Day 23... Breathe every Breath

Breathe every Breath... good advice from a good friend... and that was what I intended to do today... my last day in the jungle.

I intended to savour the fresh air, the smell of the trees, the life around me...

I woke early... the plan being to eat breakfast and then to our final lagoon in our concerted search for an anaconda. Before my fried eggs and bowl of fruit was placed in front of me, Franklin came up to me holding a tub... he opened the lid, to reveal some very large queen ants, with wings. Given the fact that they were in a food tub, I figured it was no accident that they were being paraded at breakfast time... worse... they were alive. I shuddered.
Franklin explained that they were a delicacy... and I hoped that I wouldn't have to swallow one out of politeness to the hosts ... I think that would have been a challenge too far!! Fortunately the lid went back on and I was handed my bowl of fruit and my fried eggs as normal. Phew. After breakfast, whilst the boys were packing up, Teicho showed me his blowpipe (no, stop thinking rude things people!). A traditional hunting tool... he showed how he added what looked like unspun wool to the end of a pointed bit of wood and then put it in one end of the blowpipe. With a short sharp breath out, the arrow shot out the other end and embedded into the Coca fruit, placed as a target... my turn

I took a deep breath and.... missed... too low.
I overcompensated with the next one, which went shooting over... the third shot was poor but the 4th hit the Coca fruit with a satisfactory 'thwuck'. Applause all round... thank you thank you!!

Teicho showed me his boys foot, saying it looked better... they also had him wearing crocs, keeping the burst burn blister clean and off the ground. I kept my fingers crossed that it would continue to heal. It was then time to say goodbye to the hosts, handshakes all round and a high five from the little one. We loaded up the boat and waved as we cast off. The little boy blew me a kiss from the shore... made my heart melt!

Then we were off, once again ploughing through the River Napa, to Ila Kocha, a lodge with a lagoon attached, and Franklin's home nearby.  It was once again ridiculously hot... burning hot and I was careful to apply sunscreen, even to the backs of my hands, which had got a bit burnt yesterday. When we arrived, there was a bit of a hike to the lagoon.

It started as a nice bridge over the partially submerged forest floor, but then the bridge disappeared, having fallen into disrepair, leaving the planks lying in the water making a walkway of sorts. Partially submerged in places, covered in lichen in others, some parts the walkway was a treetrunk..... it was FABULOUSLY AWESOME! Health and safety would once again have a fit... but fortunately they don't care so much over here about that. We trod very carefully... placing feet, watching for instability ... in fact concentrating on walking rather than looking for animals... but I was having fun on this trek!

This continued for a while, until we got to the place they had started mending the bridge... the new bit went all the way to the boat that would take us round the lagoon and our new guide for this bit.

This lagoon is massive and whilst not covered in water lilies and grass beds, I was assured that anacondas can be found here... in fact our guide had seen one in the trees yesterday!

Great ... lets go. This was our last chance to find the anaconda. So we scanned every inch of the edge of the lake, the trees and bushes just above the waters edge,  everywhere an anaconda could hide... no luck. It seemed that high water levels were against us. Once again we saw lots of birds, including 5 or 6 swallow kites, herons, and storks. We then left the boat and headed inland for a short hike.

We spotted some crashing of trees and tried to spot the individuals responsible for the noise... spider monkeys again... Franklin moved off, but as I lingered, I saw a larger reddish brown monkey clamber down a branch and leap over to another tree out of sight. I called Franklin over.. but the monkey had gone... Howler Monkey he said! Nice!

We made our way back to the boat and continued on around the lagoon, every sense on high alert for movement in the water or a rustle of a tree branch that may indicate a snake. It was exhausting, being on alert ... but after several hours of circumnavigating the lake in the blistering heat, it was time to give up the search and head back to our boat, and then back to Coca. My time in the jungle was ending.

As we made our way back over the new bit of bridge, and then started navigating the planks, we saw more people... the first tourists I had seen in the Amazon, other than myself. Father and son from Jersey, just arrived, had gone to the cultural centre that morning and were now about to experience the lagoon. I wished them luck in finding an anaconda and we continued on our way. 

Then mild disaster.... I put my foot on a partially submerged plank... turns out it was like a ice rink and my foot went skating out from underneath me. I fell heavily onto my left side (fortunately because my phone was in my right side pocket and would have got very wet). I hauled myself out of the murky water, soaking wet, slightly sore left leg and mildly embarrassed... still nothing broken!

We continued on, perhaps a little more carefully than before, until we reached our boat and Miguel, who true to form, had whipped up a culinary delight of creamy pasta, tuna and veg! Never mind bake off, they should test contestants skills in the middle of the jungle with a 2 ring camping stove!!

Pasta eaten, I pulled off my boots and poured out the water, wrung out my socks, and plonked myself in the boat. Done!

Well I had certainly made the most of the unexpected plan C... that's for sure.

As the boat left the shore, I breathed a deep breath, letting the spirit of the jungle fill my lungs. My eyes fixed this as a memory in my head and I knew I had experienced something wondrous within the jungle. But it was time to make my way back to Quito, in preparation for the Volcano climb.

One adventure has to end  for the next one to begin, so even as my eyes turned to the horizon, I started to focus on the final part of my trip!