How to be a Rain Forest Explorer

Want to travel to the Peruvian Amazon rain forest? Here are some tips and tricks to consider before you head out on your trip.

1.  Don’t touch anything. That is, don’t touch anything without looking first. Animals lurk where you least expect them. So, shake your shoes before you put them on.  Check the floor before you put your feet down in the morning, and pull back the bed covers before you climb in. Keep your suitcases shut, and don’t grab trees and plants in the forest. Never, ever walk barefoot.

2.  Knee-high rubber boots are your friends and also your enemies. While hiking in the rain forest, knee-high rubber boots keep your legs and ankles safe from mud, animals, and plants. However, if you wear them in the boat and your boat tips over, those suckers will fill up with water and drag you to the bottom of the river.

3.  Forget all those sacred cows in your life. Electricity, running water, air conditioning, hot water, washing machines, Internet access, long showers, cell phone coverage…these things do not exist in the rain forest. Amazingly, your life will go on without them.

4.  It doesn’t always rain in the rain forest. The rain forest has a dry season and a wet season. In the dry season, it doesn’t rain much. Despite this, you’d better be ready for rain because it could rain at any moment.

Waiting along the river in the Peruvian rain forest

5.  Rain forest animals do not come out to play. Finding animals in the rain forest is difficult. You have to know what to look for and how to listen carefully. Also, you have to be quiet or you definitely won’t see anything. If you plan to take pictures, then bring a zoom lens and a memory card with lots of space. Animals don’t pose for pictures or say, “Cheese.” They are hard to photograph.

6.  There’s no sleeping in during a visit to the rain forest. Early morning is the best time to see animals. So, plan on a hike before breakfast and before the sun rises. Don’t worry, you’ll go to bed early because there won’t be much to do in the evenings. No electricity, remember?

7.  Be ready for close encounters. You’ll have some freaky animal encounters. For example, bats flew past my legs so fast that I felt wind on my calves. I had a large cockroach on my shirt. There was a frog in my bathroom, and a vicious bullet ant crawling up my arm (their bite hurts for days). Bats woke me up while they fed during the night. A guy in my group found an extremely large spider in his bed. Toughen up before you leave home. You won’t regret it.

8.  You will sweat. The humidity is high and there’s no breeze. Air conditioning doesn’t exist, and you’ll need to wear long pants over your legs. You might even need to wear long sleeves. Oh, and on some hikes you’ll need to wear those knee-high rubber boots. You can bring all the moisture-wicking clothes you want, but you will not be cool or comfortable. You will be hot, sticky, sweaty, and stinky. Don’t worry, though. Everyone else will be, too.

9.  Picky eaters had better bring snacks. Granola bars work particularly well. Rain forest food will be native food, including lots of locally grown fruits. If you want a cold drink, then you’d best search for a lodge that caters to tourists. The more rustic accommodations will not serve anything cold. Caffeine addiction? Bring your own or hope for coffee.

10. There’s no time for beauty. Leave your make up, hair dryer, curling iron, and other beautification items at home. For one thing, there’s no electricity to power all those appliances. Make up is pointless because of the heat and humidity. Make sure you can put your hair in a ponytail and then throw a hat on your head. Everyone else will look equally plain, so you’ll fit right in with the crowd.

11.  You will not blend in with the locals. No matter how hard you try, everyone you meet will know you’re a foreigner. Your Spanish won’t be authentic enough, and your clothes will be too American. If you’re taller than about 5 feet, 5 inches, your height will give you away. Blonds and redheads don’t have a chance of passing as native Peruvians. People will stare at you, and you will not be able to avoid it.

12.  Get ready for awesome. If you can handle all these tips, then you’re ready for an awesome, mind-blowing experience as you journey into the wild. You’ll learn, see, feel, and think. It will change you beyond your wildest expectations, and it will leave you thirsting for more. So pack your bags, buy your plane ticket, and get ready for the journey of a lifetime to the Amazon rain forest. You will not come home the same.

Bats....Why Did It Have to be Bats?

