This is Paolo. He was friendly. And he didn't drown me. Yay, Paolo!

A year ago I was shopping for rainforest-strength bug repellent and a jungle-appropriate wardrobe in anticipation of our trip to the Brazilian Amazon. One booked a stay at the fantastic Amazon Ecopark Jungle Lodge which I mentioned briefly a few months ago. We left Miami early in the morning, and by late afternoon we were waiting at a marina in Manaus for Paolo, who ferried us twenty minutes down the Rio Negro to the lodge.

Along with two double-decker riverboats, the lodge maintains a small fleet of covered wooden canoes powered by small motors with long rudders attached. This quick and efficient source of transportation serves as a water taxi to arriving guests and — for a fee, of course — shuttles them across the river to the on-site monkey habitat. At night, flashlight-armed guides and guests set out in them to look for caimans and other creepy nocturnal creatures.

Although it was wintertime in the southern hemisphere, the weather was humid and sweltering. As Paolo guided the boat deftly through the wide waterway, we leaned back on the wooden bench and opened our shirt collars to the breeze. The sun lit up the river with dazzling brilliance. Birds rose up from the intense green of the riverbank and wheeled overhead. Every now and then, Paolo pointed out something of interest on the shore and I dutifully aimed my camera in the direction of his finger.

Before long, he waved at a guard stationed on a barge and maneuvered the boat up to a floating dock on the bank. Our visit occurred at the tail end of the wet season, so the beach was underwater. We carried our luggage up a ramp to the open reception area where we were greeted — Brazilian style, with hugs and kisses  — by Katia, one of the guides. She offered us a cold drink made of tropical fruits and syrups as she gave us the lowdown on the lodge. Most of it was the standard check-in/check-out/what-time-the-food-is-served speech, but I paid close attention when she said, ”Keep your suitcases closed because you are in the jungle. There are snakes and scorpions and insects everywhere. And don’t leave any cash in the room.”*

Keeping Katia’s comments about snakes and scorpions in mind, I strayed ever-so-slightly away (by which I mean I did not step off the concrete walkway) to look for leaf cutter ants while One finished checking in and got the keys to our bungalow. I had read or heard the phrase “the smell of the jungle” many times, but I never imagined the scent would be so cloying. During high water season, the Brazilian Amazon definitely does not smell like that “rainforest fresh” body wash you’ve been buying.  Trust me.  It smells like damp earth and pepper and mold and the sharp sweetness of rotting fruit and leaves. The scent clings to your hair and your clothes and the bed sheets. Every molecule of air is filled up with the richness of decay and new life.

For the next few days, we crammed every waking moment with adventure courtesy of the lodge’s friendly, knowledgeable staff. We went on a day-long river trip to see floating villages, a rubber plantation, and a flooded forest. We held an anaconda and I cuddled a baby sloth. We visited the monkey habitat where I clenched a nut in my fist and a monkey jumped on my shoulder to try and eat it. We went fishing for piranha. We saw the amazing spectacle of the meeting of the waters. We visited the village of an indigenous tribe where the members (grudgingly, but who can blame them) danced for the tourists. We drank coconut water straight from the shell, and we ate the freshest food imaginable, grown, fished and prepared locally. We took about a billion pictures and I wish I could share them all.

At breakfast and happy hour there were always a few cheeky birds around. They were very polite, however, and none of them pooped on the table or bit anyone.

Enjoy the plantain chips, you little beggar.

It’s no wonder, then, after last summer’s awesomeness, that this school year has been creeping along. I love my profession and I love the knuckleheaded kids I spend my days teaching. It’s no secret, though, that I dread the early morning ritual of waking in the dark and the long, frenzied commute. I’d so much rather be here:

I'd always rather be here. The view, over coffee, on our last morning at Ecopark Jungle Lodge.

Anonymous Housekeeper "/

If You Visit Amazon Ecopark Jungle Lodge:

• Travel light, or rent a storage locker for your luggage (or 3, like we did) at the airport. The rooms are tiny and the boats are small. You will trek a fair distance through actual jungle to get to your room. There are paved walkways, but who wants to roll 100 lbs. of luggage through the forest?
• Eat when it’s time to eat. You will not find a grocery store or fast food restaurant anywhere nearby. It’s the rainforest!
• * Katia wasn’t kidding about keeping your cash with you. Doing so is common sense advice no matter where you go, but I unwillingly tipped the housekeeper $100 during our first day of adventure.
• I didn’t see any scorpions, so don’t freak out too much.
• I didn’t need my super-strength bug repellent because it was high water season and the pH of the Rio Negro isn’t as conducive to mosquito breeding as other places are. Check travel blogs to gauge the likelihood of being eaten alive.
• Be respectful of our environment and of the people you encounter and don’t perpetuate the myth of the Rude American Tourist. Many of the guides speak English (or Spanish, or French), but try to learn a few Portuguese phrases before you visit.  At the very least, know how to politely order a caipirinha. They’re delicious.

I can’t wait to see what happens this summer.