The amazon rainforest, Peru

November 9th, 2017

Our friend Patty has now joined us! We met her in Lima, Peru and took a flight to Cusco. From Cusco we took an 8hr van ride into the jungle. The road was beautiful - we drove through narrow tunnels that cut into the sides of mountains, directly under waterfalls, across rivers (no bridges), and between thick green growth that brushed the van as we passed. By the time we arrived, it was dark and had begun to rain so we did not fully see the beauty of where we were until the next morning. 

We worked alongside a our Peruvian host, planting fruits and medicinal herbs. We used a machete for everything - clearing a path through the vines, digging holes for seeds, and protecting ourselves in case we encountered any dangerous animals! We even had to bring a machete when we went to the bathroom in case there was a boa or jaguar along the way!

We slept in a tent and woke up to the alarm clock of monkeys howling excitedly about 30ft from our tent. We picked fresh fruit to eat and cooked over a fire. We went fishing but unfortunately it was unsuccessful so we ate mostly rice we had brought with us. I ate one of the best pineapples of my life while sitting alongside a river waiting for a small wooden boat to take us across.  

One morning just as we were finishing breakfast a group of about 50 squirrel monkeys invaded our campsite. We had put bananas out to attract them and we sat and watched as they feasted right in front of us! When I was in 5th grade I did a full report on squirrel monkeys and even made a diorama depicting their habitat! It was pretty cool to actually be in their habitat and finally see these monkeys so close up in the wild! I have seen a lot of things during this trip that i studied in school and they are now coming to life!

There were a lot of bugs so one day we decided to wear our towels on our heads to provide some relief!