 

Of all the things in this world that I am afraid of, bats are close to the top of my list. So, I should have known that I would have some bat encounters on my trip deep into the Peruvian Amazon rain forest. I didn’t want to have to face my fear, but once I got to the rain forest, I realized there would be no escape. There were bats, lots of them.

One of the many bats in the rain forest.

The first place our group stayed, CECCOT, was rustic. It didn’t have running water, electricity, or flushing toilets. The cabins were all open air. This would not have bothered me too much except for the bats. They roosted in every cabin, including mine. When I realized this, I knew that these three days were going to be long ones.


The first time I walked into the cabin and saw bats flying, I turned right around and ran out as fast as I could. It was daytime! Bats are nocturnal. I could not believe they were active during the day. I guess we must have disturbed the sleeping bats, and so they decided that flying around in the cabin would be a good thing. Thank goodness for my cabin-mates, Julie and Sue. I called them my "bat buddies." They helped shield me from bats as best they could. I don't think I would have survived without them.


The bats didn't just fly around at the ceiling. Oh, no. They liked to fly back and forth under our beds, too. I would often stand by my bed only to feel the wind on my legs that was created by their wings as they flew back and forth. That was nearly enough to send me into a panic attack. When we brushed our teeth each morning, we all stood by the side of the cabin wall, brushed, and then spit the toothpaste over the wall onto the ground. I got “buzzed” by a bat every time I brushed my teeth. By the second day, I learned to keep my eyes closed while brushing so I wouldn’t see the bats flying around my head.

If I had to go back to the cabin by myself, I felt some trepidation because of the bats. I would stand at the door and open it slowly to peek in and see if any bats were on the move. If they weren't flying, then I could enter the cabin with confidence. If they were flying, then I had to make a decision. How badly did I need to go into that cabin? Sometimes I ran in, grabbed my things, and scooted right back out the door. There were a few times that I didn't go in at all. I decided that whatever I needed wasn’t important. There was more than one occasion when I didn't think the bats were around, and I went into the cabin. They started to fly, and I ran right back out the door. I’m sure my jumping around and shouting outside the cabin was a funny sight to anyone who might have been watching.


The best time to be in the cabin was right after night had fallen because the bats weren't in the cabin at that time. We liked to say, "They were out for dinner." During that time, I would take a shower (in traditional camp shower-type fashion) or do anything that needed done in the cabin because I knew it was a "bat free" time. That's not to say I never ran into them after dark. I could hear them flying around during the night as they ate insects. I am thankful that we slept under mosquito nets. The safety of the net, plus the fact that I wore earplugs while I slept, helped me get a good night's sleep.


The last two places we stayed on this trip, Refugio Amazonas and the Tambopata Research Center, did not have as many bats. They had netting in the ceilings that kept the bats from roosting up there, so I only came in contact with bats when they flew around at night. After CECCOT, I felt that I could handle the nighttime flying and feeding. There was one night, however, that I woke up at 3:00 a.m. to loud screeching. It was the bats. I even heard them while wearing my earplugs. Talk about the stuff of nightmares (at least for me). I knew I couldn’t do anything about them, though, so I put the pillow over my head and went back to sleep. That's when I knew, that while I still wasn't fond of bats, I had come a long way in just a few short days. I was way out of my comfort zone, but I was surviving.

Rules of the Rainforest

             After I arrived in Puerto Maldonado, Peru, and met up with the rest of my group for our week-long sojourn into the Amazon rain forest, our leaders gave us a few rules to follow. These rules were imperative for keeping us safe, happy, and healthy while experiencing nature at its most volatile. The rules were:

            #1: Always look before you put your hands on anything. This included rocks, trees, and vines out in the forest, as well as any piece of furniture or item in our cabins. Touching the wrong type of insect or plant could be very painful, and in a few cases, fatal. We were specifically warned to be on the lookout for bullet ants. The bullet ant’s sting is said to be as painful as being shot, and the intense throbbing and pain lasts for at least twenty-four hours. These words rang in my mind later that week when I had a bullet ant crawling up my arm. I didn’t hesitate to brush it to the ground and stomp on it.

