Jungle walk and community visit up river

The Arajuno Foundation and Lodge does a lot of work in the community. When the lodge was first set up, there was a lot of dynamite fishing in the river. The explosion stunned the fish which floated to the surface to be gathered up. It also killed a lot of the caimans. anacondas and turtles to name just three species affected. Now fish farms have been set up and dynamite fishing has reduced substantially but not completely eliminated.Feeding fish in one of the ponds.

The yellow spotted turtle share the ponds with the fish. The fish feed first and once they have eaten enough, the turtles take over.The reintroduction of the turtles took a step back when first tried. The sex of the eggs is determined by temperature and the eggs have to be above 30C. The first batches averaged 27C and so 95% of the first clutch of eggs turned out to be male.

A large lemon.

On a jungle walk around the lodge we saw some wildlife and heard a lot more. Here is a small biting frog but its underneath is colourful but completely different from the top markings.

A giant snail on the jungle floor.

There were some vines so some of the group just had to do their Tarzan impersonasations.

The rivers used to be narrow and deep with the jungle canopy  growing on both sides of the river banks touching above the water. Now the rivers are wide and shallower with the centre of the river in full sunlight. Bamboo planting has helped to slow erosion and keep the river arrow and deep in places. They use some of the faster growing babies which can reach considerable heights.

There is plenty of leaves and twigs to chose from in the jungle to make up see fancy dress outfits.

In the afternoon we went up river for a community visit which included dancing and a traditional meal.

Fish caught in the river and served on palm leaves

Mushrooms.

Cooked toads.

There were also bugs on sticks, frog legs, and whole fish

The fruit and veg options were a little easier to select and eat without wincing.

Me eating bugs on a stick...once you had got over the idea of eating bugs, they were crunchy and not unpleasant.

The village also grew cacao and made their own chocolate for sale in local tourist outlets.

We all had a go at using a blow tube, using a dart to fire at a painted toucan, which several of us hit as it wasn't as difficult as you might imagine.