Boating up and down Cristalino River and checking out trails into the forest. There’s always something to surprise and delight but it takes patience. Hot and humid with afternoon thunderstorms but it clears the air and almost immediately turns the foliage bright green. The morning noises are cacophonous and a great alarm call. There’s always activity around our lodge, shrieking parakeets, squawking macaws and a constant battle to keep out the moths and other flying critters who want to join us for the night.

But the jungle doesn’t give up its wildlife easily. This is no zoo. The animals are wary and the jungle is dense. But just as we had imagined ‘proper jungle’ to be. Fab.