Day 2 in the Amazon

We came to the hotel via an hour-long boat ride that began on the Nanay River. We could definitely see where the chocolate colored Nanay met the muddy Amazon water as there was a very distinct line in the water, like oil and water refusing to mix.

After a late lunch and changing out of our airplane clothes, we took a short boat ride to a local sugar cane farm where we saw the rum making process. They use only a horse to turn a press that squeezes out the juice, which is then put into a fermenting vat to be distilled by fire. When the alcohol evaporates, it flows through a coil surrounded by cold water, thus reliquifying. (Yes, just like moonshine.) We tasted four kinds: normal with no added flavor, molasses flavored, ginger flavored, and root/bark flavored. The last was a big hit with the group, but not being much of a rum drinker, I preferred the beer.

After that, it was back to the hotel for dinner, followed by an hour-long walk in the jungle by the hotel. We saw:
- Bats by the swimming pool either eating bugs on the water's surface or dipping out a drink for themselves
- What our guide believes was a sloth hanging from a tree branch (butt and back exposed). It looked like a light gray basketball in the tree. Lol
- Many brown, large crickets
- Leaf-cutter ants (cool!)
- A young oppossum. Definitely nocturnal with his large eyes. Eating off a feeding station before our lights spooked him away.
- Godzilla _____ bullet ants (black, an inch long)
- A tarantula in its den
- A tarantula in the reeds of the hotel roof, several actually.

We hung out for a while after dinner playing Combat Uno, which I picked up from my awesome teams in Afghanistan. We played a couple of games to learn, but I suspect tonight will be a no holds barred game now that they've figured it out. 😉

Few of us were up late though, because we left this morning at 0530 for another boat ride. This time for bird finding/watching. We saw lots of smaller ones. Most of the names escape me, but Kingfishers were one, a woodpecker, and hummingbirds.

Breakfast followed, accompanied by the hotel's pet Green and Red Macaw (also called a Ruby, I believe), then we were off again on the boat to find river dolphins (gray) and pink dolphins (gray young and mostly pink adults with very small, round dorsal fins). We spotted both off a sand bank at the mouth of the Napo River, which comes down from Ecuador to feed the Amazon. No pics though; they're too quick and don't come near the boats. We also saw several very large egrets stalking the edges of the water and an osprey perched in a tall tree overlooking the water, presumably looking for its next meal.

We got back to the hotel around 1030, so a few beers by the pool were called for. We also found a nocturnal buddy who decided to spend the day sleeping under one of the chairs (see the pictures).

One thing that has stood out to me is the many varieties of butterflies. Bright yellow, snow white, orange tiger-striped, black swallow-tailed...incredibly diverse and stunningly beautiful.

I'm not sure what this afternoon will hold, but I'm pretty sure we're taking a boat.

So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️Read more