In the Jungle

This past Sunday bright and early my Peruvian family and I woke up to head hours out to the jungle (aka not the rain forest... apparently there´s a differnce that this midwesterner was not aware of). Here are a few photos from my adventure en la selva.

On our way to Satipo we stopped off at a tourist trap - an area where the ¨nativos¨attempt to sell some goods... mostly neclaces, bracelets, bags and alcohol. In the lower left hand corner is Iris, the mother of the family I´m staying with in Perú. Her son Richard is in the lower right hand corner. Next to Iris is Nati, who lives with Richard and Faviola in Lima and acts as their housekeeper while they go to Universidad.

Here we ran into some Aussies and a strange animal... the Aussies said it was like a wombat. I´m not sure what a wombat is exactly and I´m not sure what this animal was but it seemed satified to be sleeping while people poked at it and picked it up.

Believe it or not, here the nativos are dancing jovially. In Che Guevara´s ¨The Motorcycle Diaries¨he talks about the natives in Peru saying, ¨These people who watch us walk through the streets of the town are a defeated race. Their stares are tame, almost fearful, and completely indifferent to the outside world. Some give the impression they go on living only because it´s a habit that cannot shake.¨ Most of the people I´ve incountered in Perú have a certain sadness about them, as was noted in Che´s diary over fifty-five years ago, and it is no different for this group we came across on our way to Satipo. Smiling is sadly a rare thing.

Iris like to play dress-up with me. Here I am in some of the natives´usual dress. Look behind me and see how tall I am compared to everyone else.

Un mono!!!

Once we arrived at Satipo I was told that I would be staying at a hotel. Iris, Victor, Faviloa, Richard and Nati would all be staying at Iris´parents´ house deep in the jungle where there is no electricity or plumbing. Thank goodness for the hotel and I was forever grateful for clean sheets and hot water (showering was devine). This picture is a morning view of the jungle beyond but unfortunately it doesn´t due the place justice. Absolutely stunning!

Here is Iris at her parent´s house picking me an orange from one of the many fruit trees in her parents´ yard.

To save ourselves from sweating under the strong summer sun Faviola, Richard, Nati and I wandered to a nearby restaurant to cool off under some shade. At the back of the restaurant was a sad caged monkey. Poor thing seemed starved for attention. Faviola and Nati petted the animal while we fed him some of our chifle (fried banana chips).

All types of crazy fruits in the jungle including this overgrown green been looking thing.

To eat the fruit you crack it over your knee and open it up. Inside is fruit that looks like cotton balls. You pretty much just suck the sweet cotton looking stuff off the seed inside. Not too bad but somewhat difficult to eat.

Besides going to the restaurant we also headed out to a Zoologico. A very sad zoo that didn´t have a wide variety of animals but did have on showcase chickens... they may as well have put dogs on display as well. Anyway, the most exciting thing I saw at the zoo was on our way out when Nati pointed out this strange plant that plays dead when you touch it. I mean, seriously, who knew these things existed!

During my stay in Satipo I was told that there was a girl from Berkley also staying there. We met up at Iris´parents house and then later hung out at the town square for a couple days. She was a life-saver and told me all about the research work she was doing into cacao cooperatives in Peru for her PhD at Berkley. Very interesting and where did she go to undergrad? ... Harvard, where she worked for Let´s Go travel books. Harvard sent her to France and Viet Nam to write for them... you can still find her picture and bio in the 2005 editions. Anyway, I had a great time with this girl and I´m very inspired now to go back and get my PhD, especially if that means traveling the world to do research. Sounds ideal!

A hike through the jungle.

More jungle.

July 28th and 29th are Peru´s independence days (aka Fiestas Patrias). We celebrated by cooking an elaborate feast of meat and vegetables in the ground. This way of cooking is very common in Peru... I wish I could remember the name of it right now. Anyway, a hole is dug, hot charcol is put in the hole and then stones are placed on top. Next the meat and vegetables go in and the hole is covered with banana leaves. Great way to cook... everything tasted as if it were grilled. Moving clock-wise, Victor is in the upper right hand corner of the photo, then Iris, her father, and her parents´housekeeper.

Before we left to go back home we needed to bathe Topsi, the families uber-beloved dog (one of four), in the river.

And finally we stopped off at one of Iris and Victors´chakras (basically farm) where we picked some fruit and tried some cacao fruit. Good stuff!

Now I´m back in Huancayo, safe and sound but exhausted and happy to be back in the winter of the mountains. I hope to make it out again before I leave but maybe next time I´ll go to Iquitos where the Amazon actually is. Perhaps if Justin comes and visits it will give me an excuse. Until next time...