Live simply, travel lightly, love passionately & don't forget to breathe

The laws of the Jungle are tough ~ Kill or be killed.

AMAZON GREEN TOURS and I, invite you on a wild journey…

…deep into The Amazon  Jungle and into the hearts of native people, who are the true owners and protectors of this wilderness…

To say that spending a week in the Amazon Jungle, is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, is to say nothing. Amazon will forever be imprinted into your soul, once you get your hands dirty… and not only hands. The sounds and scents of this place are surreal. They carry the true soul of a feeling we all have… RAWNESS. Some people bury it alive, with daily “commitments”, marriage, kids, taxes, credits, mortgages and Botox… but we all have it!

When we stop for a second and sit in front of a fireplace, we can hear the weak echo.. it’s calling us… and some of us, are brave and crazy enough, to follow that echo…

I ate Piranha (that I caught), enjoyed eating huge Ants (fried), tried meat of Jaguar, swam with Wild Pink Dolphins, Swam topless in the Amazon River full of Caimans and Anaconda’s, danced topless with an Amazon Tribe, slept in the hammock with the native tribe Tatuyos (TATU)…

Knowing it might lead us into the most rawest form of ourselves, we still yearn… we yearn for freedom of our soul … where we can let go and soar above all the unimportant nonsense, which is choking us, with a daily politically correct leash.

” To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, to draw closer, to find each other and to feel. That is the purpose of ‘Life’ “ ~ The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

AMAZON GREEN TOURS is not just a company and you are not just some tourist… It’s a FAMILY (Paula Arcangela, Elso Lima, Flavio, Gisele and the most talented 6-year-old, I’ve ever met – Flavia) and you become its member.

What they offer is not just tours… They offer a peak into behind-the-scenes of the Jungle… With them, you’ll get to experience the most intimate atmosphere of this land.

The most interesting phenomenon of nature is what I call “Yin/Yang of Amazon”. Here, they call it meeting of waters… it’s two different colors of waters co-existing without mixing. The temperature and acidity of waters are very different.

Piranha fishing is an Art! I was only able to catch one after 2 days of trying. You have to be calm, patient and very fast at the same time, knowing that I have a very complex Russian Soul, is almost impossible for me to be patient and calm. The first day, while everyone was catching huge Piranhas, I was just feeding them big pieces of meat.

However the next day, I was determined to catch one. Everyone from our group of 6 people, caught their lunch… I was still going to be hungry.. but at the very last-minute I caught it.. I wish someone could film my reaction! I was screaming and laughing and jumping inside our small boat, making everyone nervous, after all, it was a Piranha, with very sharp and quick teeth…

There was also a couple from Italy.. and Alessandro, managed to catch one very huge Black Piranha with a last piece of meat. And I managed to catch he’s child-like happiness with my camera…

That day, I was a hunter! I caught my very own lunch… The feeling of being able to feed yourself in the remote jungle is unmatched!

Gliding through still waters of Amazon is yet another; When unmerciful and exhausting heat of the jungle, hides with the sun, it is replaced with the other-worldly kind of peacefulness. You can see the Pink Dolphins, playing in the distance and circling around your boat, while leaving playful bubbles near you. As if calling you, even deeper away from what you were taught about your reality. At moments like these, you start to truly feel, as if, the chaotic world of consumerism is gone.. just like the heat did. It’s fallen away from your soul, like snake, that changes it’s layers of skin. You feel reborn… you got back to what is truly important… your true self.

I think Elso is a magician! He was able to spot Caimans in the dark like a true virtuoso of the Jungle. We went spear fishing and even got to hold a small Caiman. I had butterflies in the stomach.

And to think that I jumped into Caiman, Anaconda’s and Piranhas infested waters, for a mid-day “cool off” swim, is plain insane and suicidal. Only a crazy woman like myself comes to the Amazon Jungle with no bathing suit, shorts or insect repellent… I had a blast!

