Five days in the Amazon

Manu Biosphere - Amazon Jungle

Five days in the Jungle and a lifetime´s experience in one of the strangest and most beautiful rainforests on Earth...

April 13

We arrived to meet our Guide at 7am for what would be our ten hour journey up and over the Andes - with a decent from 3500 meters to 400m above sea-level, into the Amazon Basin.
Rider, our guide (that is his real name), is a 30 year old English Teacher/Jungle Guide who was born within the northern Jungle near Iquitos... As a native born in the rainforest, one hardly has much oppertunity for a successful life outside the Jungle - Rider is amoung the exception - beyond it... After having lived in England for a year and a half (part of a university exchange program that excepts only the top 1% of students in all of Peru) he returned to Peru so as to guide people through the perils of Jungle expedition as well as begin his career as a Teacher. Speaking fluent English, French, Spanish and the native language of the Jungle people, upon first impression he radiates an air of highly intelligent militaryesque professionalism, with humble confidence, blending perfectly with a friendly demeanor full of life experience and rainforest wisdom. I was impressed.

We set out over the Andes the first day - Myself, Angie, Noel, Clair and Hariet (two 18 year old girls from Wales), our driver Edwin, our cook Lourdes, our assistant guide Mariabelle (all of them also from the Jungle) and Rider, our trusted guide...
The ten hour climb up and over the Andes flew past, being thourghly entertained the entire day (as well as every waking minute of the days to come) by our Welsh companions... :-) Let me tell you breifly about these girls; there wasn´t a moment´s chance to sing along at the top of their lungs that was missed, with all the energy found only in two 18, going on 16, year old girls - all the while clapping and dancing in the back of the van. These girls were later refered to by all as the Princessas, and despite the constant teasing by Noel and I (mainly about their funny Welsh accents), they loved every minute of it - and made the entire trip far lighter and funnier for everyone. They were the perfect addition to the expedition - by mid day nearly everyone was singing along with a smile on their face..
We stopped for lunch at our highest point in the Andes and Rider began to explain the workings of the Jungle to us... He explained that the people of the Jungle understand that nothing in the rainforest is under control and that anything at any time could happen - from spiders to snakes to crocs to jaguars to wild pigs and poisonous frogs - and that the people of the Jungle life know this and have learned to live within this highly chaotic and yet perfectly harmonious environment. He explained about the layers of geographical ecosystems we would be passing through upon our descent: High Andean plains lacking vegetation, into Alpine Forest, Elfinwood Forest, Cloud Forest and finally the Jungle Rainforest...
The entire day was amazing, and we slipped into the thick humid hot Jungle atmosphere as night fell upon us - stopping in a quiet little Jungle village for an overnight stay and an evening of cervesas before what would turn out to be the most amazing birthday of my life, the following day.

April 14:

"Who´s up for whitewater rafting Class III

Thermal Springs, deep in the Rainforest
April 14 - Thermal Springs

Rapids?!?"

We awoke at 6am and ate a delicious breakfast made by our amazing cook Lourdes while Rider disappeared, leaving his breakfast to get cold, and hunted down a birthday cake for desert.. I couldn´t believe it. Happy Birthday was sung and we ate - all of us anxious to get out there on the river for what was for most of us the first time whitewater rafting.
Our rafting guide was a friend of Rider and he walked us through the safety procedures should anything happen. "Don´t we need helmets or something?" I suppose we should have felt lucky that we all had lifejackets ... After a brief instruction we were out on the Rio Alta Madres de Dios rafting Class III rapids and loving it (although we had a bit of a detour start, as we hit a rock and I nearly went for a tumble, losing my paddle - we recovered it quickly and away we went).
The rafting down the rapids was fun, and although it was Class III and some of the time was spent drifting - the experience was a perfect one for our first glimpses of the Amazon - floating down a river for an hour and a half, navigating rapids and listening to Rider explain the various birds and vegetation we were seeing... At one point, on a calm dirfting lull we found ourselves in discussion, joking and laughing about nothing in particular, only to hear our Rafting guide trying to get our attention with broken english, "Okaaaaay....Danger Please!!!" Noel and I, at the front of the raft, broke out laughing at the comment only to turn and find ourselves running headlong into a section of large rapids... By far, the best part was near the end, when the Guide gave us all the OK to jump off the raft into the current of the river for a swim!
I destinctly remember thinking to myself, as I floated down the Rio, "Here I am... exactly 24 years after the date of my birth - drifting down a river in the middle of the Amazon Jungle... and I smiled.

