In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle
In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle
Amazonia. The Amazon Jungle. I felt it seeping into my blood, leaving me never the same.
Some years ago, my mother made a trip to Alaska. It had such an effect on her that when she returned and tried to describe it, she said, "It was as if I was born there."
I had a similar experience.
The journey into the heart of the Amazon Jungle took four days. Six touristas, a family group of four from Australia and Bill and I left Cuscos by collectivo early Monday morning. We drove along highway for about four hours and then left the main paved road to travel along a very treacherous gravel road that snaked into the Andean Rain Forest. The treachery of the road was exacerbated by the recent months of rainy season. We are in the shoulder season now, but the roads are soft and heavy rain still predominate the region causing massive landslides of red muddy clay. We managed to cross the Acjanacu Pass at 3,500 meters above sea level descending into the cloud forest that marks the Cultural Zone of the Manu Biosphere Reserve.
We journeyed along this road, and I was always dubious the narrow road, often only wide enough for one vehicle, would support the vehicle with such soft muddy shoulders. Equipment was working on two of the slides and allowed us to pass, although I was skeptical we would get through without a further rain of mud on top of the vehicle or without getting stuck in the muddy ruts. Often waterfalls from run-off poured down onto our vehicle, giving us a car wash and making us wonder if it would wash us over the edge of the cliff.
We camped that first night in a rustic lodge and set out again into the wet and muddy rain forest toward Manu National Park. That night, we got as far as Erika Lodge, another rustic lodging. We only just arrived to the Buffer Zone of the jungle. We stopped at an animal sanctuary and I had the opportunity to hold a sloth in my arms, see a Giant Anteater, see a baby Wooly Monkey and also watch the strange Capiberra munch on grass.
In the morning after a hearty breakfast, the tourists and a team of support people: guide, cook, bowswain and captain of the boat travelled along the muddy Alto Madre de Dios River about 4 hours by a covered long boat, through the Buffer Zone to Bacu Manu, the last of the villages in the Buffer Zone. We stayed that night in even more rustic lodging and in the morning, headed off to the confluence of where the Manu River meets the Alto Madre de Dios River. We journeyed up river to Limonal Ranger Station where, we presented our permits to enter the park and ate fresh grapefruit off the tree on the lawns of the ranger station. We boarded our boat again and travelled another four hours to Salvador Lake, deep in the pristine heart of the Jungle. This is the deepest tourists are allowed to go. The rest of the Amazon Jungle is in the Restricted Zone and only "no contact" indiginous peoples and those approved by the Peruvian Government for research purposes are allowed.
All did not go well on the first day of boating. Our boat motor conked out and despite the captain and first mate's attempts to repair it, we drifted down the river that sometimes featured 2 and 3 degree rapids. Taking leadership of the situation, I announced my authority in such situations as having been a Red Cross Water Safety Instructor for several years ( and several years earlier), I advised the lifejacketed persons on board: in the event of capsizing, we hang onto the boat, then we gather as a group and kick to shore as a group. The river was never very wide, so reaching shore was attainable.
I thought I detected the stress levels doing down, now with a safety plan in place. However, after the bowswain rowed us to a near village, the problem was solved and we were on our way again. Enroute along the rivers, we passed White and Black Caimans (alligators) sunning themselves on the sand and we saw Toucans and colourful,noisy Macaw, sporting a variety of colours. Parakeets and Turns, Screamers and Skimmers, Vultures and Herons presented themselves along the way. Great egrets and Giant Cowbirds and Green Ibis pecked along the shores. The Cock of the Rock, the Peruvian National Bird showed up in neon red. Hundreds of turtles sunned on fallen logs and rocks along the way.
At Sullivan Lake, we paddled a catarmaran at dawn and dusk and watched a family of Giant Otters, the largest in the world and also an endangered species, fish, play and groom. Red Howler Monkeys rumbled like thunder in the mornings and the large Wooly Monkey hucked branches at us from the tree tops. Black Spider Monkeys and Capuchin Monkeys swung from the branches of the canopy. I watched the fascinating Stinky Bird, strut around on a log. The Stinky Bird or Hoatzin is a creature right out of Dr. Suess.
