Life in the Amazon: Day 1

Thursday

7:11 AM

We got picked up at 5:15 today and headed out for our trip to the Amazon rainforest. Because it was still dark, I was able to sleep for a bit, but was soon awoken by the many twists and turns. I am currently being jolted back and forth on a bumpy dirt road because our driver is whipping around these turns like his life depends on it. And at the same time, I am glancing out my window, looking down at the cliff side that is much too close for comfort. I don't think James is handling the heights too well, and Mickayla is eating Soos's ginger and coca candies trying to handle the motion sickness.

8:24 AM

We just made a stop at a pre-Inca culture's old gravesite. The tombs were like small huts. Each person was buried there in a fetal position along with belongs and a male animal. Since humans aren't able to see at night, the male animal was said to see for them and protect them as they pass through the darkness on their journey to the next life.

10:30 AM

We visited a small town that has a very prominent local festival that people come from all over to see. We went in a museum and saw lots of the traditional garments that the dancers wear. After we were finished with the museum, we walked around and tried to find a snack to eat. We stopped at a juice bar where a local woman made us fresh pineapple juice. It was delicious. Outside there was a whole pack of adorable dogs. We were all admiring and taking pictures when one dog walked over and peed on Ryan's leg... Now we're back on the road and it's just started to rain.

We're still curving and twisting through the dirt roads, except now they're a bit slippery, and our van is sliding a bit - yikes! I hope we make it to lunch! At least the views are beautiful here in the Cloud Forest!

2:20 PM

We stopped to eat lunch at about 12:30. It was a rice, chicken, and veggie combo that was quite tasty. While we were eating, we befriended a local cat by feeding him bits of our meal. After lunch, we began a trek through the forest, got to admire the beautiful scenery. One of my favorites of the plant life was Bromelia.

We spotted the national bird of Peru, cock-of-the-rock, and my goodness it was stunning!

It did begin to rain as the Peruvians say "alpacas and llamas" but was still very enjoyable. We hiked for about an hour and a half until we reached a small waterfall. In order to get up close we had to hike through a small stream which was a bit slippery, but once we made it, it was completely worth it.

Unfortunately on the way back, Soos cut her finger on a rock. So as we were driving through the curvy roads in the bus, I attempted to sanitize and bandage it with the first aid kit. This turned into a bit of a fiasco since the small bottle of alcohol had a different idea and decided to burst all over my face. I survived, my eyesight is still 20/20, and all is well. I think I smell a little funny now though.

2:52 PM

We just drove under a waterfall!

8:13 PM

We arrived at our destination about at 3:30 pm. After a small hike, we reached the cabins we would be staying in. Since we were all soaking wet, we changed, and then we got to enjoy some tea and hot cocoa and bread around the table with our European travel mates. We sat and talked there for the rest of the night until 7:00 when dinner was served. We got a bowl of delicious soup, a spaghetti and beef dish, and peach jell-o for dessert. Right before our dinner was over, we saw a decent sized bug on our table. Our tour guide informed us it was a mosquito. We all sat there for some time contemplating whether or not we should kill it, until he finally told us that it doesn't bite humans (*sigh of relief*). Another fun fact is that if we need to leave our cabins at night to use the restrooms, we have to make sure to watch out for snakes and tarantulas... I am currently typing this from the safety of my room with my tent-like mosquito net. I have completely covered myself in bug spray as well so fingers crossed!