This was stated by Brok as we were searching for snakes surrounded by every shade of green imaginable: lime, forest, pistachio, kelly green, etc. The Amazon is home to vipers, bushmasters, and the infamous anaconda; however, on all our hikes we never saw a snake. However, we were one of the few who did see a giant anaconda. Luckily, we saw this 5 meter, black, shiny snake basking in the sun digesting god knows what from the safe distance of our canoe.
Where were we you ask? We ventured on a motorized canoe down the Napa River for 2 1/2 hours, then hiked 20 minutes to a dugout canoe where a 30 minute boat ride took us to...La Selva Lodge. After all this travel, yes we were in the middle of the largest rainforest in the world surrounded by a lagoon filled with piranha. From the bamboo huts to the native guides, we felt as though the lodge fulfilled all we were looking for. At night we fell asleep to the sound of insects and by morning our ears were filled with the sounds of hundreds of birds. Our time at La Selva felt longer than three days thanks to 5am wake up calls, at least 5 hours of hiking/day, canopy tours, lagoon rides, and fishing for piranha. The morning we left was surreal, a moment a camera could never capture, as fog surrounded the lagoon and lodge, howler monkeys called in the distance, and we glided away in a dugout canoe. It was one of those moments you store away in your memory in hopes of never forgetting. And although we never got a picture with Ben and his piranha, although he did catch a few, the sights and sounds of the Amazon are unforgettable.
Trip Highlights:
1. Amazon wildlife: squirrel monkeys, capuchin monkeys, toucans, parrots, largest moth in the world, owl-eyed butterflies, poison dart frog, tree frog, anaconda, piranha, eyes of a cayman- aka alligator
2. Incredible flavors: tropical fresh squeezed fruit juices & ahhh dragonfruit
3. Our wonderful guide, Paul, who took as much time telling us about the millipede that extracts an almond scent as he did explaining the anaconda's digestion.
Pictures will be added soon! Check out facebook as Ann added several from our trip.
We're off exploring Europe and the weather is a wee bit different from the hot & humid days in the Amazon.
Happy Thanksgiving to all...next stop, Ireland & Scotland!
Until then....xoxo,
Abby & Ben
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