To touch a caiman

Every muscle in your body freezes up. Your vision starts to focus only on the eyes. Your mind gives its two cents "Those eyes are just like the velociraptors from Jurassic Park". Vanessa's words come into your head "Good idea, bad idea?" and you think, "No, it's a Josh idea". Then there is that split second decision and you go for it. Your hand touches the back of the four foot long caiman. There is an eternal pause before the caiman starts to move and you can't tell whether it will turn to bite your hand or dive and run.
This is the five seconds of what happens during my newest hobby here. Caiman hunting. You attract the caiman using bread or meat and when it gets close you touch it. Or try to catch the small one. It's a really quick way to get your heart racing. DON'T WORRY MOM, NOTHING HAPPENED!
It was one way to interact with nature.

We also had the chance to see two two of the most defining characteristics of the rain forest, the Amazon river and the trees. We went to the point where two rivers-the Rio Negro and the Rio Solimoes met and officially begin the Amazon river. Because of the differences in the temperature, speed and density of the two rivers for several miles they run side by side.

Afterwards we went up a small bayou/lagoon that feed off the two rivers to eat at a floating restaurant. There were lots of monkeys which I will not talk about, because of my strong feelings against them. If you need a reason, go watch Rise of Planet of the Apes. Just wait!
But afterwards we also went to see a family that has a pet anaconda and sloth. I stayed well away from the anaconda, but the sloth was such an amazing mix of wookie and muppet. It was actually pretty strong and for a few seconds it hooked one arm around my neck and caught my wristband with the other. I thought he was trying to cut my throat with how strong and sharp his claws were, but he didn't, so I'm writing this blog.

I bet the monkeys put him up to it...

Later that day we went on a hike/sauna through the forest for about an hour and a half. It was one of the most amazing sites I have ever seen. There was little sunlight as the trees grew taller and taller. It felt like every pore on my body was sweating and you had to pay attention to the group or you could still be in there.

We didn't see any large wildlife, but it was still amazing to see the bugs and see how dense the forest is. One thing our guide showed us were some ants that can be used as natural bug repellent and scent dampener to hunt. You put your hand on the tree that they live in and let them swarm your arm. You then crush them onto your skin and they leave a smell that hides your scent.I tried it and the feeling of them crawling all over my arm was pretty weird. But it did leave a nice smell. I think that when I have the capital I'll start: Antz Brazil-natural cologne for natural men. I think it will be a big hit.