Did you get the reference in my title? It’s okay if you didn’t. Anyways, Saturday’s breakfast was delicious, and I could tell we had an interesting day ahead of us when they just kept on bringing more and more French toast. Which of course was paired with a tasty syrup, fresh fruit, and juice. This was the water hike day in the Amazon! We were nervous we wouldn’t be able to make it since it had rained a lot the previous night, but we got the go ahead, and I am so grateful we did.
We entered the river from a random entrance off the side of the road which I would’ve completely missed, and trudged through the mud in our knee high rubber boots to get to it. Immediately, my socks were soaking and that was just the beginning. We reached a small waterfall into a nook where they hoisted us up by our feet and we took turns climbing into the pool above. I got DRENCHED, we all did. After that we trekked on to find another deeper pool with a waterfall and took a group photo. Then, the next section of the river was so deep that we had to swim through it and have our helpful (and much more experienced) guides walk our boots to the other side. The bats flying above us as we swam made it feel extra surreal. There was also an area where we could jump into the water off a ledge, and our group being super tight of course, decided to jump all at once. It worked don’t worry! The river packed so much clay and we were drawing with it on ourselves as well. By the end of the hike, we were all exhausted and dripping wet, but it was easily one of the most fun and unique experiences I’ve ever had.
Lunch was eaten faster than I can remember what it was (rice with a vegetable stew and fresh watermelon) and we had some down time to relax before our next activity. Kallari chocolate came to us to explain their brand, and we had a tasting of some of their flavors. I feel like my palette has developed more just on this trip, and I was able to notice more differences in the chocolates. I, of course, bought a couple more bars from them at the end of it…I have a lot of chocolate now. But it’s not all for me!
The rest of the day was pretty free so I relaxed for most of it, and went in the pool with some people for a bit as well. After a much needed hair wash, we all chilled around the fire for a while until dinnertime. Dinner was a mix of rice and lentils, and a chocolate covered banana for dessert. I didn’t realize just how hungry I was until I finished all my food in record time.
Following dinner, we had a short presentation about chocolate production and I went back to my room to pack for the next couple days with the Waorani tribe. You won’t be hearing from me for a few days, so I’ll see you (hopefully) next Tuesday or Wednesday!