This week, I thought I'd take you to the Peruvian Amazon with me, and let you experience a typical day in the jungle by sharing an entry from my field diary. I hope my words can transport you away from your home for a moment, where we have all been confined to for too long. Luckily, here in the UK the weather is almost tropical this week, so it will be easy to immerse yourselves in the warmth and humidity of the forest! As you read, try and imagine the sounds of birds and insects whizzing past you, and the smell of earth and rain rising from the ground. “Today I woke up at 5:30am, just as the morning light began to leak through the cracks of the roof and wall of our wooden guest house. I didn’t feel tired at all – just the opposite. Firstly, I was very well rested as I went to bed at 8:30pm last night because I was so tired from a day of trekking through the swamp. Secondly, I was excited to start a new day of work, as today was the first time we attempted to walk all the way through the swamp and to the open peatland. The breakfast offered by the ladies of the village is always a wonderful way of starting another day of hard work, complete with rice, eggs, salad, coffee with evaporated milk and freshly fried plantain – a true energy boost packed with all the nutrients needed to face the swamps. After having packed our bags with equipment, food for lunch and snacking, and plenty of water, my assistants and I made our way through the village and towards the open peatland for the very first time. It rained heavily for the first half an hour, and we even had to go back to the village because I realised I had forgotten to take my daily dose of Malarone, crucial to prevent Malaria. As always, every time I enter the forest I am overwhelmed by the height and variety of the plants and how they contort into mesmerising shapes. The bright colours of the flowers and fruit are like splashes of paint amongst the many shades of green. However, most of my focus while walking through the forest is usually devoted to not slipping on logs, tripping on roots or getting stuck in the mud! If I wasn’t careful enough where to put my feet, or if I lost balance, the mud could easily get waist-deep. My assistant Julio had to rescue me a couple times and mocked me plentily throughout the day every time I fell. I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it in the next few weeks, especially with the very nice walking stick that Julio made me from a juvenile tree that he cut down. Even so, walking to the open peatland wasn’t an easy feat at all, especially because of the amount of water that is currently flooding the forest and how much of it gets into my boots. Stopping whenever I fall or need a break, however, is always quite nice – not only because of the needed rest, but also because of the chance I get to talk to my assistants. Today was especially fun, as Julio and I listened to each other’s music. He introduced me to his favourite band “Los Prisoneros”, and I played some classic tunes by the Eagles, Aerosmith and Queen. Listening to this music in the quiet jungle was definitely a surreal experience! After about three hours of walking, we finally got to about one-hundred metres from the open peatland. Unfortunately, however, we decided that it was far too inundated to keep walking and that we would have to attempt the walk another day – we were essentially wading through water and the dogs that followed us from the village had to swim. Julio says next week the water level will decrease by at least 50cm, so hopefully we can try again then. After a well-deserved lunch sat under a Mauritia palm with troops of capuchin monkeys jumping from frond to frond in the canopy over our heads, we began our three-hour return back to the village. The way back was probably the hardest. My boots were soaked with water and mud and it felt like dragging massive boulders attached to my feet, which makes trying not to sink in the mud a lot more difficult. When we finally arrived back at the village, we washed our clothes and ourselves in the river. The fear of piranha or caimans is always on my mind, but the water feels so nice after the long trek and the swimming spot is so scenic that I easily forget about all that. Everyone is back from their day of research in the swamps now, so I should probably join them before food is served. The plan for the evening is wash my stinky backpack and make a plan for the next few days. I also promised Julio “muchas cervezas” (many beers) to celebrate making it all the way to the open peatland even though it was flooded, so a visit at the village tienda for a drink might be on the cards. Hasta mañana!” Hope you enjoyed reading my diary entry and escaping from your routine for a few minutes. Thank you as ever for taking the time to read this! I advise anyone that undertakes a long trip to keep a diary of each day. It is such a heartwarming trip down memory lane, and I’m so glad I kept a record of this so that I can read through it over a year after I was in Peru. It is once again a reminder of how privileged I have been to visit such a remote part of the world, and what a gift it is to travel to beautiful destinations.
Stay tuned and stay wanderlust, Dael
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