Last Full Day in the Amazon

Wednesday, June 23

Last full day in the Amazon. I have very mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, the conditions are pretty miserable and I’ll be glad to leave, but on the other hand, I am really sad that I am going to be leaving everyone really soon. A part of me wants to just go back to Oklahoma with everyone else. It’s really hard to hear everyone talking about what they want to do when they get home. What I would give for a Coke date with Connie right now. Talk of Mexican food, Dr. Pepper, actual showers when you feel clean afterwards, drinkable tap water, being able to flush your toilet paper, feeling safe when walking in the street, and especially an abeja-free lifestyle sure sound tempting, but I’m still glad that I’m going to Piura.

This morning we went to a lake and took a boat around and then saw some really huge trees. I mean like, Avatar huge trees. Being the adventurous types, Kathryn and I opted to do some climbing…

big tree

Andy was our inspiration

Look at us go!

Just kidding - we never actually left the ground.

On the boat, we fed piranhas bread and crackers. Again, very much like Martin Nature Park.

In the afternoon, we went on a hike and the guides showed us different plants in the jungle that were used for medicines. Willian gave me a leaf to chew, and I thought, ‘It’s probably not a good idea to put something I found in the jungle in my mouth.’ Well, against my better judgment, I went for it. Big mistake. It was so sour and then it made my mouth go numb. I guess its used as an anesthetic. We learned about jungle love potions and an alleged cure for cancer – I’m not too sure about that.

On the medicine walk - straight up gangsta.

We then walked to an overlook over the river and watched the sunset. I’m a way bigger fan of sunsets than sunrises.

Silhouettes

That night was by far the most fun night. Most of the girls (including Senora Marchard) and a lot of the Peruvians played Circle of Death. There were upwards of 20 people playing at a huge table. It was even more enjoyable for me because somehow I ended up being the “jefa” of the game and everyone went by my rules. Now you know I was loving that. I’d be talking and someone from the end of the table would yell, “Lori, what does 10 mean?” It was so great because no one ever wants to play my rules. The Peruvians did surprisingly well, except at rhyming. They never quite got that down.

I handwrote part of this journal (which is why there’s some tense confusion a lot of the time – past vs. present), and here’s an excerpt:

“Currently, I’m writing by candlelight, there are bugs crawling on my notebook, and I’m covered in sweat. I never thought I’d be here and I’m actually kind of proud of myself.”

You know what? I am proud of myself. I survived the Amazon jungle (at a resort), and not a lot of people can say that.