Moving between Mieni to Vilcabamba had its own challenges for the Dinotopians. Some of this has to do with the fact that they had some more jumps than the trip to Mieni. They couldn't just fly to Vilcabamba, but to Manaus and then go by boat to the Animalian colony. This soon lead to some of the biggest problems that the Dinotopians had, their own size. The ferries and boats that were available weren't super large and the guides in Manaus stated that some of the larger Dinotopians couldn't go on the boats together.
"You know... if I didn't have all this luggage to carry... I might just swim to the hotel," Regina commented, "some of the facts I found on Spinosaurus said that it lived in environments like this."
"I'd rather not get my regular clothes wet and dirty," Jen commented from her spot on the pier beside Andrew as she watched out as the first ferry went out toward the hotel with some of the smaller Dinotopians on the ferry. She could see that it was rather modest sized ferry, which made their concerns about the weight of the larger Dinotopians being an honest issue.
As she felt Andrew's hand come to rest on her hip, she smiled. He was great in bed and unbelievably strong, but she'd also found him calm and understanding. He'd given her a great deal of comfort with things that went beyond things like sex, and she loved him for it. Especially as it gave her comfort when she first came to Animalia from Japan and gave her the confidence to go through the Project Phoenix allowance for Project Mesozoic to deal with her massively oversized breasts at the time. Her conversion handled the rest, as while her breasts were a bit smaller on her than before... at least in proportion to all the muscle she gained in becoming a Brachiosaurus Dinotopian... she did feel far more comfortable with herself. And Andrew was fun to be with, in every possible way.
"Of course, some would pay to see that," Tyra chuckled earning a few chuckles from the others that were there.
The chuckles ended after an irritated snort cut them off. Tyra looked over her shoulder to see Sherry and Wanda a bit behind them and to the side of Jen and Andrew. The two had been doing well with regard to their training with the Rhino Guard, but were at a point to take a bit of a vacation break. Despite the fact that Sherry was a Triceratops Dinotopian and Wanda a Wooly Rhinoceros Animalian, both got along reasonably well. The only one who looked a bit uncomfortable was Wanda.
"We don't need to be playing entirely to sex and attraction," Wanda commented.
"It isn't everything," Tyra answered and nuzzled Rex for a moment and gave a glance to Jeremy and Heather who only shook their heads, "but it IS fun."
Wanda only snorted in response. She only hoped that the facilities for the larger Animalians had good air conditioning, or at least a fan. She wasn't that overheated, but she did feel rather warm in the tropical heat while she waited for the ferry to return.
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It took a little while for all of them to get ferried to Vilcabamba, but their arrival did go fairly well, and they were warmly greeted as they arrived. Checking in was a bit difficult, particularly for Andrew and Jen, as they had quite literally crouch down to their hands and knees in the main lobby area, but then as the tallest Sauropods Dinotopians that Animalia had at the moment, that sort of thing would be a bit of a given. Especially in a lobby that was designed those closer to the heights of humans and Animalians that were closer to a human's size.
Both of them were pleased to be able to head out the back doors to look to the huts that were erected, though they also found that to call them "huts" was a bit dishonest. They looked a bit like smaller versions of the hotel building and were built in a sort of half circle behind the main building at Vilcabamba. The thing that made them different from the main building was that the doors and windows were scaled up to a larger size. The size was more for an Elephant or Giraffe Animalian, but Andrew had found that while these structures weren't perfect, they were certainly better than nothing. There was an area for a small bathroom and shower in the back, but it was about the only separate room in the structure.
"We'll have the lower our heads a bit... but I think we can stand in these," Andrew commented to Jen.
"Yes... though we have to do a lot of that already at home," Jen chuckled.
"I can't wait for the Dinotopian colony to be completed too," Andrew smiled to her.
They entered "hut" and found that much of it was in a big singular room, like the rooms in the main building that were set up as hotel rooms, but it also had certain amenities that included a sort of living space and a small cooking area, though this was more for snacks than anything else. It wasn't quite on par with what Andrew had for them at their place back in Lyre/Animalia but in its own way it was rather nice.
"Hopefully they'll let us get our meals to go while we're here," Andrew commented he tested the bed's size and strength. It held his weight but only just barely. In this, he didn't think that the bed they provided would hold both him and Jen at the same time, "as their restaurant might be a bit cramped... and this place does provide more room, but it isn't by much."
Jen nodded, "not to mention that there is a certain vibe that the rainforest gives off... it might actually be nice eat outside. Maybe we can see some of the local animals."
"I assume you mean the unuplifted animals?" Andrew asked.
"Yes, it'd be something interesting... something I couldn't really get in Japan," Jen commented, "because of... well... because of the weight I had to carry back then. I never really got the opportunity to "commune" with nature... or what little nature there is in a densely packed island country like Japan."
Outside and on the other side of the path that lead out into the jungle, Sherry and Wanda were inspecting their own "hut." It was the same size as the one that Jen and Andrew shared, though that lead to its own issues. Namely that there was only one bed.
"They put us in a honeymoon suite!" Wanda protested with a snort.
"Jeremy and Heather are on their honeymoon," Sherry teased.
"We aren't!" Wanda answered, "I'm fine with the communal showering thing. Even the males in the Rhino Guard have been very polite. I'm fine with that... but I'm not gay!"
"They probably had some concerns with not taking up too much space," Sherry answered, "as these vacation homes are bigger than the main hotel's floor is in the hotel... likely their reasoning for fitting our size... but at the same time they don't destroy the rainforest and potentially the dig site that's up the path."
