Adventurers Club Publications

Adventurers' Club Publications

I stared down into the crude pot and smelled the terrible odor of five dead rats. I was deep in the Amazon and these rodents were destined to become my next dinner.

My travels in the Amazon rainforest are always filled with extraordinary adventures. This culinary excursion into the unknown was a unique situation that required "cultural courage". I had hired a guide to take my brother Paul, my friend Matt, and myself, into the jungle to explore, record sounds and photograph wildlife.

Our sense of adventure soared as we left the docks and sailed into the river. Modern civilization suddenly vanished as we entered one of the many Amazonian tributaries and headed for base camp. The scorching sun beat down as we sailed past occasional native huts with thatched roofs.

This was the rainy season and frequent downpours caused the water level to rise daily. The deep, brown water was filled with uprooted trees and plants that drifted past our small craft. Small floating islands of jungle vegetation appeared and slipped past the boat's stern. Natives often find snakes, sloths, spiders and other unfortunate creatures that fall into the river with collapsed trees.

Paul and I have been on many trips together but I had never traveled with Matt. He did mention his distaste for bugs (too bad, I thought). We finally neared base camp and stepped onto the shore. Suddenly a huge black bumble bee screamed out of the jungle and flew right down Matt's shirt. The normally calm Matt was suddenly transformed into an electrified gyrating wild man that must have astonished even the onlooking monkeys. Then the bee calmly flew out of his shirt and off into the jungle in search of better fare. We greeted the few natives that inhabited this small village and made our way to the hut that was to be our home for the next few days. Amazon huts are built six feet above the ground using a variety of native plants. The floors are made from extremely thin bark of a local tree. The wood feels so fragile that you expect to crash through to the ground below at any moment. There were no walls, just a platform covered with a roof.

The thatched roofs are very ingenious, extremely durable and can last up to ten years. An army of insects makes their homes in the thatched roofs. I looked up and saw several huge spiders that seemed to be enjoying the view below and I feared that they would surely come down for the hunt after we were asleep. The nasty fire ant also makes its nest here. These tiny red ants are barely visible and pack an amazingly potent sting.

We stowed our gear and relaxed, acclimating to our new surroundings. A new attraction had entered the village -- us! Each villager made some excuse to visit and we soon found ourselves surrounded by the locals. The villagers were open and beautiful and extended their friendship as if to invite us to join the great Amazonian family.

Life in the jungle is extremely difficult and is intimately tied to the river. Every aspect of village life is influenced by the river and its inhabitants.The villager's conversations were fascinating as they told stories of experiences while hunting, fishing and traveling through the jungle. They have many legends and tales of mystical creatures that inhabit the jungle. These nocturnal phantoms venture out on the blackest nights and are known only by their strange cries.

One morning I noticed a man carrying a cooking pot. I asked him what was inside the pot and nearly died when I recognized dead rats. A horrible, putrid odor emanated from the pot and immediately assaulted my nasal passages. I asked "What are those for?" and he answered "Oh, we eat them". I immediately commenced praying to be spared from eating this unseemly meal. I was unable to shake the odor that bothered me for the rest of the day. I kept smelling those rats!

We went for a morning expedition into the jungle to see what we could discover and to do some recording. I have recorded the sounds of jungles in many countries. The difference between each recording is extraordinary, even recordings made in the exact same location at different times or seasons are totally unique. There is such a myriad variety of animal species that make sounds so that each recording ends up being a unique sonic painting.

We returned from the morning's activities in time for lunch which, fortunately, turned out to be the typical Amazonian meal, that is, yucca (a white potato-like root), fish, rice and beans. I gave silent thanks for not having to deal with the "rat" situation. We rested and planned an excursion that night to continue our explorations. The jungle comes alive at night and there are always wonderful sounds echoing through the forest. Dinner time arrived and it seemed that the entire village was out for some sort of celebration. I was ceremoniously handed a plate with an entire blackened rat on its back. It retained its teeth, tail and tiny paws. This was a special meal that they had prepared for us. The smell I had been trying to shake all day blasted my senses as I stared down into the plate. I'm not an actor but I do believe I deserve an Oscar for pretending to savor the delicious meal that was presented to me.

I slowly peeled the skin off, picked at the muscles and delicately slid the meat into my mouth attempting to show an immense joy at this delicious meal, all the while trying not to throw up. I slowly ate the rat with apprent relish and prayed that it wouldn't kill me for the nearest hospital was very far away. When I finished the rat I was kindly offered another but declined and started to pick at some rice and to try the fresh alligator tail.

The amazing result of all of this was that I had no ill effects from the meal. Maybe we should take another look at the lowly rat. Thanksgiving rat??