Venturing into the Jungle for a day is a must! Especially when you have a guide like Elso… not only does he spot animals like no one else, he will make sure you see it, even if only one person can’t see the animal and everyone else did … he will even risk his life.. Elso climbed onto the tree and pointed the sloth out to a person who couldn’t see it… but he couldn’t get back into the boat… so he jumped into the Piranhas and Caimans waters in order to reach our boat… WILL YOUR GUIDE RISK HIS LIFE?! ELSO LIMA, did!

 By the way, those of you who want to “get even” with their ex husbands or ex wife’s, you should come to The Amazon.. There, in the depths of its wilderness, lives a tree… if you cut a few layers off of it, mix it with a bit of water and give this yellowish concoction to your ex or your future ex, they will have about 2-3 minutes max.. But don’t worry, they’ll have enough time to say “I’m sorry” … In all seriousness, this is a great way to cleanse all the bacteria in the water.

Since I was completely unprepared for the unforgiving bites of Amazon mosquito, I had to use the natural repellent ~ Ants… Step one; find a nest, step 2; put your hands on it… step 3; let them crawl onto your hands… step 4; kill those little suckers! That’s right, when you rub them onto your skin, they leave a natural disgustingly offensive smell.. your significant other might suffer though.. but hey, this is the Amazon… tell them to toughen up! (Mr. Bond is lucky he stayed home)

We saw electric eel, which will shock you with 600 volts if you fall while trying to cross to the other side. I was taught how to make traps for animals and even got souvenirs made out of leaves.. I got a hummingbird…

Amazon “Christmas Tree”

The Heart Of Amazon

“Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration. Hummingbirds open our eyes to the wonder of the world and inspire us to open our hearts to loved ones and friends. Like a hummingbird, we aspire to hover and to savor each moment as it passes, embrace all that life has to offer and to celebrate the joy of everyday. The hummingbird’s delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation.”

And just in case you will ever find yourself lost in The Amazon Jungle, just find the biggest tree that has huge flat roots and keep hitting it with something (please don’t go into the Amazon empty-handed) This tree serves as “The Amazon Radio”.. The sound will echo through the whole Jungle and help you be found… But I can’t promise you, that you won’t be found by predators of the jungle…

We were also lucky to visit a local family home. They have a huge snake for a pet, that they let out at night to kill all the rats, I guess. They also have a pig John, who’s obviously gay… he was running away from me to the guys in our group.. Of course, he’s gay! Hey John, no hard feelings! Our faces were painted in the Amazon manner with a special plant.. they use the inside of this plant to draw amazon “protection” symbols.

Brazil is a home to Pink Dolphins… and I had a chance to swim with Wild Dolphins in the open waters of Amazon… I’ve never felt so much love around me before… It was incredible… I will never swim with captive ones! If you want to swim with Dolphins and you’ve never done it, don’t go to places where animals are crammed inside a box! Email Elso (amazongreentours@gmail.com) and he will make this happen for you… Their spirit is free and pure, it’s not broken… and you can feel it as soon as one of them playfully pokes you in your chest, with their famous long nose.

Even a baby dolphin swam by, but was cautiously pushed away by the elders. At the end when all 6 fishes were fed to them (it’s the max you’re allowed to give them) one of the dolphins just stayed with me, with his nose in my chest for a few moments… it was a very peaceful moment full of unconditional love and acceptance of our differences… then he’s soft body slowly brushed by mine and he left…

No, I’m not your average “tourist”, “traveler”, “backpacker” or “Nomad”… actually, they haven’t come up with a name for me yet… If there was a word for me in the dictionary, what would it be?… Most creative suggestion will be featured in my next story with a link to your site.

