Yesterday we headed into the belly of the beast. We set out along with 10 others on a motorized launch to head up river. The river is a vast expanse of chocolate not unlike Willy Wonka's. Downed trees and logs and debris swirl in the eddies. We go flying full throttle through this obstacle course. I'm thinking,"Maybe we're doing this so as to fly over the debris?" This would prove to be wrong later in the day. Along side the river banks sit occasional clusters of wooden shacks, some on stilts with thatched roof tops. People go floating by in dug out canoes. It is surprisingly populated with little children paddling and splashing about . Uh, what about Piranhas, Caimans, black caimans, anacondas, and then there are the little , much more horrifying creatures. There is a barbed parasite that swims up your penis and cannot be retrieved. Of course malaria is endemic. Bilharzias, another water borne snail fluke, incurable until recently is endemic. Thus said, it seems to be an idyllic existence really. Our first stop is at a small outpost consisting of a single walk way over a large marshy pond which was topped with the most beautiful water lilies. Victorian lilies I believe they are called. Some were as much as 5 feet across. I kept an eye out for mega sized frogs to complete the picture. Multicolored parrots flew down and perched among us hoping for snacks. Next we headed further up the river to a village of a dozen or so wooden shacks. The locals have on display their handicrafts. Four ancient appearing folks do a gentle song and dance for us. They are attired in clothing made from pounded tree bark. I'm feeling positively statuesque as I tower over the locals. I dole out candy to the children thus ensuring the demise of their pearly whites. I can't imagine what one does for cavities around here. After our brief shopping expedition we once again hop aboard the craft and head to a jungle encampment another 1/2 hour up river.