We stayed a hotel called Hotel Suizo (Swiss Hotel), and it was gorgeous. It was located directly on a river that flows into the Amazon River, so we weren't technically IN the Amazon, which was a little dissapointing, but it was still fun. A rotarian told me that the hotel is one of the nicest in the "Amazon" and that we are lucky that we went there. Last year, the kids went to a more rustic hotel, deeper into the rainforest, which I would have liked but it was too far away and too difficult to get to. To get to the hotel, we had to take these skinny little boats and then climb up a lot of steps, with all of our suitcases...that was not fun.
The first day, we went on a hike through the jungle in HUGE rubber boots, that just made it 10 times harder to walk in, and we saw animals in cages. It was kinda disspointing because it was lik a walk in a zoo, it didn't feel special or very "Amazony". We saw monkeys, birds, some cats, snakes, more monkeys, a pig, and some other wild animals. There was one adorable monkey who everyone said was my boyfriend, because it stuck its hand through the cage and I was holding its hand for a while. It would even squeeze my finger tighter and would pull my hand closer to it. I want a monkey as a pet, like a little puppy, but a monkey. (get on that mom) It was one of the best memories I have of the trip.
After that, we went tubing down the river. The river was BROWN. I never thought I would go in water that dirty and murky, but I did and I loved it. I was with Julie and Johanna and we were tanning as we were floating down the river. At one point we were allowed to get out and swim and the water was so refreshing after getting so sweaty on the hike. There was also a spot to get out and go on a rope swing, but I was too lazy to climb out of my tube and up the hill to the rope. haha
We also went to the house of an indigenous family where we saw a little bit of how they live their daily lives. There was a woman who gave a demonstration on how to make this special drink that is very common in the Amazon region...I forget what it was called. She made some and then we passed a bowl around and drank a little each. It honestly looked like vomit, but I tried it anyways. One of my friends even filled up a waterbottle with some of it. After that, the tour guide showed us how to shoot a blow dart, and all of the people in my group tried it. We were aiming for a wooden monkey hanging from a tree. Only a few people hit the target, and I was one of them. I was the first girl to hit the target. :) We also saw how they make local products like ceramics. I didn't really watch that, instead I was with Julie and we were playing with little kids which for me, was a lot more fun than watching a presentation.
The next day, we went on ANOTHER hike with huge rubber boots, but this time I really felt like I was in the rainforest. The only difference was that there was cellphone service and my phone started to vibrate as I was hiking through the jungle =/ That killed the whole mood. On the hike, the tour guide showed us lots of trees and we ate some natural plants and stuff, it was cool. It's amazing to think about all of the plants and things in nature that are benificial to our health, and how the people who live in the region even discovered everything. We also went on this huge swing that was hanging from a tree. We each got a turn to do it and it felt amazing. Just gliding through the jungle, through the trees with the air hitting your face. I loved it. After the hike, we built a raft made out of huge logs and thick rope. It was exactly like Huckleberry Finn, and we floated for 45 minutes down the river back to the hotel. This time, the water felt FREEZING so I didn't want to go swimming. 
