66/365 06/01/09 Hiking in the jungle (in pouring down rain) and boat ride into the flooded forest...and alligator spotting....

Our first hike in the jungle.....pouring down rain.....

Our awesome guide Piro, grew up in the Brazilian rain forest and knew everything about everything in this jungle-- what tree bark was good for medicine or food or dental care, about all insects-- which one were poisonous or harmful or even which ones we could eat... about making all kinds of things from leaves, bark, roots, and seeds....AND he hiked BAREFOOT through all the thorns, the snakes, the spiders, the poisonous frogs, bullet ants, stinging termites.....
The thorns on this plant are what is used for the darts in a blow gun....

We saw the poison they use for these darts which is secreted by a poisonous frog....kills in 3 minutes and we just walked by the foamy looking stuff on a tree....

We had to cross over streams....

and Piro wove together palm leaves to show us how to make a hammock, just in case you ever have to spend the night in the jungle. He showed us the resin you can use to light a fire in the rain because you need ashes to encircle your camp. No animal or insect will cross the ring of ashes (so he says, I don't want to test it myself)...without the ashes he said "you'll be in trouble!".

Later that afternoon we went on a flooded forest tour by boat. The river is up higher than it's been in 50 years and is over 50 feet above normal. So lots of the area is flooded and we were able to go in boats among the trees and vegetation.

The water was so smooth that in these 2 pictures the water is like a mirror.

We saw elephant ears growing in the trees....

and macaws flying ....

and green parrots...

a toucan...

and a beautiful sunset.

Later, after dinner, in total darkness, we went out again in boat alligator spotting. Piro, our guide, would shine a spotlight into the gators eyes, blinding him. The boat driver would get as close as possible and then Piro would just lean over the side of the boat and try to grab the gator and pull him in!!!

The only one that didn't get away (and we saw several big ones!) was this little baby one. She had lost an arm and a leg to a piranha.

While we were looking in the water for gators, Piro noticed this very venomous snake coiled up in a tree very close to our boat!!!!!..

It was an awesome adventurous day and I loved every minute of it!!