Stranded in the Amazon

This afternoon we opted for a boat ride which we shared with the couple who have been our excursion partners pretty much the whole trip, which is nice. We opted for this as it was a hot day and the short but very sweaty morning hike had done us in. So after another great lunch, which included the freshly caught fish by the couple we passed, we set off in search of more wildlife and some small hope of dolphins (although the river isn't good for them at the minute here). We saw more yellow headed carcara, black collared hawk, a brown collared hawk, a huge heron and lots of kingfishers, many of them with a tasty snack in tow. After about 20 minutes enjoying the beautiful day the Rainforest lived up to its name and a shower started to come down. We were all a bit too excited to be on a boat in the Amazon in the rain and decided to brave the shower without rain coats...it was only a shower after all. The shower then gave way to a full on downpour...quickly. The jackets came out. It really added a whole new depth to the place when in the rain, a completely different feel and experience. It was once again amazing and still, the birds were darting past us as more amazing views appeared after every turn.
Once the rain stopped we saw an amazing double rainbow, right over the forest behind us and we continued a little further, spotting more and more hawks and many more kingfishers.

Then the fun stuff happened...The engine stopped working after two hours motoring upstream! Three Bits, two Aussies and two Peruvians up Amazonian Creek with only a paddle.

We began to paddle....and paddle....and paddle. There was no way to communicate with the camp, so we were told we would need to wait until they realised we hadn't turned up for dinner for someone to rescue us.

Thankfully despite being soaked and with the sun going down, the mood was one of adventure and we enjoyed a good laugh, some bad singing and Richards wookie impersonations as the guys took it in turns to sit at the helm and paddle back, thankfully with the current.

We were also hungry, with just one bag of Inca Corn to share between us that Jess and Anthony had brought with them (the biggest corn kernels you have ever seen by the way, can't wait to get some more).

It was all going well with Rob at the helm until the changeover happened. Richard's transition was not so good and we immediately ended up lodged on a fallen tree branch. After quite a few attempts to break free and a few more jokes about being stranded for the night, we finally got free by almost capsizing the boat in our attempt to tilt it and a lot of leverage work by Andy, our guide.

Richard remained at the helm for about half an hour, when Anthony had his turn. By this point, the sun was going down and the views were just stunning. Night hawks came out and fireflies lit up the bushes. And then it got darker, and darker, and darker, and darker...and with that it got cold. I regretted opting to keep only my legs dry in the earlier downpour.

But my goodness, were the views worth the accidental stranding. Pitch black on the river, only phones for torches and the stars just kept on appearing. Jupiter first and then every minute it seemed hundreds more were out. After 2 hours of paddling, we all laid down in the boat and just stared at the sky, the millions of stars and the most incredible view of the Milkyway. We even saw shooting stars and Andy pointed out the Southern Cross, Hercules and Scorpio to us.

Finally, after over two hours of paddling (and only really getting half way back) we could hear the engine of a much hoped for search party. Looking backwards I could hear the initial relief and then panic as the guys facing forward realised the approaching boat hadn't seen us...and they were heading straight at us at speed...oops! Fortunately, some last minute waving of a phone torch and nifty paddling skills meant we avoided a collision by inches and we didn't require a third search party for all of us.

We switched boats and tethered ours before finally motoring back through the night. Once again we just enjoyed the view of the sky, the fireflies, the bats and the sound of fish leaping out of the water beside us.

Dinner time back at camp was much needed and to make it even better we were handed a goodbye cake as a thank-you for visiting. Safe to say our planned evening canoe ride was no longer necessary, so we chilled over some cake with our guides before changing into warm clothes and heading to the Hammock room for one last night.

Which is where I am now, listening to the jungle buzz, the night time birds and the relentless crazy sounding frogs in the cosiest place ever!Read more