Our over the water bungalow...and surprises...

So I somehow convinced Lisa that we wanted a bit more of a cultural experience (just being in the Amazon wasn`t enough!), and our guide said he could arrange an overnight stay with a local indigenous family. He told us that the family lived in a small community of only a few houses on a beautiful lake, and that the accommodations were pretty good. They even had an over-the-water bungalow that we could stay in. Done.

Pedro (our guide) whisked us away mid-afternoon, and the adventure was on. After a 45 minute boat ride up the Amazon we were dropped off at a small dock with noone around. Of course, Pedro isn’t much of an over-communicator, so we were left to wonder what the heck was going to happen next. He explained to us that this indigenous community identifies themselves by “clan”. Check out the side of the house…they are the “ant” (“hormigas” in espanol) clan…hilarious.

"Over-the-water bungalow"...just like Tahiti!!

So we make it over from dock to the local house and Pedro doesn`t say a word about what is going to happen next. This family`s house is more than basic. They are very poor, with literally the bare necessities in the house, ie: “kitchen” – indoor area to cook, made of a barbecue (with no ventilation) and the kitchen/multi-purpose table. This room also doubled as the only other room in the house other than the bedroom (where both parents and all three kids sleep). Oh, and there is NO BATHROOM. So Lisa and I are wondering…where the heck are we going to sleep?? In the kitchen/main room, because there are no beds…? While we are waiting for something to happen we just played with the kids, they wanted us to go swimming in the Amazon with them, but we thought better of it (piranhas!?!)

 

All of a sudden Pedro shows up again and asks us if we want to sleep in here or another house that actually has a bathroom. Of course, we chose the one with a bathroom. We get rowed over to this second house (our "over-the-water bungalow"), which is completely soaked everywhere. I gathered that while they weren’t communicating anything to us (and we were playing with the kids) they cleaned out this spare “bungalow” because it had been flooded by the river water. Perfect, we have our own little room, life is good, right?

Our deluxe accomodations...notice the mosquito net...

Great view from the side of the river

Sunset from our cabana...pretty beautiful

By now it`s dinner time. Pedro had told us before we left that they do a ton of fishing here, so we`re excited for a great fish dinner. He then mentions that the family just got back today from visiting another community, and there is no food for dinner! Obviously it`s not like you can just go to the store here…we are in a community of a few houses, on stilts, in the middle of the Amazon, with no running water or electricity. The nearest big town is a 45 minute boat ride away. What the heck?? Luckily, they scrounge up some eggs and we have eggs, plantains, and rice for dinner. So, we`re wondering what`s going to happen for breakfast now…

One of the other reasons we went on this adventure is to go on a night adventure to spot Caymans (like crocodiles). After we eat we go back over to our bungalow to pack a few things for the night adventure. Lisa walks into the room and there is a GIANT BLACK TARANTULA sitting on the wall above our pillows on the bed. This thing is HUGE. She asks me if it is a joke, as if someone planted it there to scare her. This thing is huge, black, and very furry. I kind of thought it looked like a teddy bear. Anyway, remember, Lisa is deathly afraid of spiders (anyone remember Costa Rica??). Luckily, the owner hurries in and kills the thing. But this is NOT a good way to start off the night for us.

So, now that the adrenaline is pumping we get in another canoe (this one at least has a motor) and go on our night adventure. We motor for about 30 minutes, then they cut the motor. Picture this: we are on a canoe in the middle of the Amazon at night, with not one other person around, and a full moon. It was cool and creepy at the same time. 

All of a sudden our guide starts "calling" the caymans. Yeah, it was hilarious. They actually answered him too. After about three hours of cruising around looking for these things we finally catch one (I got to hold it, it was awesome!). 

Cayman numero uno

After we catch the first Cayman the local guys tells us that his kids love to eat Cayman, and do we want to keep it? Of course, what are we going to say? This family is poor and there is no food in the house.

Cayman breakfast numero uno!

To be honest, it was pretty tasty though...even if it was for breakfast.


So we tucked in for the night underneath the mosquito net (thankfully we had this, there were all sorts of creepy crawlies that night!). We wake up first thing in the morning and are greeted to this on the wall:

This should keep the tarantulas away!

At least it was a beautiful day the next day. I think we were both pretty happy to be leaving this "local" indigenous experience. I guess there are just some things that sound better than they actually are. There is no question that we did learn a bit...we got to experience the local family`s everyday life, and the other saving grace was that the money we paid for the experience went directly to the family, and hopefully that will make a small difference for them.

View from the window of our over-the-water bungalow

  

The ride back to "civilization"...away from the crazy bungalow!