We watched two Capyberas lumber across the beach. Weird looking, they are the largest rodents in the world. They look like a cross between a stout horse and a mouse and they are about the size of a large sow.
Deep within the jungle and under the canopy, I learned about Buttress Roots that stabilize the huge Kapoc Tree and that all ants bite with a dosage of Formic Acid, the Bullock Ant being the most toxic. I learned there are still indigenous people who hunt with bow and arrow in the jungle and clothing ranges from loin cloth for men and no tops for women to a type of coarsely woven garment for both men and women, depending on the group of people. I learned about plants and the medicinal qualities they hold for mankind.
We encountered one group of people, the Machiguenga who have very limited contact with the outside world. We were given an archery demonstration by a man who used a rough bow and string, but a sophisticated arrow that featured bird feathers and a nasty jagged point. The shy women and children faded into the jungle when we we arrived. One woman was topless. The men blow tobacco smoke up the nostrils of close friends and some of the people insert metal nasal ornaments. They used to make an alcoholic beverage from the yucca plant. The women chewed the yucca, spit it into a bowl and allowed it to forment. It is called Masato, but they now mash the plant rather than chew it before fermenting it.
As the time of this writing, we are on our way out of the jungle. I sit on the porch of Erika Loge and watch the muddy Alto Madre de Dios river flow by, into the setting sun. I look across the river and see the rain forest, and now know there are five layers of forest: The ground cover, the undergrowth, the palm layer, the larger trees that form the canopy of the jungle and the "emergent" trees, those botanical giants of the jungle that emerge up and tower above the canopy.
It is Easter Sunday night. I am missing my family and I missed hiding Easter eggs for the little ones at the lake. I missed Easter Mass, which I love. I sometimes pray for the gift of bilocation. Yet, in the jungle, my family was held close to my heart by the nature of God embedded into all the living things and living wonders that I observed. It was like a mass. It felt like home. Was I born here?
Amazonia. The Amazon Jungle. I felt it seeping into my blood, leaving me never the same.
Some years ago, my mother made a trip to Alaska. It had such an effect on her that when she returned and tried to describe it, she said, "It was as if I was born there."
I had a similar experience.
The journey into the heart of the Amazon Jungle took four days. Six touristas, a family group of four from Australia and Bill and I left Cuscos by collectivo early Monday morning. We drove along highway for about four hours and then left the main paved road to travel along a very treacherous gravel road that snaked into the Andean Rain Forest. The treachery of the road was exacerbated by the recent months of rainy season. We are in the shoulder season now, but the roads are soft and heavy rain still predominate the region causing massive landslides of red muddy clay. We managed to cross the Acjanacu Pass at 3,500 meters above sea level descending into the cloud forest that marks the Cultural Zone of the Manu Biosphere Reserve.
We journeyed along this road, and I was always dubious the narrow road, often only wide enough for one vehicle, would support the vehicle with such soft muddy shoulders. Equipment was working on two of the slides and allowed us to pass, although I was skeptical we would get through without a further rain of mud on top of the vehicle or without getting stuck in the muddy ruts. Often waterfalls from run-off poured down onto our vehicle, giving us a car wash and making us wonder if it would wash us over the edge of the cliff.
We camped that first night in a rustic lodge and set out again into the wet and muddy rain forest toward Manu National Park. That night, we got as far as Erika Lodge, another rustic lodging. We only just arrived to the Buffer Zone of the jungle. We stopped at an animal sanctuary and I had the opportunity to hold a sloth in my arms, see a Giant Anteater, see a baby Wooly Monkey and also watch the strange Capiberra munch on grass.