Next we arrived from our rafting expedition to a small port town so as to connect with our boat and driver - who would then sail us down the river for the next 7 hours to where we would set up our tents for the night.

Lunch was spent at an obscure natural thermal spring off the river that would have went by completely unknown if it wasn´t for our experienced guides... We swam and rolled around, smearing the hot mineral mud all over our bodies before setting down on the bank for a delicious lunch.

Back in the boat, with El Capitan Borris at the helm... This man would later demonstrate his amazing river navigation skills beyond anything I had ever seen, in the days to come.

By mid-afternoon we had arrived at the location that would be our base camp for the next two days, setting up our tents and relaxing a little before Rider gathered us around for a quick but incredibly serious lecture about the reality of the Jungle... His words were reassuring and informative, but his expression and tone was nothing short of, "listen, you are now in the Jungle, very far from anything else... I am not fucking around when I tell you these precautions".

A brief rest and a snack and then Borris takes us across the Rio to where we would begin our nighttime Jungle expedition, equipped with headlamps and faith in our Guide... The best part was stepping off the boat and watching the eager surprise on our guides face as he crouches and touches the inside of an extremely fresh Jaguar track on the beach... Little did we know that three hours into the night one of us would be eaten... Okay okay okay... No one was eaten, but the possibility had crossed my mind.

The nighttime Jungle trek was amazing... We ran into all kinds of spiders... Wolf Spiders, HUGE Scorpion Spiders lurking on tree trunks in the darkness... And at one point, while wandering I happened to notice something move near my foot in the dim light of my headlamp... A Wolf Tarrantula! It was quite gentle and enormous!

Heading back to the boat after a bit of night fishing in a small lagoon, we took another route - crossing log bridges in the dark and sweating from the humidity - and arrived back at camp just in time for a candle lit dinner, complete with wine and good company.

All in all, it was one of the most amazing days I have had and by far the most exciting and interesting birthday I have had yet.

April 15:

Breakfast and a quick digestion before setting out... We wandered the Jungle all day. According to Rider, 25% of all pharmaceutical drugs in the world are derived from plants in the amazon, and yet only 1% of all species in the Jungle have yet been studied... The Manu Bioshpere is a protected section of the Amazon used by many scientists for research.
It really is amazing how many medicinal plants and trees surround you... Rider points our everything to us.. breaking into brief explanations about how they are used by the natives of the Jungle. Nearly every plant and tree is used for some ailment.
At one point, Rider demonstrated how Strangevine Trees can be climbed from the inside... The Strangevine will wrap itself around a tree, and over a process of 200 years slowly kill the tree as it´s own vines grow bigger... In 2-300 years you would never know it was a vine, you would think it a tree... yet the inside is completely hollow, with notches and holes everywhere, allowing one to climb to the top for a panoramic of the Jungle canopy. This one, however, was full of bats (which didn´t stop Rider, of course) - and made for an interesting climb for the rest of us. There is nothing creepier than a tree bat perched on the inside wall of the tree, watching you approach. ;-)
The highlight of the day, for me anyway (maybe not THE highlight, but it was up there), was upon coming to a long narrow log bridge... With the others already crossed - Noel and I stood there looking at this bridge, having doubts - "Hey Noel, I bet you´ll get halfway across and that log will break under you" - Noel scoffs and wanders out onto the bridge.... Crrrrraaaaaaaaaack!!! BAM! Noel is in the water. Now, most people´s first reaction would be concern... but for some reason I couldn´t stop laughing as he sat there in the water, startled and wet... hahaha... It was greeeaaat. Noel, being the champ that he is, shook it off and carried on... I took the other log. ;-)

April 16:

"What would you say about a little late night Crocodile Hunting?"
"I´d say, can we eat it afterward?"

