boat as we entered the channel, and we passed by a big jungle lodge where Bill Gates once stayed. I saw a large caiman that quickly disappeared when the boat passed.

We were able to see howler monkeys, a squirrel monkey, a sloth, and many different birds. The captain of the boat managed to move the boat directly beneath the sloth, which was hanging from a tree branch that extended out over the channel. The abundance of wildlife in this one channel was a perfect example of the diversity found in the rainforest.

Late in the afternoon, we stopped to fish for piranha. The guides had made fishing poles and prepared small pieces of meat to use as bait. The group was very successful with the fishing, though the piranhas were small and some of us caught more fish than others. We also caught a sardine and two catfish.

When we finished fishing, we left on an excursion to find caimans. It was dark, and our guide used a spotlight to see the caimans’ eyes in the water. The guide was able to catch three caimans, and he allowed everyone to hold them. Professor cummings, being the outdoorsman that he is, dropped the first caiman when it was handed to him but the guide was able to recapture it before any limbs were lost. (I should acknowledge that this description of the caiman-dropping incident is disputed by Professor cummings. Historians will have to judge.)



After the caiman hunt, we arrived at the Posada Amazonia, a jungle lodge where we spent the last night of our Amazon trip. The real beds at the Posada were very nice compared to the hammocks on the boat, and everyone enjoyed their first hot showers in nearly a week. Some people gathered in the game room at the lodge and played ping pong and pool, but others retired to their rooms. Just another spectacular day in the Amazon Rainforest.