Wonderland

With so many pre-planned activities to fit into four short days, two of which included travelling, I had very little spare time whilst at the hotel. In fact I only had a couple of hours one afternoon when the guide said to me, do what you want. The only problem was, what could I do? There I was in a hotel in the middle of the Amazonian rain forest, with the nearest town being two hours boat ride away, I was literally surrounded by just trees and rivers. Luckily for me I have a great love of nature, and in particular photographing it, so it was decided, I would take a long walk along the miles of walkways that stood above the river.

With camera in hand I soon found myself snapping away, unable to stop as every turn I made, the view changed. Yes I was just photographing the trees and the river, and yes you might think how many pictures can one person take of the same trees and the same river, but each time I turned around it was like stepping into a new place, I felt like Alice in Wonderland.

With the river 10 metres higher than in the dry season there were some trees almost completely submerged in the water, only the top green branches appearing to float on the water. Other trees of 40 metres or more in height stood tall and proud, their wide trunks clearly visible and touchable, their branches out of reach, swaying in stark contrast to the blue sky.

It wasn't just the trees that changed but the river too. The river Negro's appearance is like its name suggests, it is very dark, almost black. However due to the reflection of the trees on the water its appearance changed regularly. At times it appeared green, the vivacity of the leaves clearly visible. When the trees stood high above the river, clustered together, the shady water below appeared red in colour, a scarlet red. And where there were no trees the water's surface only reflected the blue sky, not a cloud in sight.