            #2: Before putting on your shoes, shake them out to make sure nothing has crawled inside. I definitely didn’t want to put my foot on something that would bite or sting. And, bigger animals than bugs can find their way inside a shoe. I made sure to shake my shoes out every single time, no exceptions.

            #3: Always sleep under a mosquito net. This was one rule that was taken very seriously in the rain forest. The mosquitoes were most active at night and could carry a variety of diseases, so mosquito nets were essential. We were also told to check the nets every night to make sure they didn’t have any holes. When one of my nets did have a hole in it, it was replaced immediately. I also appreciated the mosquito nets because they kept away more than just mosquitoes. Bats, spiders, and all manner of critters moved around at night. I felt much safer inside the confines of my net.

            #4: Don’t leave your toothbrush out or uncovered. At first I thought this was unusual, but then I learned why it was so important. Cockroaches love toothpaste. Leaving toothpaste and a toothbrush out in the open was a great way to attract them. Later in the trip when I had a two-inch cockroach on my shirt, I was really glad it wasn’t my toothbrush.

This is a large ficus tree. Yes, I did look before I touched it.

            #5: Before you get out of bed in the morning, check the floor to make sure it’s safe to put your feet down. This rule is similar to rules one and two. Putting feet down on a creature that could bite, sting, or pinch would be an unfortunate and painful mistake. So, the floor had to be checked every morning. I expanded this rule into an entire morning routine. Before I got up, I would shine my flashlight all around inside my mosquito net. I always slept with my flashlight inside the net because it was my only light source at night since we didn’t have any electricity. Anyway, then I would sit up and shine the light all around on the floor. I had flip flops right next to my bed, so once I was sure the coast was clear, I would come out of my mosquito net and put on my flip flops. I never once walked barefoot during the trip. I always had shoes on.

            #6: Keep luggage zipped and closed at all times. This rule was important unless you didn’t mind sharing suitcase space with a snake, spider, or bat. I have to admit, I struggled the most with this rule because living out of a suitcase was hard enough without having to keep it closed all the time. I guess I was lucky that a small creature didn’t find my luggage too attractive.

            #7: Keep your field pack fully stocked for every hike. This meant that we had to carry drinking water, our rain gear, and our journals. I also included my camera equipment, granola bars, and bug spray. I faithfully carried my rain gear on every hike, but we only needed it two times. My journal was completely waterproof, and that included the paper, too. The whole thing could get wet over and over again without ruining the pages or the writing. It was an amazing little notebook, but unfortunately, I never got to put it to the test because we hardly had any rain.

            When I look back on these rules now, they seem very obvious, and they make sense. At the time, however, they were just another part of my learning curve for surviving in the rain forest. At home I never had to worry about a cockroach on my toothbrush, but clearly, I wasn’t at home any longer.

Bats...Why Did It Have to be Bats?

Of all the things in this world that I am afraid of, bats are pretty close to the top of the list. So, I should have known that I would have some bat encounters on this trip. I think in the back of my mind, I knew that I would have to deal with this bat fear of mine. I guess I was hoping that wouldn't be the case. Wrong!


The first place we stayed, CECCOT, was fairly rustic. There was no running water, no electricity, no flushing toilets, and the cabins were all open air. This would not have bothered me too much except for the bats. There were bats roosting in just about every cabin. They were definitely roosting in mine, and when I realized this, I knew it was going to be a long three days.

When I first went into the cabin and saw bats flying around, I turned right around and ran back out. It was daytime! Why were there bats flying around during the day? Bats are nocturnal. I guess we must have disturbed these sleeping bats, and now they decided that flying around in the cabin would be a good thing. They seemed to really like hanging out in the bathroom part of the cabin, so I took the bed farthest from the bathroom. Thank goodness for my cabin-mates, Julie and Sue. I called them my "bat buddies." They helped shield me from bats as best they could. Bless them. I don't know if I would have survived without them.