Anyway, back to that word… What would you call a woman who was invited into the Native Amazon Tribe Tatu to spent a night and instead of sitting quietly and humbly in the corner with a camera, takes of her top, puts on the same skirt, jewellery, gets her face painted, nibbles on Jaguar that was prepared for the tribe, enjoys huge fried Ants and joins the tribe for a topless dancing under the full moon?…

Even members of Tatu Tribe, were in kind of shock for a moment there… they are used to khaki pants, backpacks and lonely planet booklets. Let me tell you, there was a lot of laughter “in da house”… I think for the first time they looked at me, like tourists usually look at them… I’m a top-banana in the shock department (Thank you, Ms. Golightly, for that one)

If it wasn’t for Paula, Elso’s wife, I’d probably be eaten by a Jaguar at night while trying to make my way from my hammock to the bush for some nature calling activity. She also helped with translation, from English to their native dialect… They don’t speak portuguese… Paula’s mother is from the tribe, so Paula is a family and I was a family here too.. that’s why I felt like taking my top off was not a big deal.. But then again, I don’t need a special invitation to take off my top… It’s natural! Bathing suit is such a waste of money! If you want to visit Tatu Tribe, Paula is the person you need to contact.

I actually even made a friend here… A beautiful 17-teen year-old Rhurri. And was told by the leader of the Tatu Tribe, Pino, that I now have a home here and I am a family.

Even though, Rhurri is only Seventeen, she’s already married, to also a seventeen-year-old-MAN … yes Man, I say man because Rhurri shared a little secret with me… In order to marry a woman from this Tribe, a boy needs to be beaten with sticks for 4 hours or stick he’s hand inside the bee’s nest for the same amount of time… if he cries, he can’t marry the girl… I told her “He must love you very much!”

I told her that my Mr. Bond went through much tougher training and testing techniques, we’re still not married and he’s still with me… She said “He must love you very much!” Haha! No kidding!

Slept like a baby that night in my hammock… after all the dancing, laughter, topless dancing, ants and jaguar eating, barefoot dancing / stomping under the full moon… I got closer to my core self, than I have ever allowed myself to be.. my pulse was so pure, so raw, so wild, so loving, so open, innocent and real… nothing mattered… I was home.. Home is where people accept all of you… Both, your Yin and your Yang, just like those Amazon waters.

In the morning, Paula’s papa, who came into the tribe from he’s home, about an hour by boat, woke me up from my hammock. At this moment, I knew, I was family.

This was the highlight of my Amazon Journey… Paula’s and Elso’s family… I lived with them in their house on mosquito-less waters, due to the acidity of water, went into the Amazon with Paula, did laundry with Flavia “Amazon Style”, did all the dishes and taught Flavia photography, laughed, joked and jumped in the river with Paula and her brother. By the way, Flavia is a star! Really, this girl is ON FIRE! She is actually a mini version of myself. When I was 6, I was Flavia! I want to wish good luck to her parents, Flavio and Gisele.. they’ll need it! She is an Artist! Flavia took pictures of me and everyone else who was in the Jungle Lodge. Paula even gave me an Amazon Manicure! Manicure is not the word that comes to mind when you think about Amazon.. right? wrong.!.. it does to me!

 I think even the greatest traveler of all time – Captain James Cook, would be jealous of MY WAY of traveling around the world… You can’t buy the love of a child or a local family… You just can’t.

So what are the words that come to my mind when I think about Amazon? Here they are…

TRUTH, BEAUTY, RAWNESS, MAGIC, INSTINCT, FREEDOM, NATURE, FAMILY, LOVE…

FLAVIA…

Even though I am far-far away from the Amazon now… its raw rhythm is still beating in my chest. I was given the Real Yin / Yang of the Amazon …

A necklace made of the Pirhanyas teeth from the day I caught my first fish ever, to remind me of the Rawness and Roughness of the Amazon…

And Flavia’s drawings, that she drew for me, that are now on my bedside table,

to remind me of the Softness, Innocence and Love …

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The woman behind The Amazon Journey…

The Muse

 The Artiste

The Author

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