3 questions

What was your favorite experience?

• I enjoyed the zip line because it was really cool to see the rainforest from a different perspective. I love adrenaline more than any other feeling so being at the highest point in the rainforest knowing that at any second you could fall even though you won’t was an insane rush. (Shannon)
• My favorite experience is when we were swimming in the lake with the dolphins. I swam to get closer to them and the dolphins allowed me to be about 150’ away. I was swimming in a lake in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest with wild dolphins not even 200 feet away. That is an experience I will never forget. (Morganne)
• My favorite experience was going night canoeing and being able to hold a camin and look at the absolutely beautiful stars! The stars were like nothing I have ever seen and those nightly canoeing adventures are something I will never forget for the rest of my life! Being able to say I could hold a camin was amazing and I’m so glad I went on this trip. (Sophie) 
• The entire trip was an incredible experience, but overall I would have to say witnessing a new culture for the first time. (Dale)
• Everything on the trip was so amazing, but the most memorable was Dorilla, the wooley monkey jumping in the boat and sitting on my lap. (Meagan)
• My favorite experience would have to be the zip-lining. I had never done it before, and the rush of adrenaline that came with it was like nothing else I had ever done. The view from the top was astounding and the ride itself was amazing! What a rush! (Liam)
• My favorite experience was canoe at night. It was so amazing. We could see many stars which we can’t see at city. I only heard frogs croaking and water moving. It was not hot at night so only thing which we had to care about was mosquitoes. It was so peaceful. (Hikaru)
• My favorite experience was the zip lining. The thrill was the best part. It was scary but amazing. The view from the upper canopy was so different than from the floor of the jungle. Over all this experience stood out the most to me. (Samantha)
• Our guide Wemmie and I stopped by the clinic in Esperanza to drop off the medical supplies we brought. The nurses were very appreciative, and asked us to describe the use of each item to make sure they understood. It was very gratifying to help out the clinic in the good work that they are performing. (Eric)
• Canoeing with the glass frogs under the stars, these tiny little green frogs would jump into our boats and one just sat on my leg. (Lori) 

What was something you experienced that no one else did?

• I witnessed a green Rusty Whip snake fall out of a tree into the water and then through my high powered zoom camera lens I saw a bird snatch it up. Five minutes later I saw the same bird land in the tree in front of me and then drop the back half of the snakes’ body back into the water. (Shannon)
• My experience that no one else had was when I took a lovely accidental plunge into the water while switching boats. As I went to get on to the big boat from the little canoe my hand was holding on to the big boat as my feet and little canoe started to drift away. The distance grew too great for my body to hold and I collapsed into the black water below. This comical event was a refreshing change to the hot equatorial sun. (Morganne)
• Something that I experienced that no one else did was that I almost stepped on a big tarantula. It was black with deep bright blue/purple middle digits on its front legs. It was scary but I’m glad I can say no one else they had such a close encounter the way I did. Everyone made it home safe with all 10 fingers and all 10 toes. That is a successful trip to me! (Sophie)
• I made a young boys day by giving him a hacky sac and my Rubik's Cube. It was a great feeling to see him smile. (Dale)
• Something I saw that nobody else did was two spectacled caiman fighting. In front of my lodge, one of the guides, Haler and I spotted two caiman’s and he said they were marking their territory and they were making tons of noises and splashing around and lunging at each other, it was really cool. (Meagan)
• One afternoon when we returned from one of our excursions we had about 2 hours of free time. I realized that my time there was valuable, and I wanted to make the most of my time. I decided that I would venture out alone in a dugout canoe, and get familiar with the area. The sun was setting and the mosquitos were bad, but it was the only time on the trip that it was just me, alone with my thoughts, in the freakin’ Amazon! It was defiantly an experience that I will never forget. (Liam)
• I was the only person who isn’t native English speaker in this trip member. Also I was only freshman. This made me very nerves at first. However the member were so good even though I am not good at speak English they were kind to me. I noticed how is easier to learn English for Spanish speaker, because Donaldo speak English good, but he told me that he just start learn English three month ago. Also I found many similarities between English and Spanish as I learn Spanish little. (Hikaru)
• One night at the Tahuayo Lodge I was in the computer room talking with Wennie. He talked about his wife and child. He showed me many pictures and videos on his cell phone. Getting a look into what his life style was like in Iquitos was fascinating. He showed me a video from his son’s first birthday. Everyone was dancing to loud music and dancing. These people in the video seemed so happy and genuine. I really appreciated him letting me get a look into his personal life. (Samantha)
• When we took canoes out of the Amazon Research Center Lodge and into the river, my boat became separated from the rest of the group. Haler, my guide, had placed two cushions in the bottom of the boat for me, so I was able to lay back and gaze upward. The sky was streaked with clouds, with bright stars between, and I could see the underside of the canopy as we gently rowed by. The sound of the paddle moving the water combined with many layers of jungle sounds. It was incredibly peaceful. I felt absolutely calm and as serene as I have in a long time. (Eric)
• Sharing my room with bats; Benny and The Jets. I noticed them while brushing my teeth with the  ice tea  colored tap water. (Lori)

What was something that was much different than you thought it would be?

• I thought I would see a lot more snakes while walking through the rainforest. I only saw a few baby tree boas and a rusty whip snake while I was expecting a few vipers or adult boas. (Shannon)
• Our time at the Amazon Research Center was definitely not what I was expecting. Seeing all the information that was still out there to be found about the felines of the Amazon in Peru gave me a little insight into what I may want to do in my future. For this alone I can say that this trip has been truly life changing. (Morganne)
• Something that was much different than I thought it would be was the shaman. The way he dressed was definitely unexpected. He was in a plain white-tee and windbreaker pants. What surprised me the most was that the shaman gave a remedy for my cough and it worked! I can say that I have been cured by a shaman. How cool is that!? (Sophie)
• The taste of piranha was surprisingly not “fishy”. (Dale)
• Something that was different than I thought was the clothing. They wore a lot of jeans and one of the guides Elisa wore dress clothes, and I was picturing them to wear my homemade jungle clothes, definitely not what I was expecting. (Meagan)
• I was not expecting the lodge accommodations to be as nice as they were. They had pretty much all the luxuries of home; Coca-Cola and other ice cold drinks, wireless internet, and amazing food! It was a welcomed surprise! (Liam)
• Food was so different. Before I went on this trip, I thought it was going to be all light tasting or I never know what am I eating, maybe I should eat bugs! In fact foods were all very tasty. I tried some new foods, for example piranha, yucca, and catfish but I liked them all. Actually, the kitchen staff said they changed foods in an American way for us. Even so, there were all tasty. (Hikaru)
• I thought the city of Iquitos was very different than I expected. I thought it would be smaller and more huts instead of buildings. It would have been great to check out the city. I could not believe how large it was. I also thought it would be cleaner than it was. (Samantha)
• Although I knew it would be hot and humid, I did not expect the hikes through the jungle to be as physically demanding as they were. I felt completely wiped out by the end of each. (Eric)
• The village was as I pictured it, thatched roofed huts  with open sides  and wide plank floors,  but the enormous flatscreen plasma TV was unexpected especially given the lack of walls, refrigerators and other common appliances. (Lori)