I confess, I have a classic case of the travel bug.\u00a0 There is no antidote.\u00a0 I understand the consequences of being infected, with no plans of taming only tolerating this disorder.<\/p>\n
As I reflect on my time spent in the Amazon, although short, it was the source of\u00a0 many peculiar stories often packed with surprises.\u00a0 Our family-oriented expedition lasted five nights with plenty of exciting explorations.\u00a0 I was a wee bit apprehensive about travelling into the depths of Amazonia, but energized by the excitement this quest might offer.<\/p>\n
We flew into Iquitos, the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon and drove ninety minutes to Nauta, where a riverboat named the Delfin awaited us. My family and I were fortunate to float down the second largest river in the world on an incredible riverboat equipped with the luxuries of a hotel.\u00a0 The idea of being in a secluded and serene setting while venturing into the untamed and natural world was an adrenaline rush.<\/p>\n
As the Delfin glided down the mirror-like jungle waterways, I was restless and ready to meet the Ribere\u00f1os, an indigenous community who call the Amazon River basin home. Flora and fauna were abundant and time seemed to stand still. My senses were on stimulation overload, as we ventured into Peru\u2019s vast Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve; home to sloths and owl monkeys, pink dolphins, scarlet macaws, crocodiles, river turtles, and giant anacondas. The wild scene was complemented by superb birdwatching.<\/p>\n
On the first night of our voyage, the Captain explained the mythical status of the Amazon, its power within nature, and the spiritual world. \u201cThis is extremely important to the native people.\u00a0 A realm they claim to get closer to by utilizing plants that contain certain hallucinogens.\u00a0 One of the most important persons to many indigenous groups is the Shaman.\u00a0 This individual holds knowledge of local plants and animals, and is believed to communicate with the spirit world,\u201d While we consumed a delectable local fish steamed with coconut milk, rice and beans. I was elated to learn I would be blessed by an introduction to a real-life Shaman the following day.\u00a0 Even if it was a tourist tactic, I was thrilled.<\/p>\n
To explore the aboriginal communities and interact with locals was easily one of my favorite experiences on this trip.\u00a0 I observed and valued how both traditional and modern elements are integrated into their lives. \u00a0They live in simple but well-kept wooden homes with thatched roofs, elevated on stilts in case the rising river waters come up over the bank.\u00a0 The river is their lifeblood and their respected nemesis being the source of many dangers.<\/p>\n
Watching the women, I could identify with their tasks of taking care of the children, cooking, gathering yucca, and other plants with which their ancestral medicine was created.\u00a0 The men, communally referred to as \u201cforest guardians\u201d cut trees to make canoes. They float the Amazon selling their crops and trade.\u00a0 Young children join their fathers at an early age to learn how to navigate the reaches of the Amazon.<\/p>\n
One of my heartfelt highlights from this village visit was when I encountered a group of giggling girls sitting near the bank of the river watching their mothers do laundry.\u00a0 They were around six years old and exuded pure joy.\u00a0 As this magical moment was captured on my camera, I turned the screen to show them their image.\u00a0 Each squealed with delight and ran off.\u00a0 I left the village with a full heart.\u00a0 It was transformative to watch a civilization exist on whatever food can be obtained by hunting, gathering, and farming for one\u2019s family.\u00a0 As we returned to our boat, I noticed our crew embodied the same characteristics of the villagers, a genuine contentment and solace in their surroundings.\u00a0 I was hoping the mythical spirit of the Amazon would infiltrate our weary family as well.<\/p>\n
On day three, we elevated to the towering treetops of the Amazon Rainforest, hosting the longest canopy walkways in the world.\u00a0 There were suspended bridges which spread between 14 of the area\u2019s largest trees. \u00a0We were walking within historic plants, native animals and paused many times.\u00a0 The pause was a welcome respite due to the heat . . . . I am sure our guide, Juan Luis, stopped so frequently to make sure we did not need any of the native plants used for heat stroke!\u00a0 \u00a0After our canopy walk, as we made our way back to the Delfin, pink dolphins were spotted.\u00a0 Suddenly they were real. It took me by surprise. They truly exist.\u00a0 These miniature river dolphins glided through the murky waters as their pale-pink skin and bottleneck noses bobbed up and down next to our skiff.\u00a0 Juan Luis stated they were endemic to South America and live primarily in the river basins.\u00a0 This Amazonia adventure continued to amaze me.<\/p>\n
On day four, I somehow managed to contract an airborne water bacteria, which put me down for the last two days of the trip. Nonetheless, adrenaline-charged stories continued to flood in.\u00a0 Both my eleven and twelve-year-old at the time were ecstatic to express their know-how to catch a piranha saga.\u00a0 The fishing guide, named Ra, gave them each a bamboo stick with a string and basic hook attached.\u00a0 The lure was a simple piece of raw red meat.\u00a0 A quick lesson in Piranha 101: float the flesh just above the water, once they bite \u2013 yank!\u00a0 The boys and my husband ate their bounty for dinner that evening.\u00a0 My oldest quipped, \u201cIt tasted like oily fish.\u201d\u00a0 Thank goodness, I was on a ginger ale and white rice diet that day.<\/p>\n
Later, a nighttime hunt for nocturnal animals took place.\u00a0 The story goes that Juan Luis spotted a dwarf Caimen crocodile and retrieved it by hand to show the boys.\u00a0 My husband was not sure who was more terrified the boys or the crocodile.\u00a0 After my skittish schoolboys calmed down, the crocodile was released and swam away from their skiff.<\/p>\n
The next morning, the boys and my husband took a long hike to the giant lily pads.\u00a0 As they recapped at lunch, the guided tour was worth the mounds of mud on their shoes.\u00a0 They laughed at the exceptionally slow pace of the hike due to the thickness of the undergrowth and the rough terrain.\u00a0 I think at least one shoe was left in the mud, as my husband walked back to the boat with an odd tilt to his gait.\u00a0 \u201cThe Lily pads were unbelievable. I wanted to float on one,\u201d my youngest shared.\u00a0 These oversized floating leafs looked quite enchanting from the pictures they showed me and it seemed it was worth the loss of one Nike shoe.<\/p>\n
My intestinal cure did not come from the tree sap tasting from the previous day on our jungle trail walk.\u00a0 The wise Captain indicated it was finally time for me to take Cipro, a strong antibiotic that fights bacteria in the body.\u00a0 He had the drug delivered via skiff to our remote area and it zapped the bacteria in my body almost immediately. Modern medicine prevailed, even there in the jungle on one of the most dangerous rivers in the world. \u00a0I told the crew, the cure must have been aided by their successful effort to get me to try the Amazon cure of drinking a liquid-like substance dripping from a local tree to solve my gastrointestinal matters.\u00a0 This oozing, gumwood texture sap I noticed had a hint of cinnamon.\u00a0 It was exhilarating eating a completely foreign white substance oozing out between the bark of the tree in the Amazon, especially because afterward, I was able to sit on something other than a latrine for the first time in days.<\/p>\n
I see life as a constant adventure and the Amazon did not disappoint, it simply added to my passion for continued exploration.\u00a0 I repetitively pinch (and sometimes scratch) myself remembering the time spent in the largest tropical rainforest with my disorders, the travel bug being permanent while the other was dissipating.<\/p>\n
First Published On Pink Pangea on May 24th 2016<\/p>\n