4
Location: Amazon
Waking up early is quickly becoming a common theme of Amazonian days, but early morning misery is quickly replaced with the excitement of spending the day in the world’s coolest jungle. I mean who needs coffee when you’re burying snails alive, right? As morbid as it sounds, we spent the first 5 hours of the day collecting over 4,000 invasive African snails and well, burying them alive. This species of snail has no natural predators here in the Amazon and spends its days destroying fruit trees and being a general menace. After a morning of sweaty snail hunting, lunch, and a well-deserved nap, we ventured back into the jungle for a series of activities. We began by climbing to the top of a canopy tree house (over 100 feet high!) to see the Amazon from above and even catch a glimpse of some of the most sought-after bird species in the jungle (toucans and umbrella birds). We then headed further into the swamp for our hike that involved a lot of slipping into the muddy soil but laughs as well. On this little excursion, my boot became very familiar with the back end of a boa constrictor. Thankfully the snake was more annoyed than angry, and we all had an interesting encounter with the well-known creature. We finally reached the lodge after a long day in the jungle muddy, but satisfied.