We awoke and ate breakfast, broke camp - taking down our tents and loading the gear into the boat for a 4 hour boat ride to our next camp location... We awoke to rain... And I mean rain... Port Albernians think they know rain... but let me tell you, when it rains in the Jungle - it rains marbles. So here we are loading our gear into a new bigger boat (because with all the rain the raging river is safer in a larger boat), and we are travelling upstream... Not 20 minutes into the voyage and the canopy blocking (sort of) some of the rain rips off the top... We are roofless and in torrential rains as we make our way up Rio Alta Madre de Dios. I loved every minute of it! ... I didnt mind being soaked head to toe for 4 hours as we navigated the river, but by the end of the 4 hours I was relieved to find warm clothes in my backpack before setting up the tent under a shelter. We ate and warmed up, everyone in high spirits for the feature event... Tonight we were to hunt Caimans in a swamp upon a small balsawood raft, after dark....

Crocodile hunting 101:

• A) Wait until
  
  Thermal Springs
  
  it is verrrrrry dark, drifting out in the middle of a swamp.
• B) Search for glowing red eyes in the blackness with your headlamp.
• C) Steer the raft verrrrrry slowly toward the lurking Croc with your very crafty (or incredibly crazy) Guide crouching on the front.
• D) Ready?! Aiiiiiim! FIIIRRRRREEEE - The Guide leaps off the Raft and and clutches the Croc around the muzzle.

Really truly folks... This is exactly how it is done.. I shit you not.
Rider nearly caught us a Croc a few times... but each time we were sooooo close... but no luck.. the crafty Croc sunk under JUST in the nick of time.

Wow... what a night.. We returned through the Jungle to our boat with everyone´s headlamps burnt out except mine and Riders - making a dangerous waist high river crossing on foot - with the current making for a firm footing extremely difficult... we passed the river in twos, for support... and then made it to the boat where Borris awaited to take us across the much bigger Rio... A pitch black night, this unforgiving river raged as Borris fought it to make the crossing... How he found our camp is beyond my understanding, but with perfect precision he landed us on shore, safe and sound.

We spent the night beside the campfire... talking and laughing and drinking Champaign... It was our last night in the Jungle together, and we had all become as a family. Each a part of the other´s journey into the Jungle.. each sharing and adding to the other´s experience. It had been a good journey.

April 17:

Heading by boat back to the Port Town, we loaded our gear out of the boat and into the Van for our long voyage back up over the Andes... Out of the Amazon.

The day passed quickly... everyone in high spirits, despite our departure.. and the hours were passed singing along to spanish and english music... teasing each other about non-sense (Noel repeated asking Lourdes to marry him in spanish - mainly for her amazing cooking skills and awesome personality)... And finally... We arrive in Cusco... Stopping for dinner. "Cuys" ... For the uninformed that is the Peruvian delicacy known to the english as Guinea Pig... Yes that´s right Guinea Pig ... Hell, if I can shoot and eat a squirrel in the Yukon.. A Guinea Pig should be easy right? hahah.. Despite the notion that you are eating rodent, it was unbelievably delicious and we all sat down for a good hearty meal of... well, Guinea Pig. ;-)

Off loading, showering and resting for a bit... the entire group decided to meet at a local club for some drinks and celebration that night.. We met at Mama Africa and had a wonderful time, drinking long into the night.

April 18:

Tonight we were all invited to Rider´s house for dinner... Myself, Angie, Noel, Claudia, Clair, Hariet and Rider´s sister and a Quechua Shaman friend of Rider´s (whom Rider invited upon my request to meet him). Mario, the Medicine Man, explained his practises to us.. his beliefs while speaking of a ceremony known as Ayawaska Ceremony... It is a halucinagenic cactus brought from the Jungle.. The natives use it as a sort of spiritual practise.. and as I expressed interest in this to Rider, he arranged our meeting.. It is something very serious and after our discussion it is something I will have to take time considering... Tonight we all sat and ate a home cooked meal - Tommorrow we all part ways... Clair and Hariet for Arequipa... Myself and Noel for Bolivia, Rider remains teaching here in Cusco and of course... Tommrrow morning Angie must leave for her long journey back to Lima in order to meet her flight for Canada on the 20th of April.. Then it is off to Europe for two months for her.

I will see you all in Bolivia - Ciao folks

Joseph

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