When I was 23 in the early 90's I headed off with a friend to South America knowing we would be gone for a year... maybe more. This trip was completely overland, no flights allowed, that was part of the challenge to find the numerous modes of transport to get us to our destination.
When in Brazil we decided to do some alligator spotting. Why and what inspired this flash of bravery I am not sure needless to say we found ourselves in an open jeep heading into forests and deep rivers. At night we slept in hammocks slung between trees and went with our guide and his handy torch to spot the eyes of the alligators. It is rather eerie when you are walking along and all of a sudden you see these eyes glaring at you in the light, quiet narrow and certainly not friendly. I always made sure I was never standing in the front, you never know I might need a quick getaway and a little head start could make all the difference.
During the day we walked through the jungle having natural food and remedies pointed out to us. Very hot and sticky going though very interesting. One day we needed to cross a river, there was about 5 of us and as we got closer and closer to the centre the water was up around my arm pits. We were all holding our cameras above our head and for my friend, who was much shorter than I, she was up to her neck. Someone had the bright idea to ask at this moment what about the alligators and anaconda snakes! Our guide told us if we stick together we would be seen too big to take on so we would be left along. Suddenly my 'stay at the back' strategy didn't seem such a good idea so I quickly hot footed it up to the middle as we continued our way across the river.
A couple of minutes after arriving on the other side our guide pointed out a rather large anaconda snake kind of buried in the mud by the river. Certainly glad to be on dry land now! Some people say to me when they hear this story that we were so brave. I don't know about that, rather ignorant more like it. In reflection there were many times when traipsing through jungles, mountains, deserts and the like that you do put your faith completely in the guide. Gratefully I have made it through completely unscathed from these expeditions and am always ready for the next adventure.
