Met a few others at the lodge, and our guide took us on a long hike. First 45 minutes using our small wooden motor out, then two and a half hours back through the jungle. Our guide was in front, walking a path that he knew but that I couldn’t even see, occasionally using his machete to cut the way. Neverbseen a machete before, it’s essentially a half-meter heavy an quite sharp knife. One swing with this and a small young tree falls.
He was explaining the plants we saw. I didn’t realize before that tiger balm, a strong and pungent salve that cures various ailments by jumpstarting circulation, is made from the bark of a tree.
We also saw a sloth, a cat-sized mammal with enormous claws that spends its days on tree. It moves v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y, even as it “ran” away from us to find a higher place on the tree. It’s quite cute, I think it’s unfair that a sin was named after it.
In the evening we went fishing for piranhas, baiting our hooks with meat. It is strong and fast, with a large dangerous jaw, but it also looks pretty. I held one in my hand. The movie depiction where they strip a cow of all meat in minutes is
exaggerated though.