So, anyway, I was particularly annoyed by these bats because they didn't just fly around at the ceiling. Oh, no. They liked to fly back and forth under our beds, too. There were several times that I was standing by my bed, and I could feel the wind on my legs that was created by their wings as they flew back and forth. That was nearly enough to send me into a panic attack. Wind on my legs from bat wings ...are you kidding me??

If I had to go back to the cabin by myself, I usually felt some trepidation about that because of the bats. So, I would stand at the door and slowly open it to peek in and see if any bats were on the move. If they weren't flying, then I felt okay to go in. If they were flying, then it was a toss up. Sometimes I just ran in, grabbed my things, and ran out. There were a few times that I just didn't go in at all. I decided that whatever it was that I needed, I wasn't that desperate for it after all. I will admit that there was more than one occasion when I didn't think the bats were around, I went into the cabin, they started to fly, and I went running right back out the door. I don't think anyone ever saw me do that, but if they had, I'm sure they would have gotten a pretty good laugh over it.

Speaking of laughing, I really didn't admit this fear to the entire group until the end of the trip. My bat buddies knew, of course, and there were several other people to whom I confessed my fear, but overall I tried not to broadcast it. I didn't want people to laugh at me or think I was a wimp. It's amazing how peer pressure works, even for adults. By the end of the trip, we had to share with the group what one of our challenges had been, and mine was the bats. I'm sure some of people thought it was ridiculous, but for me it was a big deal. It's still a big deal to me, but it was a fear I had to deal with. I couldn't ignore it on this trip.

The best time to be in the cabin was right after night had fallen because the bats weren't in the cabin at that time. We liked to say, "They were out for dinner." It was great, though. That was when I would take a shower or do anything I needed to do in the cabin because I knew it was a "bat free" time. That's not to say I never ran into them after dark. I could hear them flying around during the night as they were eating insects. I am very thankful that we slept under mosquito nets. The safety of the net, plus the fact that I slept with earplugs in, helped me get a good night's sleep. The earplugs served really two purposes: one, I couldn't hear the bats as well, and two, I couldn't hear other people who snored. Since every cabin was open-air, there was virtually no privacy in terms of sound. I could hear snoring from other cabins, so the earplugs were a lifesaver in more ways than one.

The last two places we stayed, Refugio Amazonas and the Tambopata Research Center, were not quite as bad in terms of bats. They had a type of netting in the ceilings that kept the bats from roosting up there, so the only time I came in contact with bats was if they were flying around at night. After CECCOT, I felt that I could handle the nighttime flying and feeding. There was one night, though, that I woke up at about 3:00 a.m. to loud screeching...it was the bats. I even heard them with my earplugs in. Talk about the stuff of nightmares (at least for me). What could I do, though? Nothing. I put the pillow over my head and went back to sleep. That's when I knew that, while I still wasn't fond of bats, I had come a long way in just a few short days. I was way out of my comfort zone, but I was surviving.

(Thanks to my friend Dave for sharing the picture of the bats roosting on the ceiling!)

Hiking the Trails in the Rainforest

We did a lot of hiking in the rainforest. We were in search of animals. What I very quickly learned is that although there are lots of animals out in there in the rainforest, they don't just come right on out to say hello. For the most part, they are pretty hard to find. I think in my mind, I expected something like I've seen on TV. I've watched those shows on the Discovery Channel or on National Geographic, and all the animals are right there in living color, up close and personal. Well, in reality, they're pretty well hidden, and you've got to be quiet and observant if you want to see anything.


Thank goodness for the guides that we had during the trip from Rainforest Expeditions. Vico, Rodolfo, and Ruben were awesome. They found animals that I never would have seen on my own. They knew just where to look and what to listen for. They could identify lots of animals by sound, and they would also see animals that took me a few minutes to pick out even after the guides were pointing them right out to me.


As we walked through the forest, we had to keep our eyes open and our mouths closed. In all the areas where we were, paths had been cut. This didn't mean that there weren't things to step over or around, it just meant that we had a clear trail to follow. One of the things they taught us was to always look before we put our hands anywhere. When hiking, people tend to reach out with their hands and touch trees or rocks. Well, in the rainforest that could be a big mistake. There are lots of animals that bite and sting (like bullet ants), so we learned quickly to look before we touched.


