My 22nd birthday in the Jungle

So last night we had delicious fried chicken for dinner with the same accompaniments. Then we went on a 4 hour night hike to look for taranculas and anacondas. The stars were beyond stunning and the walk felt night as the temperature cooled. We found several large spiders and made our way into the primary jungle which was fascinating. I has a lot of trouble sleeping because I haven't mentioned it yet but I have a ton of bug bites. It started pouring down rain very early this morning and we woke up to the same weather. Breakfast consisted of the universal breakfast food, eggs, and I just enjoyed bread and tea. This place honestly feels like a wellness retreat we are adventuring eating great food and getting lots of rest.

 After breakfast went took a little boat down the ucayli river and met the Yagua people. While I felt it was bit wrong they were happy to share their culture with us. We danced with them, learned how to use a blow gun, and purchased handicrafts. They gave me a pair of anaconda bone and piranha earring for my birthday and I think they are great! The boat ride there and back felt like pocahontas and Lizzy, Lauren, and I would sing just around the river bend occasionally. It also reminded me of the jungle ride at disneyland. We had lunch of chicken curry with potatoes then we went and fished piranha. Mostly people caught sardines but I caught a baby piranha and threw him back. Then we found a spot in the river with low current and swam for a bit. It was fun to watch the guys do flips off the boat. Then we went on the search for and saw pink freshwater dolphins. That evening after dinner Sergio our guide told me that we needed to stay after dinner for awhile.

We didn't know why they started moving the tables but when they pulled out a cake box I realized it was for my birthday. It was so sweet of them, they had asked for me to write my name down earlier that day and it was for the writing on the cake. It turns out they ordered it in the morning from a bakery in Iquitos and had of the boats drive it the hour and a half into the jungle. It read "happy birthday Thelsey Reddy". One small typo :) but honestly it was so nice of them. They sang me happy birthday in English and Spanish and the owner of the lodge brought out a few beers and poured a round for everyone to cheers with. All of the guests gave me hugs and said a few nice things. We were all pretty exhausted after the long day but one of the girls insisted I have a birthday dance. We all danced for a bit and then some people started heading to bed. Honestly it was the nicest thing and it made my 22nd birthday unforgettable.