Tuesday, 28 May, 2013; 11:52 AM; sitting area, Refugio Amazonia
Today, we went to a clay lick, where macaws go to lick clay and get nutrients, or maybe lick clay and wash out toxins from eating pre-ripe fruits. On the way there, I couldn't help but think, "I'm following a Peruvian with a machete through a dense forest on a narrow, rocky path covered in roots and mud. Am I in the jungle yet?" When we got there, we saw two macaws at the beginning, through the camera lens of a guy from a different group, who could easily have the lens double as his telescope or binoculars and use it to take photos for Extreme Birdwatching.
On the way back, we had barely stepped on the trail when we heard the sound of a distant Alpha-Male Red Howler Monkey. Apparently, the Alpha Males have the biggest throat things (couldn't find a photo of that) and the biggest lung capacities. They yell to to claim their territory - and it can be heard for a bout a mile around. The territory is about two square miles. Red howler monkeys have shouting matches over territory, apparently - whoever yells the loudest (accompanied by their numerous mates and kids) gets the territory. The males also sort of act like ancient warlords - multiple mates (fifteen is the largest known), and if one kid is strong enough to take over, they kill all their siblings and take the territory and all their father's mates (I assume that includes their mom, too. INCEST!). For some reason, that reminds me of Game of Thrones, but I'm not good enough in the Game of Thrones universe to say for sure.
As we went on, we also heard some wild boars. Let me tell you - these wild boars do not seem as friendly as Pumbaa. For starters, when Yuri stopped us to point out the fact that there were boars about, my first thought was, "what moron decided to take a shit without a cathole?" My second thought was, "do they even make people do catholes here? How do you do those in the jungle, anyway?" (for those who don't go backpacking, catholes are holes a few inches deep that people poo in, so the animals don't get at it). That what it smelled like, though - like someone had taken a dump, peed on it, and let the growing heat make it gross for a few hours. (for those who don't know, peeing on poop is what make the latter smell so bad - leave it alone, and it'll decompose naturally). Anyway, the boars grunted a bit and chomped their tusks a bit - apparently, to try and get to the inside of nuts, like a bird might. It sounded duly intimidating. Apparently, they're not the sort of creatures who will think, "I WILL KILL AND EAT ALL OF YOU!" Obviously, you shouldn't piss off a nesting mother or threaten a group of them (they've been known, as a group, to take on jaguars), but if you keep your distance and don't make any moves if one crosses your path, you should be fine. If you do wind up getting chased by a hoard of angry boars, climb a tree and bang your machete against the wood (apparently it scares them off).
After crossing paths with a wild boar (I only saw its snout because I was turning off my flash when it was crossing), we didn't really encounter much else, except a different group who had people from Yorkshire at the back.
When we arrived at the river to cross back over, I saw a guy light up a cigarette on the beach. WHO SMOKES IN THE FREAKING AMAZON? First off, where are you going to put the butt? Second off, WHY ARE YOU DEPRIVING YOURSELF OF THE NECESSARY LUNG AND RESPIRATORY CAPACITY? YOU HAVE TO GO HIKE UP STEEP HILLS AND STUFF!
Tangent over. Going to get a coffee or something.
Author's note: I don't know if I wrote about a guy we met in Cusco who was also smoking, but it still doesn't make sense to me. If the altitude prevents you from starting your lighter, you need to rethink your habits (or your vacation).
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