We were always hiking with a guide. They really didn't want us to wander off alone. I was okay with that. Even with the trails, it would have been easy to get lost. As we walked, the guides would stop periodically to point out interesting plants and animals. Sometimes we didn't see the animals, but we would see tracks, nests, or holes that they had left behind. I used my little waterproof journal to make notes as we hiked.

When we were hiking in the rainforest, we all usually wore long pants. This was to keep off the bugs mostly. I didn't like plants brushing against my legs, so long pants were good for that, too. Most of us had those convertible pants that zipped off into shorts. I think they look ridiculous, but they were the best pants for this trip. Sometimes we wore knee-high rubber boots. I hated those things. They were not comfortable for long hikes, like the four hour hike we took one day, and they were really hot. I only wore them if I had to. I much preferred my hiking shoes, so if I thought I could get away with wearing just those, I did. On some hikes we really had to wear those rubber boots, though. They were good for walking through mud and tall grasses. For shirts, sometimes I wore a long-sleeved shirt and sometimes I just wore a regular t-shirt. Again, the long sleeves were hot, so during the day I tried to go with short sleeves. I had a few shirts where the sleeves rolled up, so those weren't too bad. I always had on bug spray, too. I usually wore my hat (unless I just got too hot). I felt braver with it on, and I didn't have to worry about bugs falling into my hair.

We hiked a lot on this trip, but I didn't mind it too much. It was the only way to experience the rainforest...we had to get out in it.

Sleeping in the Rainforest

So, you may be asking yourself, "Where does one sleep when one goes to the rainforest?" Well, I'm sure the answer to that question can vary, but for me, the answer was, in a bed! For my trip, we stayed in either cabins or in tourist lodges. In all of these places, we had regular beds. However, these places were all open-air, which meant there were no screens on the windows. Bugs, bats, and critters could come in and out, and they often did. Because of that, we always had mosquito nets over our beds. I had never slept under a mosquito net until this trip.


Here's how a mosquito net works. The net itself it suspended from the ceiling. The ones I slept under all had a wooden frame at the top and the net was attached to the frame at the four corners. To use it, I simply let the net down from the frame to cover the bed. When I got into bed at night, I'd have the check inside the net to make sure there weren't any bugs or other creatures hanging out in there. If there were, I'd just shoo them out. Or, if there was a really big spider on the bed (like one person in the group had), I'd use something to scoop it up and toss it out. Once the net was bug free and I was inside, I'd tuck it under the edge of the mattress. This was not always as easy as it might seem, and I was more than a little paranoid at times thinking that I wouldn't get it tucked in very well, and I'd wake up with a big nasty insect on me. Thankfully, that never happened. Anyway, if the net did its job, then I wouldn't get eaten alive by mosquitoes as I slept. I also enjoyed an added benefit of the net...it kept the bats away from me. I will elaborate more on bats in a future post because I have a lot to say about them.

I always slept with my flashlight inside the net with me. This was really important because the places we stayed didn't have electricity in the rooms. If I wanted to see anything during the night, I had to have the flashlight. We had to get up many times before dawn to get ready for the day, so I also needed it in the mornings. When I woke up in the mornings, the first thing I always did was turn on my flashlight and shine it all around inside my net. Then, I would shine it outside the net onto the floor. This was vital. We were told on the first day to never step out of bed without checking the floor first. You never knew what was going to be down there waiting for you.

So, my nightly routine was to get ready for bed, check the mosquito net, and get into bed. Before I tucked in the net, I always put my flashlight and alarm clock in there with me right next to my pillow. After I was sure I had everything I needed, then I would tuck in the net. It was very hot, and the worst thing about the mosquito net was that it allowed very little air circulation. Not that any air was circualting anyway...we had no fans (no electricity), and there typically wasn't a breeze. So, I would just lie there and sweat away in my little safety mosquito net in the middle of the rainforest and try to sleep. Ah, the joys of high adventure in the Amazon rainforest! It was all part of the experience.