The Amazon Rainforest

When Tanica and I arrived in Manaus we were tired and on edge. We had to wait at the airport for hours and hours until 7AM when we were supposed to get picked up and taken to Ariau Towers. It was hot and humid and they didn't have air conditioning. The guy was late in picking us up and by the time he did we were exhausted and grumpy and just wanted to sleep. We got in the big van and started heading to Ariau Towers, the famous hotel we were going to stay in amongst the trees within the actual rainforest and located ON the actual Amazon river. On our way there we unexpectedly passed an LDS temple!! I didn't eveotn know there was an LDS temple in Manaus until we passed it, and when we did, we both got SO excited and  felt comforted knowing that we had a little piece of home nearby. We've both been pretty homesick so this discovery definitely perked us up.

We were dropped off near the river and taken the rest of the way via boat. When we arrived at Ariau Towers, we were both relieved we had finally made it and excited to be in the FREAKING Amazon.
It was interesting because normally the Ariau Towers are set HIGH above the ground within the treetops, but right now its the rainy season and we were told its been the worst rainy season in like 50 years and so when we arrived by boat we found that some of the lower towers were actually flooded and under water! We had literally passed some of the treetops peaking out from the water! It was crazy.

After a quick nap we met up with our tour guide Edi. Edi was THE best tour guide ever. She was such a cute, short, older lady and was very warm and friendly toward us. She was very informative and taught us a lot during our stay. Another tour guide of ours was a 25 year old guy named Washington who didn't speak a word of english but quickly won my heart (just kidding...kinda). During our stay he was a sexy machete-wielding Brazilian giving us Brazilian nuts and unique fruit, he took us through the jungle and made us cute stuff out of plants and stuff in the rainforest. We all went out pirannha fishing and although we didn't have much luck with catching any, he caught about ten! Later that night when we went alligator spotting in the dark right? Well when he saw an alligator he dove headfirst into the dark, murky waters and caught a FREAKING alligator. He was totally sweet and calm the whole trip! Always helping us in and out of the boat safely....sigh. Haha.

ANYHOO, so the first day we got there we took a boat to meet up with an Amazonian tribe. It wasn't the kind of tribe you're probably thinking though- they were more modernized. They wore clothing and had pots and pans and a couple boats. While we were there a lady made us some delicious Tapioca with fresh, straight-from-the-tree Acai berry juice. We were given fruit that only came from the amazon called Inga, which kinda reminded me of a banana with a hard shell in the middle that Edi put on our ears as earrings. Edi also showed us a pretty pink plant that she told us was a natural sunblock and was also used for makeup. She put some on our faces and we enjoyed our time there.

Later that day I found a monkey just lounging around on a chair at Ariau Towers and he actually jumped up on me and ate sugar from my hand! It was so cool! Also, just a side note before I forget... (because I have so much to tell!) Ariau Towers, like i've said, is famous. Several celebrities have stayed here. Our tour guide Edi says she has given tours to Jennifer Lopez, Scorpion, Bill Gates, etc etc. If you've ever seen the movie "Anaconda" with Jennifer Lopez, we were located right near where it was filmed!

So day #2 we went on a boat to find dry land and went trekking through the jungle. Edi and Washington kept showing us cool stuff and giving us survival tips. Edi was so funny and said that if we ever got lost in the jungle we needed to find monkeys and eat only what the monkeys would eat in order to avoid eating something poisonous, and if the monkeys didn't eat anything we should eat the monkey! Washington cut off a piece of tree bark and Edi said that it was called Rosewood and was used in the perfume Chanel #5. This was also the time when Washington made us cute stuff out of organic material from the forest. Another thing we saw was HUGE fire ants...In some amazonian tribes, to prove how much of a man you are, gloves with a bunch of fire ants in them are placed on your hands for as long as you can stand. Edi said she was bit/stung once and she said it was horrible pain for 10 hours! About halfway through our jungle hike it started POURING down rain. Because of the warm temperature I didn't even put my rain jacket on...It felt so good!

After the jungle hike we went swimming in the river with the rare pink freshwater dolphin! There was actually a bunch of them and we fed them fish. It was amazing!

After the dolphins we wen't pirannha fishing! They gave us bamboo fishing poles and gave us meat to put on our hooks. I got a bunch of bites and nibbles but unfortunately I never caught one. Washington caught like 10!...Edi kept saying we had to catch piranha for our dinner....I thought she was joking, but later that night we were served all the cooked piranha that Washington had caught. It actually tasted decent! On our boat ride back to the towers we saw a HUGE alligator, bigger than anything I had seen on TV before. At this time of day it was still sunny outside and Edi said it was really strange that the alligator was out in the open because they have sensitive eyes and usually stay hidden and in the dark. Edi said that it must be really hungry if it was looking for food out in the open during the day. The alligator spotted us and actually started coming toward us and it went underwater like they do before they attack and so Washington started up the boat again and we left in a hurry!

Later that night when it was pitch black out we went alligator spotting and Washington dove in headfirst and caught a small one! He brought it back onto the boat and he let me hold it!

I saw alligators, piranhas, sloths, monkeys, pink dolphins, and more! It was such an amazing trip and we met some amazing people and we were very sad to leave. I feel so blessed to have experienced what I did on this mini trip within a trip to the Amazon Rainforest and I'll never forget it!