A sip of Incan culture; Experiential course contrasts traditional and present-day Perú
By Rebecca Allen
Part 2
Wild
tomato juice: One of several fruit juices we sampled while traveling
through the jungle, many in our group didn't care for the wild tomato
flavor. Other varieties included passion fruit, green orange and papaya.
Each beverage reflected the lush and verdant produce of the rainforest
and complimented the fine meals we ate.
It rained every day we spent in the jungle, which, though unfortunate, seemed appropriate in a rainforest. Our four guides apologized repeatedly for the weather and shivered in their layers; I tried to explain about Indiana's snowy and unpredictable winters by way of reassurance. The only truly disappointing consequence of the rain was the decreased likelihood of seeing wildlife. But despite the weather, we encountered black spider monkeys, several species of ants, bamboo rats, raptors, peccaries and caimans. Our boat trips on the Tambopata River frequently came to a halt as we exchanged stares with curious capybara, dog-sized rodents quite common along the riverbank.
One afternoon, some members of the group learned how to safely fish for piranha from a guide; others swam in a stream upriver, unaware of our guide's successful effort to scare away a shy but potentially deadly coral snake from the same stream. In a place so unlike home, we learned quickly to rely on our capable, friendly guides.
We
trusted them to show us their jungle, and they did. Twice, we woke up
at 4:30 a.m. for visits to a macaw lick. On the first morning, the rain
deterred the colorful birds from descending to the brown clay cliff
laden with vital minerals. I remember grumbling about the early hour
on the second day, but I faithfully rose from my sleeping bag and donned
my rubber boots for the outing because the guides hinted that this day
might be better. And it was. The brilliant reds, greens, blues and yellows
of the macaw pairs contrasted with the muted earth. I watched in awe,
surrounded by unexpected beauty.
Senior Erin Sigler (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) remarked that her senses feasted on the delights of Perú. She said, "At any given moment I could have gone home and said that it was the most incredible trip of my life, but it just kept getting better." Surrendering to the sometimes surprising, and always abundant, beauty of the jungle required us to surrender to the leadership of the guides as well. Doing so introduced us to a diverse and wild new world complete with enormous rodents and wild tomato juice.
