Early in the morning, Tito joined our crew. Tito has been living in the Amazon since he was 3 years old. Together with our guide, he came to lead us on a hike through the jungle in Madada, where he lives today.
I love going on hikes and came fully prepared. Before leaving the US, my parents consulted our doctors to find out what vaccines we needed to take. And we all got the shots we were told to get. When walking in the jungle, besides Insect repellent, I was also to dress long pants, long sleeve shirt, hat and safe shoes.
We followed our guides, who knew their way around. They walked in front of us with machetes to both open the road and protect us from anything dangerous. As we came across interesting things, they stopped to show us.
I saw a tree with a sap that is used for making chewing gum, a plant that has the venom used by Indians on darts of blowguns, and also - a snake.
When we came back from the hike, the captain turned our boat around to start our return trip.
The feel of water on the boat was quite different. Because we were now going downriver, the boat followed the river current and moved a lot faster.
I asked about the possibility of visiting an Amazon native tribe. Local laws have protected many of the areas where indians live, and to visit them, you need legal permission. Our guides had a contact and promised to look into it. I so much hope for it to happen…
