Jungle Jayna's Amazon Adventure

The Amazon Rainforest. You hear about it, you grow up learning about it but as a kid in London I never thought I would get the chance to travel across the world to this magical place, home to so many unique animals and plants. The world's largest tropical rainforest, accessible from 9 countries in South America, was at the top of my bucket list and after spending 4 unforgettable days here, I can happily say 'I did it'.

I booked my tour via my hostel in Manaus with Iguana Tours. Whilst I highly recommend the multi-day tours this company also offers a day trip which I am extremely against as all the wildlife we saw was heavily sedated and in the hands of humans charging tourists for pictures with them. The day tour also includes visiting a local tribe who are exploited by being made to dance for tourists multiple times in the day and you could feel it in the atmosphere that there was something very off about the whole thing. Unfortunately animal rights have a long way to go in Brazil with majority of the customers on this tour being Brazilian and happily paying to take pictures with a sedated, limp caiman, so in terms of tour providers, you're not going to find an ethical one. Whilst my 4 day tour was a great experience there were a couple activities I did not agree with and therefore did not take part in.

You have the option of a 2, 3, 4 or 5 day trek and the accommodation is the same for all, a rainforest lodge, however you spend a night in the jungle on the 3 and 4 day treks and 2 nights during the 5 day trek. The lodge was cute with hammocks on the upper deck overlooking the river, sun loungers on the bottom deck and a ladder if you wanted to get in for a swim. The dining area and lower deck were on the river with a short boardwalk and stairs leading up to the bedrooms on land. When you book, you have the option of a dorm or private room. The cheaper option of the dorm was basic but nice, it looked like it could fit 15-20 people with fans placed around to help with the heat. The dorm is open for anyone to enter, however prior to this tour I left my big backpack safely at the hostel with my valuables and only took the essentials to the lodge. It is a wooden structure so you are slightly exposed to the elements however all the beds came with mosquito nets and I slept like a baby. The schedule is pretty jam packed so the dorm was never noisy as everyone was always tired or in bed early for an early start. You do have to walk to a separate structure for the bathroom and showers, they were actually fine but you do get a few small visitors in the form of creepy crawlies. I thought the food was really good, for veggie options were quite basic but they definitely know how to season their rice and beans and I loved it, and there was always a veggie option for the main and salad at every meal. I enjoyed all my meals with the exception of the night in the jungle but we'll get to that. Water was free to refill but if you wanted to purchase soft drinks or beers, you could. You pay for drinks at the end of your stay and they give you the option to pay by card. Although there was a power outage the day that I left and the card machine was not working, they told me I could pay with card back at their shop in Manaus City so it wasn't a problem. You're going to want to apply a lot of sun cream and make sure you take long clothes and bug spray for the evening because the mosquitos are RELENTLESS!

I did the 4 day trek which cost around £200. Due to numbers, I was put in a group with mostly Brazilians but the guide did a great job at giving information in both Portuguese and English and the people on the tour were really helpful in trying to translate things the guide could not, and made me feel very welcome and a part of the group despite the language barrier. Here's how our 4 days went:

Day 1

The tour company picked me up at my hostel and we headed to the dock to board a boat which took us across the 'Meeting of the Waters' where the sandy water of the Amazon River meets the dark blue water of the neighbouring river and you can clearly see the distinct divide (pictured above). Then we drove to another dock and took a speedboat to the lodge where we would be staying. We picked our dorm beds, ate lunch, then had some downtime to sunbathe and chill before the start of our first activity, a canoe trip. This activity included slowly drifting around the quiet river, taking in the sights of the Amazon and I remember thinking 'How cool, I'm just in the Amazon Rainforest on a Monday afternoon' hahaha. We spotted some pink river dolphins and were lucky enough to spot 2 macaws in the distance. Unfortunately this part of the tour also included piranha fishing which I didn't take part in, the piranhas were so small (less than a fist) with these huge hooks piercing through their mouths and even below their eyes then being tossed back into the water with a hole in their face - doesn't sound humane does it? We ended the activity by paddling a few minutes away to get in the water for a swim and watch the sunset.

We returned to the lodge, cleaned up and got ready for dinner. After dinner we had a nighttime canoe trip where we stargazed and looked for some of the rainforest's nocturnal residents. We saw a few caimans in the water as their eyes were glowing and then witnessed the pointless act of our guide grabbing one out of the water and holding it in what seemed like a chokehold as he talked about it. It's another no from me.

