Don’t Forget to Look After Yourself

For me there are three kinds of travel. There is business travel, which I never had to do, travel for pleasure and adventure travel. Adventure travel can be the most strenuous. When you start to consider you first have to go to the airport three hours prior to departure, a 10 plus hour overnight flight is not uncommon, an hour to get your luggage, clear customs and immigration and then another hour to your hotel. The chances are you will have to meet in the lobby an hour after arrival to go on an excursion. Maybe you’ll get to bed by 22:00 and in our case it was up again at 05:30 to meet in the lobby once again at 06:30 and another long day. You’re dealing with time zone changes, sleep pattern disruptions, changes in diet and with this trip the crew on the Amazon River expedition had us up at 05:30 for four days running. We’re exhausted and with the added stress and hot and humid weather (today it was +33C with a humidity factor of +39C) you need to regroup and recharge. Our South American agent Adam had booked us into a four night jungle lodge location which was a three hour transfer from Manaus and supposed to be another jungle experience. To be honest with you I was not looking forward to the trip. However what a find! We were so pleasantly pleased with our accommodation in a jungle bungalow and the retreat’s amenities were beyond reproach. The property can accommodate up to 60 but there are only about 20 guests now registered. Even though many excursions were included, such as a night time jungle walk, jungle hikes during the day, searching for pink dolphins (been there done that) we just said no. We wanted just to enjoy the property and hang out on the floating dock and swim in the infinity pool overlooking the Amazon. For the first time I indulged in a massage and I can safely say it won’t be the last. The one excursion we did decide to do was a full day river cruise with four other guests, complete with a BBQ fish lunch which was delicious, a speed boat ride, (watch the video)

a trip to a ranger station where the resident caiman alligator was encouraging visitors to stop by for a bite. And to top it all off, a leisurely swing on the upper deck hammocks. In just one hour, our guide provided us with more insight than the combined time we have been in Amazonia. It was one of those occasions we will remember for years to come. If you would like more of an insight, you can visit Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge at https://en.anavilhanaslodge.com/ I have to say the heat and humidity is really getting to me. Seeking refuge in our air conditioned bungalow is not what I came here to do but as a matter of survival it is something we have to do. Our guide said that in the summer it is not uncommon to get to +40C and on one occasion last year it hit +50C. I don’t know how they survive. Many indigenous people including our guides return regularly to their families who still live in their jungle villages. I know I could never survive here but I guess if you grow up under these harsh conditions and don’t know any differently you will adapt. Viagens Seguras! BTW I changed the setting on the blog so if you want to make comments, you should be able to now.