Nowhere To Go But Everywherefacing my fears in the amazon {aka that time i swam with piranhas}
This past summer I spent a week in the Ecuadorian Amazon, trekking through mud, climbing hundreds of feet to the top of the canopy…
…and swimming in a prianha, anaconda, and caiman-infested lake.
July in the Amazon is HUMID. It only gets up to about 75 degrees by midday, but it always rains at least once a day, making the air verrrry sticky.
One particularly uncomfortable afternoon, after a morning hike through ankle-deep mud, I decided to strip off my army green cargo pants, knee-high rubber boots, and mud-stained tee in favor of a bikini. I wandered over to the lake where we had gone piranha fishing the day before, where caimans fancied a mid-afternoon snooze, and anacondas were rumored to slumber.
Brother and his angry priaña friend
the misleadingly serene-looking lake
After consulting my cousins, we decided hey, YOLO, and took the plunge.
{so punny}
Confession: I figured the predators would be much more interested in my adorable, scrumptious pre-teen cuzzos than this pseudo-vegan. I know, I know… I’m terrible.
Doesn’t he look delectable??
Admittedly, I was terrified and would jump in, and swim as fast as I could around the dock {past snoozin’ caimans} to get my feet back on solid ground.
We had an absolute blast. No one was eaten in the making of this blog post.
My favorite thing about traveling is doing and experiencing things that make my heart race. Although it’s become an overused cliché, “you only live once” has to be part of a travelers vocabulary, methinks. Do something that scares you. Throw caution to the wind. Do you want to be on your death bed regretting having missed out on experiences, or smiling knowing you lived life to the fullest?
What’s the craziest or scariest thing you’ve ever done? Are you a daredevil? Next on my list is bungee jumping in Interlaken, Switzerland!
Nowhere To Go But Everywhere 