Athena - Amazonian Adventure

by kieron lewis (United Kingdom (Great Britain))

A leap into the unknown Peru

The ancient stillness of the silent river was amazing, only broken occasionally by the stuttering song of the old boat which we travelled on down the stream. Time stood still in this perfect peruvian paradise, a jungle heaven on earth. When you embark on a jouney hundreds of miles from civilisation, you feel like an alien, lost in a vortex of flora and winding rivers. But it is in being lost that you find yourself, every sense is hightened like the blaze of fiery humidity engulfing your airways, the droplet of sweat sprinting down your face , the singing mosquito dancing around your ear rejoicing at the prospect of red rum. Even these annoyances become apart of a greater almost spiritual experience. The appreciation of being lost in the present and realisation that it is now you have found your true freedom. The amazon rainforest is untame, wild, unforgiving and full of treacherous beauty. A graveyard of silence that can come alive at any time by the howling of the Monkey or emergences of the Caiman from the watery depths. I whispered to myself "this is spontaniety personifed, and I love it here. She is alive, this amazon jungle, and her pulse is captivating." A few others from my travelling party glared at me briefly, I bashfully ignored them, as I did not think they heard what I said but maybe thought I was a little strange for talking to myself. I laughed out loud in my head. "We have almost arrived", the captain, who was a charming indigenous gentlemen native to the amazon uttered while smoothly steering the boat toward an inward stream heading to the bank. Upon arrival I cautiously stepped out of the boat in a cumbersome manner, close to falling over. I had seen a gargantuan Anaconda snake hauling its monstreous body earlier that morning into the water from a deeper bankside. I was certainly a little scared, and this filled me with excitement. I set foot on land for the first time in what seemed like an eternity and followed our native captain along a faintly carved trail. The trail was faint and would not be seen at all to the untrained eye of the man who is more used to looking for red lights and speed signs along well lit roads. Slowly but surely the dense rainforest began to recede after about 30 minutes of walking. 45 minutes in and we came to a small settlement, with intricate laid out trails and impressive handmade homes made from the resources of the very same jungle. We gathered around in a large circle in the centre in front of a bigger house, I only assumed it was the captains home, it was more impressive and the decorations more glamourous than the other homes in the community. There was many alluring shells and items made of wood hanging from the roof and foundation of the home, I sat and looked in awe at the innovation and creativity. Just as I was about to ask how long it took to build such a magnificent structure... I noticed no less than 50 centimetres from my left hand a humongous shaggy hair Tarantula. I froze. At that moment I remembered about the calm nature of these spiders unless provoked and she was not letting her hairs off in defence. Emerging from the greenery in the distance was a woman, a very beautiful woman, elegant and majestic. She strolled in my direction calmly and observed the spider, she then kneeled down slowly but surely before cupping her hands, the spider crawled into her hands afte first being tentative. "They call her woman of the forest". one of the guides abruptly said, explaining that she is said to be able to talk to the animals. Her fiery eyes burned like a raging forest fire, the wisdom of her nature shone like the brightest morning star although she said nothing. The tools by her side suggested she was skilled in some craft. I was consumed by sensual surrealism, her beauty and strength was gravitating. I thought to myself, I will call you Athena, I hope to learn much from her.