We learned to trust Nixon really quickly. He grew up in a small village no more than 10 minutes from the lodge. This is his home and back yard. It is also clear that his skills at navigation both by water and land are amazing. He also has the ability to spot an animal that Beth and I have trouble finding even after he points them out. There are millions of trees and as we go along the river he will suddenly stop and find something as small as a pygmy monkey or something that is barely moving like a sloth. In passing he found camouflage bats on a tree that it took both of us close to a minute to spot at a distance of 3-4 feet.
Common Squirrel Monkey
Fearless hikers deep in the brush. Nixon let me hold his machete but only for a minute,
Camouflage Tree Bat
Camouflage Tree Bat. It took us a while to spot this even though we were only a little more than an arms length away
If we trusted Nixon yesterday we really trusted him today. He led us on a hike through the jungle. Much like our time in the canoe the day before he instinctively followed a path where there appeared to be none. We were hiking in muck that was quite thick and made even thicker thanks to an overnight rain. At one point water poured over Beth's boot. I managed to keep my feet dry but my boots are also a little larger.
Our morning activity was one of those we wouldn't miss but would have us questioning our sanity. We did the lodges zip line through the canopy. The trees grow really tall in the rainforest so the canopy is way up there!
We were hoisted up a Kapok Tree to a height of about 150 feet. Once harnessed in Nixon simply said "OK you can step off now". Beth went first with me filming and she survived the first section. I followed closely behind. We both agreed on a couple of things. Stepping off a perfectly good platform 150 feet in the air isn't natural. We also agreed that even though we've done several zip lines before (Jamaica and China), we may be getting a little old...............nah, we'd do it again in a heartbeat!
Nixon has taken survival skills classes. He told us this vine would be full of drinkable water......it was!
Beth zipping along! That first step is a doozy!
Our afternoon activity was a little less adventurous but equally fun. We visited Nixon's village, El Chino. It's a small village of around 250 people along the river. We walked around and Nixon showed us several plants that are used in herbal medicines as well as some very small marmosets that live in a tree near the village. We briefly met his mother and some other family members including his niece. It was fun sitting and enjoying a coke outside the local store watching adults and children enjoying games of volleyball, soccer and just chatting it up. A typical Saturday afternoon in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru!
El Chino Primary School
House around the "village square" which had a volleyball court, soccer field, meeting area, playground and more.
Pygmy Marmoset there is a colony of them living in the trees behind the village
These guys had a very intense but fun game of volleyball going. They were actually very good players who would occasionally use their heads or feet. Every point ended with laughter