Day 2

Luckily the animal abuse ended after day 1 and it was smooth sailing from here. Day 2 had the earliest start with a sunrise canoe trip to spot the early birds, quite literally. Then after breakfast we went on a walk in the jungle. This activity was really interesting with our guide pointing out and explaining the use of different plants and trees for medicine, food and resources, which included identifying rubber trees and another one I can't remember the name of, but we 'milked' it and had a taste. I can't remember it tasting of anything in particular but what an experience getting some of that sweet sweet bark juice straight from the source. We also got to swing on a vine and live out our Tarzan dreams which was weirdly quiet as everyone was silent as one by one we took turns swinging back and forth once. Our guide found some leaves and weaved a hand fan right in front of us in mere minutes which was pretty cool too. Overall a great day, minus the mosquito bites.

After lunch we packed our stuff for an overnight in the jungle. We canoed over to the campsite where there was a roof over the sleeping area, kitchen and dining area. In this context, when I say sleeping area, it's just a roof over an empty patch of ground. We were shown how to set up a hammock and then picked a spot to do so. Then we went walking into the jungle in search of wood for the fire and leaves for the guide to weave. The group helped out with the cooking, maintaining the fire and chopping veg whilst our guide was preparing a surprise for us. He would come in and out and check on the cooking and tell us what to do in between his secret task. Once we had finished, he showed us what he had been working on and it was amazing! He had weaved a huge plate for all the food, and decorations around the table and had placed the food in a presentable manner (pictured below). It was impressive however if you are vegetarian its plain rice and potatoes for you with a side of cucumber and tomatoes and I had to be clear about picking my food first as it was altogether on the table with some of the meat touching some of the veggie food. After dinner, we all sat around the fire with some drinks with one guest bringing some champagne for everyone to share and it was a nice evening. The mosquitos go crazy in the night so I bought my long trousers to change into and kept my bug spray in my hammock to top up throughout the night. When nature calls there's only one way to sort yourself out. I did wake up in the middle of the night to pee but it was quiet and all you could hear were animals and you could see the stars and it was such a peaceful, magical moment in the jungle but slightly eerie. A headlamp would be beneficial here as it gets dark quickly and moving around at night can become complicated.

Day 3

The next morning we took down our hammocks and had a quick breakfast before making our way to meet a local family. Usually at this point, they offer to take you to meet a local family to learn about their culture and the process of making cassava flour, however when I was there they were not running this activity and we visited another local family who took us around their grounds and gave us a fruit tour. We got to try 6 or 7 different local fruits, some of which I'd never seen before but they were all delish and at the end, the couple gave us a tour of their home and we had the option to buy different soaps and oils they had made themselves from plants in the jungle.

We headed back to the lodge for lunch then set out on a canoeing trip. Up until now, whenever we sat in the canoe our guide always used the motor however this time we were given paddles and actually had to paddle, much to my distaste (I have deep hatred for kayaking/canoeing anything with a paddle, but that's a different story). We paddled around narrower streams and spotted different types of monkeys such as howler monkeys which were super loud. Our group took a few beers with us during this activity and enjoyed the sunset one last time from the canoe before our last dinner at the lodge.

Day 4

Our last morning I realised why they call it a rainforest. I had never seen rain like as the visibility of the river had decreased massively. After breakfast we were waiting out the rain before our final activity which was supposed to be visiting a local family to learn about the rubber making process and shop some of their products however due to the rain the plan was changed. Eventually the rain stopped and instead, we went to an area to see the giant Amazon lily pads. We hopped in the canoe for the last time and headed to another spot in the jungle but when we got there, getting from the boat to the land was difficult as the terrain was extremely muddy and slippery from the rain. I wore my trainers which got absolutely soaked through as the ground was flooded and there was mud all over them, other members went for flips flops which would get stuck in the mud every time they took a step so no one was a winner really. That being said, the lily pads were HUGE. I can't say I was convinced when they told us about it this activity, but seeing them was cool. We then went back to the lodge to pack up and get ready to leave. The same way we got to the lodge was the same way back and I was dropped off right back at my hostel.

Other Treks

The 2 and 3 day treks are pretty much the same, except you have activities cut out and in the case of the 2 day, you don't spend a night sleeping in the jungle. On the 5 day trek, you spend the last 2 days hiking in different parts of the jungle and catching and cooking your own food with an experienced guide who shows you how to survive in the jungle.

Overall the trek was a good experience and I would recommend it, however if you manage to find a more ethical tour provider I would say to go with them, as from speaking with people who did Amazon tours including those who did them from other South American countries, the contents of the tour are pretty much the same and the setup too with accommodation in a river lodge.

For more Brazil content click here or check out my Rio Carnival post!