Hammocks

I bought my hammock for 30 reals in Tabatinga, which was probably not the best price, but the lady was so nice and enthusiastic that I decided not to really bargain with her. And the hammock turned out to be a pretty good one compared to some of what I saw, although the orange dye did come off a bit, staining my clothes (came off later in the wash though). At any rate, after spending 5 of 7 days sleeping in hammocks, I learned a couple of things. For one, make sure you get a hammock big enough for you. Being a little bigger than normal, I got a good size hammock and that worked well. Second, hang it as flat as you can. If you can string out the ends far away and not leave much, if any, slack in the ropes connected the hammock to whatever it is hanging on, so much the better. The flatter it is, the flatter you sleep. And lastly, sleeping diagonally, if you can, across the hammock will flatten it and help you sleep. Lastly, if you are sleeping next to other people, as I was, it's probably best to get your hammock above theirs if possible. Being higher not only makes the hammock lie flatter, but also helps you stay out of their way when they are moving in and out of the area.

All in all, I actually slept fairly well most of those nights, and very well during naps.