I took a much-needed nap after the aforementioned cat-calling and felt refreshed enough to venture down to the main square this evening, where I encountered a force of largely female security officers. Have to admit, this made me feel significantly reassured for a second… until I bumped into a random Brit, who told me about arriving in town late and being attacked and mugged at the port. Not something I wanted to hear after an already insecure day.

Soon after, I made a quick trip to see one of the million water fountains at night, and while peering down a staircase I made eye contact with a naked man just sitting on a railing, nothing but a towel covering his privates. I took this as a sign and calmly returned to the serenity of the hotel.

It’s suddenly occurring to me why everyone seems to book their Amazon tour and head directly to the jungle and why the single female travellers I see (well, only two so far) are all hardened and inside gated patio areas, chain-smoking.

Still, I attribute most of this wonkiness to not having slept over the last 24 hours and aim to wake up all bright and optimistic tomorrow AM! Grr, I can do this!