While cruising through the Amazon’s labyrinth of rivers and streams is the best way to get around, if you really want to experience what the rainforest is, you have to don knee-high black rubber boots, slather yourself with military strength insect repellant and walk. It helps if you enjoy saunas! Within minutes of setting foot on terra firma, you are guaranteed to be drenched from the 90% humidity. But oh, what an experience!

Hiking distance in the Amazon is not measured in miles but rather in hours. You can hike for three hours and only cover 1-2 miles. Guided by our intrepid naturalists, we gingerly pick our way along a narrow path, squelching through the ankle-deep mud, trying to avoid the roots waiting to trip up or slip up the distracted hiker.  We walk slowly, stopping every few feet so our guide can explain what we are seeing. With the highest density of biodiversity in the world, you can spend an hour rooted in one spot discovering the mysteries of the rainforest.

As outsiders, our eyes do not immediately see the treasures hidden in the dark and gloom of the forest floor where only 1% of the sunlight filters through the dense canopy of green. It smells dank and musty with occasional whiffs of fragrance from some jungle fruit or flower. Lianas hang from every tree, some twisted into corkscrew shapes; bulbous termite nests wrap around trees. Water drips from everywhere, including the wildly colorful lobster claw flower of heliconia.

Except for our hushed voices, there are no human sound — no cars, airplanes people — just the overwhelming sounds of nature. Macaws and parrots screech in the trees; yellow-rumped caciques sing their multi-tuned songs; monkeys chatter and rustle branches as they scamper up and down; there is the low hum of insects and the tap of water dripping off leaves and branches.

With up to 100 species of trees in a single hectare of land, it is impossible to remember their names. One of the most important plant species in the rainforest is the strangler fig. It is a tall canopy tree which starts life as a seed in the crook of a branch of another tree. As it grows, it sends out thin roots that, over time, wrap themselves around the host tree, squeezing out nutrients. By the time the strangler fig has reached the top of the canopy, 150 feet above the ground, the host tree will be dead. Meanwhile, the strangler fig will provide sustenance and shelter to countless birds, mammals, and insects.

Other trees include the cecropia, popular with the sloths that while away their time hanging from the branches, even upside down, periodically reaching up for a snack. Our guide explains that many of these trees and plants in the rainforest have medicinal properties and are used by the local inhabitants. Sadly, the western world has only tested about 1% of the plants in the rainforest.

Periodically our naturalist crouches down, moves away some leaves and emerges triumphantly with some specimen for us to see — a large land snail the size of a softball, a red-tailed boa constrictor curled around a trunk, its mouth open and hissing at being disturbed, a neon-colored poison dart frog no bigger than a fingernail. These tiny amphibians are so lethal that one little guy can kill a 150 pound human with his poison which is secreted from the skin.

Ahead of us on the trail, a moving mass of green perplexes us until our naturalist explains that it is a line of ‘leaf-cutter’ ants, carrying enormous bits of leaf to their nest. These are the ‘garbage collectors’ of the jungle. They will chew the leaves to a pulp and use them to feed a “fungus garden,” their source of food. We learn that these ants, which live in colonies up to 3 million strong, can carry up to ten times their own weight.

One of our hikes takes us to a 1,000-foot long canopy walk 90 feet above the rainforest floor. The walkway is suspended between a series of giant trees with safety cables and thick mesh to keep you from falling off as you walk very slowly over the wooden slat bridge, swaying in the breeze. Every 50 feet or so, you reach a wooden platform where you can stop for a few minutes to simply listen before moving to the next section of the walkway.

This is a completely different perspective of the rainforest. Whereas the forest floor is dark and gloomy, up near the canopy the sun is shining with only wisps of mist here and there. At the highest point, you can look across a vast unbroken forest stretching as far as the eye can see. This is a world of colorful birds flitting from branch to branch, orchids and other flowers and butterflies, including the stunning, iridescent Morpho butterfly that is almost impossible to capture on camera because it never stops moving.

Another hike takes us to a quiet lagoon where we find giant water lilies (Victoria amazonica), with leaves that can be up to nine feet in diameter. They float on the top of the water, attached to the bottom 20-footfoot long stalk that permits the plant to rise and fall with the flooding. Our guide explains how the flowers are pollinated. On its first night of life, a beautiful white flower opens, giving off an aroma of bananas to attract beetle pollinators.  As day approaches, the flower closes its petals with the beetle inside. It remains there an entire day, becoming covered in pollen. The next evening, the plant opens, changing colors from pink to white, and the beetle emerges, setting off, together with its coat of pollen to find another plant.

Our most challenging hike, however, takes place at night when, armed with headlamps and flashlights, we set off to experience the rain forest. All around us eyes peer from the bushes and trees, reflected in the light of our lamps Fireflies twinkle everywhere. Turn off your lights and stand perfectly still in the inky blackness, and you realize just what a noisy place the rain forest is at night — cicadas and a myriad of other insect voices; a chorus of frogs, the distant hooting of an owl, an alarm call from a group of monkeys whose sleep has been disturbed by some sign of danger, and the buzzing of a pesky mosquito that won’t go away. It is a beautiful but somewhat unsettling experience — we are clearly the aliens in this world.

On the way back to the skiff, our lights pick out the red eyes of small caimans lurking in the shallows, their snouts above the water, ready to pounce on some unsuspecting fish or frog. These reptiles can grow to as much as 4 feet in length. Fortunately, the ones we see are no more than a foot long.

Back from these hikes, soaked to the skin in sweat, in boots covered with mud, many people simply step into the shower with clothes on to cool down before regrouping on the observation deck for a cold drink. Almost without exception, we are so enchanted with this magical world of the Upper Amazon there is general agreement that we would have wanted to stay a few days longer. On any case, there are thousands of miles of this mighty river left to explore — any excuse to come back.

IF YOU GO
Cruises on the Delfin II can be arranged through Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic (www.expeditions.com; Tel 1-800-397-3348). Binoculars are critical for viewing the wildlife. If you want to photograph, a zoom lens is required, even though you will not be able to use a tripod on the skiffs or in the rain forest. Heavy duty insect repellent is a must, as is a hat. For more information, you can also check out www.peru.info and www.pacaya-samiria.com

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