South America: The Amazon

By Suze Attaway

Getting stuck in a small blockade, on a long and bumpy road to the Ecuadorian jungle wasn’t a good start to our Amazon experience ‚Äì things could only get better.

When we finally arrived at our jungle destination we travelled by a narrow, motorised canoe to reach our lodge and en-route passed Amazonians, carrying mahogany planks on their heads with the aid of moonshine (an extremely potent form of alcohol).

Our accommodation consisted of wooden cabins, camping areas and a main cabin where meals were eaten. All the buildings were beautifully constructed and there was even a viewing tower for gazing across the tree-tops.

The highlights of our stay included a midnight hike for which we were supplied with wellies to protect us against weird and wonderful creatures. We walked across uneven terrain and through vines and undergrowth until our attention was drawn to a freshwater stream containing shrimp. Not quite the wildlife we expected to encounter in the Amazon rainforest.

The next night we were introduced to a midwife who told us about about the medicinal properties of Amazonian plants. She demonstrated what plants, herbs and liquids would be used during childbirth in the Amazon.

We were then offered the chance to have our auras read and cleansed, though sceptical, I thought, why not? However my scepticism failed to lessen when my face was sprayed with alcohol from her mouth and smoke was wafted round my body to cleanse my aura. Hmm…

My main memory of our stay in the Amazon is being isolated in an idyllic part of the world surrounded by foliage, tropical flowers and the cries of jungle animals.