Rainforest

It began in La Merced. At 3:30am, I took a motor-taxi to the truck stop by the river, where I had five minutes to think before I was ushered into the tarp covered trunk of a pick up truck. Two hours of darkness and the occasional whites of eyes. I could feel the shape of the rugged jungle road clearly in my spine. As the air got thicker it acquired a taste of the warm breath of trees filtered by rain, heavy with a sort of smoky flavor. When the sun came up, the tarp went down and we were in the rainforest. I learned that the mystery water sound was not puddles in the road but periodical waterfalls that we had been driving through. The road got rougher and it became easier to stand than to sit. How beautiful the clouds below that gathered over lakes. By the time we arrived in Puerto Bermudez, the sun was beginnging to set. Longest, most uncomfortable trip I''ve ever been on in my life. It was all beautiful and 100% worth it. Puerto Bermudez. Highly recommend the hostel there. I rested for a day before heading out by small boat for a trek into the jungle. My guide, Achilles, stopped in a small port on the way to trade a bag of bread for a machete. "How can I possibly take you on a trek through the jungle without a machete?" Yeah. After Puerto Bermudez, I started my long trek to Pucallpa. I took a 6am camioneta to Pulcazu, where I traded for a carro to Zungaro, where I traded for another carro to Von Humboldt. I spent the night with locals in Von Humboldt, then in the morning lapsed the final stretch of jungle road to Pucallpa, a huge ass city. I don't like cities, so I bought my ticket to leave the next day. While eating lunch, however, I did get to talk to some natives from a nearby Shipibo village that I plan on visitng next time and maybe try ayahuasca (under the guidance of a shaman). So now I'm in Tingo Maria, which my book said was a crappy but which is actually freaking beautiful, possibly the most beautiful setting for a city that I've seen so far. Wonering if the book said those things on purpose to drive tourists away, keep the place unspoiled. I spent last night in an eco lodge. Tonight I'm taking an overnight bus back to Huancayo to get my bags and visit the kids one last time like I promised.

In retrospect, the past few weeks have been nice. The worst part was knowing how much better they could have been with more time travelling this way.

I consider the three weeks I spent in Huancayo wasted time, and although I enjoyed my time in Lima with Maria Grazia, I definitely didn't need a month there. The Spanish classes were extremely basic, and I have learned a thousand times more just by travelling alone. Furthermore, if I had had time, I could have helped people SO MUCH more on my own than I did with the programs in Lima and Huancayo. The world is full of people who could use a little help and aren't afraid to tell you about it.

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