The True Top 5 Dangers for Tourists on the Amazon
*Caution!! this is written to dispel common misconceptions about traveling to the Amazon Basin.
There are various grades of travel and each are distinct.
Eco-Tourism (Curiosity of nature and its organisms)
Esoteric Tourism (Involving the consumption of mind altering substances)
Expeditionary (Scientific investigation)
Here I will cover the Eco-tourism aspect, although most themes can be applied to all three grades of travel. If you look for sensationalist material, go away! This is to inform people from the perspective of someone working in the Amazonian Tourism/Expeditionary service for 15 years.
Hollywood portrays a green hell writhing with creatures inclined to ingest you, which is true if you are already dead.
For example, many are afraid of an attack by a giant anaconda or piranhas. Others have thought maybe savage cannibals / drug runners will kidnap them.
Some think that you cant travel to the Amazon without contracting malaria.
The truth is, none of those are correct.
Proportionately to the amount of tourists that visit the Amazon, the chances of those things happening are slim to none.
Many dangerous situations can be avoided with minimal thought/caution. Risks are reduced even more when you use a professional guide service like Otorongo Expeditions.
This list is concise and does not deal with minor afflictions like ant stings or chigger bites
#1 Getting hit by falling objects-
The rain-forest is filled with dangers but the most dangerous is normally out of sight, obscured by foliage of the mid story forest. Large tree branches weighted down by termite nests and epiphytes can come crashing down with very little warning.
More likely to have a sloth fall on your head than have an anaconda eat you
#2 Food or Water poisoning , it is very important to know that what you are going to consume is hygenic and free of bacterias that may not respond well in your gut.
#3 Slipping on trails into spiny vegetation. Many places you can visit do not have year round trails with bridges and walkways. The trails are usually curving around hills and terraces or crossing creeks with small round logs as bridges. All this wouldn't be so dangerous if there weren't a multitude of spiny plants and insects waiting to be fallen on.
#4