Yin and Yang, Shake and Bake

Manaus and the Amazonian Jungle

After last departing Pieter in Nicaragua I reconvened with MY BOY BLUE in Manuas, Brazil. Instead of Throwing Seven Different Kinds of Smoke as before, he had adopted a new phrase Shake and Bake while in Peru with the legendary Fico. I quickly acquired the new expression and it became the motto for our five day excursion into the Amazonian jungle. We spent the last five days canoeing through the jungle continuously looking for new paths through the sunken tree tops (right now the amazon is rising 2cm per day from the melting snow in the Andes).

The first day we met up with our guide Raymundo and took a boat-car-canoe trip to our first nights lodging where we stayed with the Jungle Man and his family. Went on a canoe trip through the treetops, attempted pirhana fishing (I am now 0 for 2), then at night went crocodile spotting and more pirhana fishing with and bow and arrow (more like a spear than arrow). All pretty manly. Thats the Yin or the Shake. Which I quickly juxtaposed with the Yang, or the Bake, by sewing together my pants at night that I originally bought for yoga in guatemala. I had to look my best for the Jungle Mans daughters birthday party.

The next two days and nights we spent camping in the jungle. Raymundo and Jungle Man showed Pieter and I how to set up camp in the middle of the jungle using only a machete and our hammocks. Using four trees as our base we hacked down everything else we needed to make crossbeams and supports to hang our hammocks from. Then we created another cross beam to hang the tarp above us for rain and tied the whole thing together with vines hanging from the trees. The first day the guides showed us how to do it and the next day Pieter and I set up our second camp for the most part solo. After feeling more manly than ever before I quickly slipped into my pants that I had sewed up the previous night and read Embrujadas (spanish version of the TV show Charmed). Yin and Yang, Shake and Bake people.

We spent last night with Jungle man and his family and arrived back in Manaus today. We leave on a 4 day boat ride up the Amazon to Belem in a couple of hours. From there we start our trek towards the west coast of Brazil in time to catch Carnaval.

Shake and Bake,
Christofer