Wanda sighed heavily and looked down at the single bed they had. It was a neat and remarkably cool space, all things considered, though she did have her concerns regarding the fact as though it seemed as though they were expecting everyone to share a bed. In that, even the ceiling fan, which did a good job of keeping the air moving didn't change her opinion too much.
"Well... if you're that concerned," Sherry finally spoke, "I can sleep on the couch. Besides... the guide said there were some opportunities for adventure and exploring. It should mean that we don't have to spend all our time in this vacation home..."
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Regina, meanwhile, after she had gotten her room and then wished Jeremy and Heather fun with whatever they wanted to do, she put on her swimsuit and returned to the front desk where she found Cranio who was just finishing up with some of the last guests coming in.
"Going to the pool?" Cranio asked politely.
"Actually... I was thinking more about fishing," Regina answered, "One of the guys that was on the ferry that came on said that you provide a special... that those at the restaurant who want fish can catch their own... or something like that."
"We do give some "guests" that opportunity," Cranio commented, "though more often not our guests end up being resident fishermen who have been looking for fish to catch with the appropriate season."
"So... would I need to buy a special license?" Regina asked.
"That would depend on the fish..." Cranio said slowly, "some like the Arapaima WOULD have special requirements in that you'd need to be local to the area and in a remote part of the river... mostly due to over fishing. Though we do have some legal allowances for catching Brachyplatystoma or the Goliath Catfish... that is the fish our restaurant serves and would be the fish you would be allowed to fish for to eat..."
"So... would you know a good spot to catch one?" Regina asked with a bit of a toothy grin.
She liked swimming at Mieni, in that the water was warm and comfortable and even from the surface, it was clear enough that she could easily see what was going on below her. However, the fish there were small and fast, and the ones that looked the tastiest were actually the occasional small reef sharks that had come into the lagoon. There hadn't been anything too exciting there. And a part of her reasoning for becoming a Spinosaurus Dinotopian was to get some fun and excitement, not to be the sort of doormat that she'd ended up being after the injury that hurt her back. In this, there had been some interest in that sort of thing as part of the Colony tour trip, as she knew that were some big fish in the Amazon and that it was a river that was actively fished and had its fair share of dangers, be they Bull Sharks, Stingrays, Electric Eels, or Black Caiman. She'd figured it to be a challenge that her predatory instincts couldn't turn down.
"Well... there is this place that I go when it's for food for Mandibula and I," Cranio said slowly, "How well can you swim?"
"Pretty well," Regina answered, "I can't dive quite as well as you probably can... but I can swim well enough that I can grab it as it goes by... and as a Spinosaurus, I do have the same sort of domed pressure receptors that many crocodilians have."
"Amazing," Cranio said slowly, "well... we may need to go to some shallower areas if you cannot easily dive well... but if you're actively looking for a thrill... I think I can help."
Cranio was truly amazed at this. He and Mandibula had some those senses on their mouths and Melbourne had told them that crocodiles also had them on nearly every scale. He'd seen some of the reveal on Project Dinotopia and Horizon scientists who had been setting up their offices in Manaus had told him a few things about the creatures that lived long before the dawn of man, but he'd never thought he'd actually get to meet one of the Dinotopians up close or that she would have so many features that seemed strikingly familiar to him.
"It will take me a few moments to get ready, though," Cranio then spoke and moved into the back room behind the front desk.
It didn't take too long and Cranio lead Regina into the waters of the Amazon River. It gave both of them some opportunity to see how they swam. Cranio generally retained the traditional crocodilian use of swinging his tail side to side. Regina couldn't do that, however. She'd found in her acclimation classes with Rex's help that her tail was actually too stiff for that sort of movement. It was strong and muscular, but it wasn't quite the sort of limb that would be best for swimming. Her high spines that formed the sail on her back also limited to some degree the sort of twisting motions that went with regard traditional swimming strokes. However, she did find that on the surface, she could practically paddle like a duck or a pelican with her webbed feet, or use some swimming motions that would let her use her arm muscles to pull herself forward in the water. In this, both kept pace with one another, even if the specific ways were different.
And the fishing expedition did go rather well. Regina got some help from Cranio, as he had the specialized membranes that would allow him to see under water, which Regina didn't have and could actively drive the fish to her. They ultimately went to a shallower spot where Regina could stand in the water, though Cranio was impressed that the actual depth of the water would be pretty deep for a human, and Regina stood there quite well. She tentatively let her muzzle dip into the water and softly moved her hands through it, as if to feel the catfish. It had amazed her on how well the sense worked as it felt like any movement in the water was enough for her to sense that movement. Given the time and so on, they'd agreed to a plan where Cranio drove the Goliath Catfish to Regina to let her make the catch, which Regina was thankful for... and in the end was proud to catch two of the fish. They writhed and tried to break free of her grasp, but her hands were strong, and with one, her conical teeth was enough to keep it from getting away.
"Exciting?" Cranio asked as he observed Regina with her prizes. They looked like they were smaller than the Goliath Catfish's full size, but he'd also known from experience that the fish could be tough to wrestle down. Even in helping Regina catch them, the fact that she was able to overpower two of the large catfish and hold them in her arms was impressive.
"Thrilling," Regina said with a smile, "and I'm sure these two will be tasty. Will be quite a tale to tell Heather and Jeremy... if they're not too busy being newlyweds."