After a week in the city of Manaus, we traveled a few hours up river by van to the spend a week at the Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge. The lodge was on the edge of the Rio Negro and across from the Anavilhanas National Park, where we explored by river boat, kayak, and by foot.
The interesting thing about the Amazon is that all animals, insects, birds, and reptiles are so well camouflaged that it is quite hard to see them. Walking in the jungle, you often only see evidence of their existence, but not necessarily the animals themselves. On the day hike, the most notable things we saw were insects, like the tarantula the guide lured out of a hole with a twig and the bug larvas he cut from a rotten tree trunk and ate. On a night tour, we had better luck seeing animals, using spotlights to see sloths, snakes, and caimans (gator / crocodile-like reptiles).
Best part of the jungle was swimming at the rivers edge, which was refreshing, exhilarating, and terrifying.
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