From the Andes to the Amazon jungles
On the following day, we got up at 5 am. Taking a cold shower in the jungle was easy. The temperature there stays over 30º C (90º F) all day long and humidity is 90%. Absence of electricity presented a problem for my husband who had an electric razor. In vain, I explained to him that in the jungle he should grow a beard. He was not in the mood for my jokes and insisted on being cleanly shaved. We went to the dining hall where he found an electrical outlet in the men’s bathroom and shaved. In the meantime, I packed some food from the breakfast buffet and filled our water bottles. At 6 am, our small group with the guide hit the trail.
We walked 7 hours through the jungle with a 1-hour break for a meal. Our guide talked about the local flora and fauna. We saw snakes, tarantulas, flesh-eating ants, monkeys, tapirs, tortoises, spiders, butterflies and lots of birds. Without the guide’s help, we would have never been able to spot any of these creatures.
Interestingly, nobody warned us beforehand what to expect. Some people took little or no food and water with them, so we all shared what we brought. Humidity was so bad that we were drenched in sweat.
One girl became too dehydrated. She sat down and said that she could not walk any further. A few people including us stayed with her. The rest of the group did not see that and kept going. The girl was given water with mineral salts. A little later, she felt better and we resumed walking. We had no problem to follow the trail until we came to a fork. Not knowing where to go, we chose the path at random. We walked until the trail disappeared in the dense vegetation. Obviously, it was a wrong one. We returned to the fork and were about to take the correct trail when we saw our guide rushing towards us. He noticed that half of his people were missing and went back to search for us.
In the afternoon of the same day, after the 7-hour jungle march, we were taken on excursion to a local farm where among other plants we were shown coca bushes. Coca is traditionally cultivated in several South American countries. Chewing raw leaves or drinking coca tea has no narcotic effect because the leaves contain little cocaine. Dried coca leaves are sold in local stores and at the markets. Hotels offer coca teas along with other teas at breakfast. However, it is illegal to take any parts of coca bushes out of Peru.
When the day was finally over, I was almost dropping dead from exhaustion. On the following morning, a boat took us back to Puerto Maldonado. From there, we flew to Lima.