3 weeks in the jungle did you say?

by Justyna Szulc (Poland)

A leap into the unknown Peru

After 3 weeks of being in the deep Amazon in Peru and covering over 2000 km via 6 lengthy boat rides, 4 never ending bus travels on the most bumpiest and curviest roads ever and not to mention the countless km I have made by foot… I can truly say that I loved every single day of my journey. This was always a dream and I’ve made this a reality. I had no plan and wasn’t sure how to get to Atalaya and back by myself but I had a strong belief that I would be OK no matter what. I must have seen only 3 tourists in total in the full length of my travels, I barely spoke any English but that’s even better as I was forced to use Spanish instead. It's far from perfect but I tried my best. I STILL TRY! I lived in very primitive accommodations, saw beautiful fauna and flora, learnt about local customs, somehow coped with the unforgiving heat and humidity, annoying mosquitoes, cockroaches (they still FREAK ME OUT), spiders aka tarantulas and slept at times sometimes I didn’t at all. I also tried typical jungle fruits as Aguaje (mild dry flavour), Chirimoy (custard apple), Cocona (cross between tomato and lemon), Lucuma (sweet potato), Pepino Dulce (melon), Tumbo (banana passionfruit), Tuna (prickly pear), Carambola (star fruit) which I happened to love with time. Some locals shared with me masato too (cerveza de yuka). I was showered with locals love, kindness, patience and curiosity. I never felt frightened. On many occasions I got lost, I had no direct route I just wanted to explore the unknown, I greeted every one with respect and smiled, kissed local children, I was even asked by one local girl whether I am gringa (she came to me asking directly… Eres una gringa?), learnt about my inner strengths, wisdom and the ability to adjust to foreign environments and habitats. I learnt about natural remedies how to cure upset stomach or what to do when a tarantula is in a very close proximity. In fact nothing, when you don’t react nothing is going to happen to you, even when tarantula walks over you. The problem occurs when you make unexpected and rigid movements, then spider bites and releases toxic substances (venom) that can be dangerous otherwise you are fine. I had a close encounter with tarantula too, I thought I would panic but I didn’t surprisingly. UFF I’M GLAD I DIDN’T!!! IN OVERALL, THE ADVENTURE WAS MIND BLOWING AND LIFE CHANGING. The life in the jungle is unexpectedly very expensive, however I have no regrets. Every sole was worth it plus if you want to have a real Amazonian experience, use boats rather than an air plane. That’s my personal tip.