since we arrived late in the afternoon the first day, after unpacking we took a night time nature walk where we saw insects, lightning bugs, spiders, frogs, etc.
the next day we went on an hour hike in the rain, then hit up a little village where the locals took us out on canoes and demonstrated how to climb palm trees. the picture with the multiple colored water represents different ph levels in the same river - kinda crazy!
that evening, we took the boat out to find alligators. we didnt exactly see alligators, but we did find a sloth, monkeys and birds. to see alligators you have to be in the river at night. our boat did not exactly have lights and the river has quite a few branches that would take out our motor. our guide used his flashlight to guide our driver back to our huts. we all secretly planned our survival plans if we were to crash.
on the second full day in the amazon, we went to a small village (by village i mean a few families with tons of kids). the quick rise in the water had washed away part of the buildings in less than a half an hour. i was thoroughly amazed by all of the people we met. these people have no income and live off the land and could not be happier. they literally have nothing but believe the land will take care of them. we visited this village in order to see the large lily pads that exist in the amazon.
when we arrived in the village one of the little girls (white shirt and red skirt with pigtails) said "tengo miedo de los gringos" translated to i have fear of gringos. she didnt realize we understood what she was saying. all of the children won over our hearts and ended up following us around. one of the guys in our group gave them little toys and they were thrilled! after they overcame their initial shyness they quickly let us know how much they loved photos and especially seeing them right after we took each one. you would never guess that they grew up without electricity, let alone cameras, by the way they reacted to seeing their own photos. we let them take some pictures with our cameras and they were in heaven! as we were leaving the little girl who was afraid of gringos gave me a hug goodbye. precious.
after the village we went to the valley of the sloths to find some more sloths. since we had seen one so up close the day before (and they dont move much) and it was deathly hot, we opted to do something off the typical tour. we went searching for dolphins. yes, there are fresh water dolphins in the amazon. even more incredible is that there are grey (bottlenose-esque) and PINK (yes, pink) dolphins. the pink dolphins are more bumpy on the top and do not have the same nose as the grey dolphins. additionally, they do not typically jump out of the water, but instead, skim the top of the water. since they are hard to spot and not out of the water long, i dont really have any great pictures. after we spotted them, we decided to go swimming in the amazon. shortly after being in the water, about 7 different pink dolphins (separate packs of 2-3) decided to swim within 30 feet of us. SIMPLY amazing.
after lunch back at the lodge we headed to one of the larger villages up the river. all of the women create handicrafts to earn some supplemental income. the head lady told us that she was very excited to have us and how great it was for the children to meet people from other places. she told us that 15 years ago none of them had ever met a white person and she was glad the kids would be exposed to other cultures. after we shopped at their makeshift stores, our guide painted us with local berries that act as a natural paint. then, we took on the kids in some sports games. the guys played soccer with the older boys and i played a small game with some of the girls. it was clear they wanted to be active but the boys were not going to let them play soccer.
after the village, we went fishing for piranhas. i am proud to say that i caught one! we used bamboo sticks and fishing wire with beef on the end. despite their reputation, they actually enjoy eating fruits and plants more than meat. 
for dinner we ate fried piranhas, as well as other more delicious food. the locals then put on a traditional dance/music party for us as it was our last night in the amazon.
our last day we went up the maranon to where they maranon and ucayali rivers form the amazon river. we spent most of our time on the maranon, which is one of the main tributaries/feeders to the amazon. the water of the amazon is considered sacred by the locals. we found a snake in the river and our guide literally pulled it out of the water and we all got to hold it. they name the snake rachel since it colors matched my outfit.after the boat ride, we started our long trek back to lima via boat, bus and delayed plane.
sidenote: i have included some pictures of the kids we met along the way. the last two are in the main town right before you get on the boat into the amazon. i spoke with our guide about the families in the amazon that we visited and what we could do for them. he said that they really need school supplies and clothing (happily accept second hand clothing), but not toys. if you have any old clothes you want to get rid or or donate, please let me know. i will be sending a package to him and he will distribute it to the families.
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