In the morning after a hearty breakfast, the tourists and a team of support people: guide, cook, bowswain and captain of the boat travelled along the muddy Alto Madre de Dios River about 4 hours by a covered long boat, through the Buffer Zone to Bacu Manu, the last of the villages in the Buffer Zone. We stayed that night in even more rustic lodging and in the morning, headed off to the confluence of where the Manu River meets the Alto Madre de Dios River. We journeyed up river to Limonal Ranger Station where, we presented our permits to enter the park and ate fresh grapefruit off the tree on the lawns of the ranger station. We boarded our boat again and travelled another four hours to Salvador Lake, deep in the pristine heart of the Jungle. This is the deepest tourists are allowed to go. The rest of the Amazon Jungle is in the Restricted Zone and only "no contact" indiginous peoples and those approved by the Peruvian Government for research purposes are allowed.
All did not go well on the first day of boating. Our boat motor conked out and despite the captain and first mate's attempts to repair it, we drifted down the river that sometimes featured 2 and 3 degree rapids. Taking leadership of the situation, I announced my authority in such situations as having been a Red Cross Water Safety Instructor for several years ( and several years earlier), I advised the lifejacketed persons on board: in the event of capsizing, we hang onto the boat, then we gather as a group and kick to shore as a group. The river was never very wide, so reaching shore was attainable.
I thought I detected the stress levels doing down, now with a safety plan in place. However, after the bowswain rowed us to a near village, the problem was solved and we were on our way again. Enroute along the rivers, we passed White and Black Caimans (alligators) sunning themselves on the sand and we saw Toucans and colourful,noisy Macaw, sporting a variety of colours. Parakeets and Turns, Screamers and Skimmers, Vultures and Herons presented themselves along the way. Great egrets and Giant Cowbirds and Green Ibis pecked along the shores. The Cock of the Rock, the Peruvian National Bird showed up in neon red. Hundreds of turtles sunned on fallen logs and rocks along the way.
At Sullivan Lake, we paddled a catarmaran at dawn and dusk and watched a family of Giant Otters, the largest in the world and also an endangered species, fish, play and groom. Red Howler Monkeys rumbled like thunder in the mornings and the large Wooly Monkey hucked branches at us from the tree tops. Black Spider Monkeys and Capuchin Monkeys swung from the branches of the canopy. I watched the fascinating Stinky Bird, strut around on a log. The Stinky Bird or Hoatzin is a creature right out of Dr. Suess.
We watched two Capyberas lumber across the beach. Weird looking, they are the largest rodents in the world. They look like a cross between a stout horse and a mouse and they are about the size of a large sow.
Deep within the jungle and under the canopy, I learned about Buttress Roots that stabilize the huge Kapoc Tree and that all ants bite with a dosage of Formic Acid, the Bullock Ant being the most toxic. I learned there are still indigenous people who hunt with bow and arrow in the jungle and clothing ranges from loin cloth for men and no tops for women to a type of coarsely woven garment for both men and women, depending on the group of people. I learned about plants and the medicinal qualities they hold for mankind.
We encountered one group of people, the Machiguenga who have very limited contact with the outside world. We were given an archery demonstration by a man who used a rough bow and string, but a sophisticated arrow that featured bird feathers and a nasty jagged point. The shy women and children faded into the jungle when we we arrived. One woman was topless. The men blow tobacco smoke up the nostrils of close friends and some of the people insert metal nasal ornaments. They used to make an alcoholic beverage from the yucca plant. The women chewed the yucca, spit it into a bowl and allowed it to forment. It is called Masato, but they now mash the plant rather than chew it before fermenting it.
As the time of this writing, we are on our way out of the jungle. I sit on the porch of Erika Loge and watch the muddy Alto Madre de Dios river flow by, into the setting sun. I look across the river and see the rain forest, and now know there are five layers of forest: The ground cover, the undergrowth, the palm layer, the larger trees that form the canopy of the jungle and the "emergent" trees, those botanical giants of the jungle that emerge up and tower above the canopy.
It is Easter Sunday night. I am missing my family and I missed hiding Easter eggs for the little ones at the lake. I missed Easter Mass, which I love. I sometimes pray for the gift of bilocation. Yet, in the jungle, my family was held close to my heart by the nature of God embedded into all the living things and living wonders that I observed. It was like a mass. It felt like home. Was I born here?
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