We were up before even the crack of dawn. Alarms slowly went off and one brave soul had a freezing cold 3am shower before we all headed down to the main lodge for an early risers breakfast. By 3:30am, we were sat on the same rickety boat we'd arrived in but this time in the pitch black. We were required to turn off our head torches so the driver and his frontman would not experience any distractions. The fact that the driver and the man at the front could even see where they were going was beyond belief, it was so dark my eyes just couldn't adjust. I still can't understand how they managed to steer so well, but they did. We were going the same speed as we had the day before but the boat seemed to rock more harshly, or perhaps I hadn't noticed it as much when I myself could see what was ahead of and behind me. 

I appeared to be the only slightly uneasy individual aboard, because most of my fellow travellers managed to nap for almost the whole 2.5 hour journey, whilst I quite silently shit my pants (just for clarity, this is only a figure of speech as the reality of that would have been a wholly unpleasant experience, particularly in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest).

We arrived at our destination, a viewing spot opposite a gathering area for Macaws. It was still the early hours when we arrived, probably around the time I normally wake up for work here in the UK, but the sun had risen beautifully on our journey over and my anxiety regarding the steadiness of the boat had eased slightly. Slightly being the operative word.

You really did need a damn good lense to get a decent photo of these guys. And patience too! They sometimes flew in in small groups and on other occasions massive flocks came by, at which point Michael and I always seemed to be off exploring elsewhere!

I was glad to be on dry land for a few hours but I wasn't feeling 100% for the majority of the morning. Fortunately nothing came of it, and it was likely me working myself up during the journey there! We set up our seats and ate our breakfast as we watched macaws come and go for hours. It sounds like it'd be uninteresting, and Michael and I did go off to explore the nearby area a few times, but the macaws were genuinely so beautiful and to see them flock in gathered in their families and communities was an incredible sight. They'd perch on the trees in huge groups and call out to each other, before heading off on their way again.

These two images show two macaws perched on a high branch. The above photo is the max zoom on our rather pathetic lense, and below is a photo taken through a telescope! They were beautiful to view through the telescope and it really put the vastness of the Amazon into perspective once more.

Later, Frank had a radio call to say a jaguar had been spotted about ten minutes down the river so off we went back onto the beloved rickety motorised boat. Unfortunately, whilst we travelled in circles around the area that the jaguar had been spotted earlier we didn't catch sight of it. We saw more macaws gathering on the cliffs to eat clay, which is supposedly used to neutralise toxins from some of the foods they consume, and many more white caymans basking in the sun. The capybara families were also out on the riverside enjoying the sunlight, and we even saw a small river otter.


The weather started to turn and the wind picked up, so after a few hours on the river we headed back to the lodge and arrived there about 2pm. The intention was to return for a nighttime boat ride searching for more caymans, however, the wind became fierce and the cold was quite unpleasant. Fortunately, the rain hadn't yet arrived with it but everyone at the lodge told us bad weather was coming. Instead of enjoying a nighttime searching for Caymans, we all gathered on the porch of the dining lodge, drinking cocktails. The Black family introduced us to Dobble and if you haven't heard of this game, look it up and buy it. It was only our third day together as a group but I'd say that game definitely helped bring us together.

One of the many cocktails we drank that evening, and probably the best I've ever tasted!

At dinner we were delighted to hear we'd be allowed a lie in on day three of our Amazon exploration, but once awake we'd be taking a days walk through the rainforest and a canoe ride on a lake - they never told us we'd also be climbing trees and eating something rather questionable, but that was all part of the fun...

Come back soon to hear more about our final day in the Amazon Rainforest!

MissIsGoode