Puerto Maldonado:
We left Lima at about 5:30am on Saturday morning July 25th. We were all exhausted because that night we went over Fernando's friend Rumi's house to have a farewell get-together with our friend Jenny before she returned to the United States. Despite the exhuastion, I found myself sitting next to an extremely interesting Australian man on the plane. Instead of sleeping, I ended up chatting with my new friend Rod for the entire flight. It was so enlightening to hear about all of his travels throughout the world, and it inspired me to start thinking about ways to travel in the future.
After the flight we arrived in Puerto Maldonado, a small city in the southern portion of the Amazon rainforest in Peru. After browsing the city markets and buying some delicious Brazilian nuts we got in a long thin boat and took an hour boat ride along the Madre de Dios river to the EcoAmazonia lodge. The lodge included a bunch of straw and wooden bungalows, just like I had imagined a village in the jungle would look like! It was surprisingly cold in the jungle on the first day and there was no heat or hot water, so we bundled up. For lunch when we arrived we ate juane, which is a rice and chicken mixture folded up in a huge palm leaf. That evening we went with our guide Luis to a little island across the river, called La Isla de los Monos (Monkey Island). There we saw all kinds of monkeys in the forest and none of them were afraid to come right up to humans. One even stood on Evelyn's shoulders!
On Sunday we started the day by hiking a few kilometers into the jungle to find a lake, called Apu Victor. Along the way our guide Roni showed us some interesting plants: a garlic tree, a huge "Father tree", a termite nest, a rubber tree, etc. We stopped at one tree where Roni took out a little nut-shaped object and cut it in half with his machete. He pulled out a little white worm called a suri and explained that this worm is commonly eaten by natives of the jungle. After he asked if anyone wanted a taste a suri, Meredith, Peter, and Evelyn tried one! I decided that you only live once and I might as well keep an open mind to new things while here in Peru, so I tried the worm too. It was a little slimy, but all in all it wasn't that bad! We also tried termites, which were tiny and seemed like candy compared to the suri.
The lake was absolutely beautiful and we took a little boat ride to see some plants and animals in the area. We got within a few feet from a huge brown caiman, which is an alligator-like creature. After the lake we took another boat ride to a small side river off of the Madre de Dios. This river was a little less brown and supposedly had less caiman lurking around in it, although it still had pirhanas! After having no luck fishing in the river, Roni asked us if anyone wanted to go swimming. I decided to take the opportunity and volunteer first - when else would I get the chance again to swim in a river in the Amazon rainforest? Roni got out a rope swing and tied it to a tree on the river bank, and without thinking about the caiman we saw earlier I jumped in! Eventually Meredith, Peter, Jen, and a man from Greece tried the rope swing too, but not until I had jumped in four times already!
On the boat ride back to the bungalows we saw the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen, a bright orange and yellow over the forest canopies and reflecting in the river. Later that night Roni asked us if we could help him with some of his questions about English. He speaks four languages: Quechua (the native language descended from the Incas), Spanish, English, and French. It was cool to try to help him improve and to learn a little more about his life. Like many of the other guides, Roni is from Cusco and had to come to the jungle to find work. Many of the guides come from extreme poverty and work far away from their families and homes with only a few days off each month.
The jungle was an experience that I'll never forget, and I really hope to return later on in the semester to see Iquitos in the more northern part. I'll have to write more about the rest of the trip later, but for now: ¡Hasta luego!
Suri worms!
The group in front of the "Father tree"
The beautiful lake Apu Victor
Sunset on the Madre de Dios river
Our bungalow
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