Blogs from Ucayali, Peru, South America - page 4

And hup, Here I am in Pucallpa, having fun on the carrousel, I always wanted to sit on that, and the security here is bogus, so ... Pucallpa, crazy monkey town, the only place in the world where u are scared a drunk monkey will stab you and steal your money. It is full with mototaxis, bums, crazy markets, chickens and .... churches. Those bastards even infiltrated the jungle, trying to gain a few souls here, buy religion and destroy the indigenous culture. I quit here, before I go into a rant about the church ... So we arrived very late, had a few drinks, really nice juices from fruits, I swear they have so many crazy fruits here, mmmm. It is sooooooooo hot here, I mean, soooooo hot, even hotter than in the Black Rock ... read more

So we sadly said goodbye to Home Sweet Home and the beautiful city of Cusco. Our luggage was a little heavier after all our shopping, and Rachel and Delia also had ornate walking sticks that helped them through the Inca Trail. Mine (Ana's) reeked of vomit and Chas and I were too cheap to buy a prettily designed one (thank goodness Chas says) so I decided to leave it behind. A brief stopover in Lima with the wonderful Pedro and Emma to repack all the stuff we left there before heading to Cusco (a deeply horrible process that Chas and I put off until we came back from the jungle) ended back at Lima airport via taxi. It has always been a really cosy ride when we've caught taxis together! As James is the tallest it ... read more

My travels have slowed down the past few months. I have remained in the area surrounding Pucallpa, making the 1 hour journey into town by boat, a few times each week to check email and buy food. I have not encountered any new pueblos, villages, or tourist sights, so this journal will be more about the cultural aspects of the Shipibo culture of San Francisco and surrounding area. Also, more of my thoughts and experiences...... Life for the past 7 months among the Shipibos has been interesting, (to say the least). Because of western influences, such as religion, tourism, (especially ayahuasca tourism), logging companies, electricity, (and with it radios, WWF wrestling, soap operas, and all other influences from the modern world), and a new road connecting Pucallpa to San Francisco, life for the Shipibos has changed ... read more

Hello World The past few weeks have been relatively tranquil. I would like to get more relaxation in but there is always work to do on the farm...and I now have 3 dogs, 1 cat, and 2 parrots....and I'm sorry to report, my tortoise just escaped. I have planted seeds for mandarins, oranges, grapefruit, guava, lemon, camu-camu, cucumber, and a bunch of other lovely fruits and veggies. The seeds are waiting for the rain to come. They say that it rains very hard for all of October, November and December here in the jungle. When the rains start, the dirt road to San Francisco closes and everyone that wishes to go to Pucallpa must take a slow motor boat (peke-peke) to and from the city. Weeds grow very fast here and there is a never ending ... read more

After my friends went back home to Switzerland I decided to stay in the world of the Shipibos and to explore a little more. Together with curandero Daniel Arevalo, who had been with us during the last 12 days in San Francisco, I took a 17 hours boatride to the community where he lives with his huge family - Hunin Pablo. Unlike San Francisco the community Hunin Pablo is a pure rivercommunity, only accessable per boat. His family welcomed me openly and soon I lived in midst of them. In a house without walls, only a wooden floor and palmtree-roof, I had my sleeping place in a hammock sourrounded by the family-members sleeping around me under their mosquito-nets... No fluent water, no electricity... Bathing everyday in the river... I continued the special diet without sugar, fat ... read more