Night has descended, gently shadowing a day of peace and flowing tranquility. Sunrise to sunset, to sunrise again, ´time´as I´ve known it forgets it´s own meaning, and dissolves into a current. Eat when hungry, sleep when tired, and look at the hour only when relevant. My usual calendar-and-clock-for-a-brain finds respite here on the water. I watch as pueblito after pueblito pass by, along with the familiar calls of comida, comida, hay comida; churros; agua, agua, as vendors come aboard with their wares. A short stop at each port, and we continue onwards, smoothly sailing towards sunset. Our boat, Gilmer, plies the waters between Iquitos and Yurimaguas, bearing us to our next destination, Lagunas. I don´t know what to expect there except, hopefully, tranquility and the jungle. Since leaving the Hummingbird Center for the bustle of Iquitos, I´ve missed the protection and safety of nature: frogs, trees in the wind, intense thunderstorms and sheet lightning, the gentle songs of the jungle... and yes, even the insects... (although my body, thankfully lacking many bites right now, may disagree...)
(I continue to write this from Lagunas, which, luckily, is chock-full of tranquility. Todo bien! Just over 8,000 people call Lagunas ´home´, and after the insanity of Iquitos, this sort of chill´d suits me quite nicely. Despite there being very little food available - restaurants keep short hours - and very little to do in town, it's a nice place to stay for a day or two. More than that might border on madness...)
Dieta began almost 3 weeks ago, when my two friends and I arrived at the home of don Luis, deep in the jungle outside Iquitos. After a ride in a small thatch-roofed boat, bumping along in a motocarro/tuc-tuc, and a long walk through a road-construction site, we came upon a little path into the jungle. Luis lives well outside town, as our wander past little streams, towering trees, vines as thick as my wrist, attests. Muddy, with sweat pouring down my back and missing my sunglasses, Aida, a daughter of Luis, directed to the maloka, where that night the first of three ceremonies would take place.
Our dieta spanned 9 days, and was among the most challenging experiences I´ve yet known. For those of us that know Vipassana meditation, I found many similarities, especially in the sense of general isolation, the very specific kind of mental chatter, and general craziness I experienced in both. For the first three mornings, we were served a tea made from Ajo Sacha, a master plant which reminds one of garlic (although there is no relationship, despite the word ajo meaning `garlic´). Our diet generally consisted of thin vegetable soup, which occasionally contained quinoa, lentils, pasta, or potatoes, served by Luis´ ten (yes, ten!) children. Simple, nutritious, unstimulating, and completely without salt, oil, pork, sugar, spice... or sex. On ceremony days, we ate only once, and fasted to open us deeper for the medicine.
As you can imagine, I didn´t have much energy that week, and found myself occupying myself with some gentle yin yoga, meditation (which I found more difficult than usual), writing a bit, reading, and smoking the odd mapacho (dark jungle tobacco, used in ceremony). The bulk of my time, as is intended, was spent observing nature, most often through the safety of my mosquito net walls. My tambo (jungle hut) was near a giant lupuna tree, which sat as a sentinel, protecting me, visiting in my dreams. By day, monkeys swung through the nearby trees, hummingbirds zoomed along to the next flower, the birds sang their perfectly melodious symphonies, cockroaches scurried by, and lizards crawled along the walls, slurping up unsuspecting mosquitos. Occasionally, Luis´ sons and daughters would wander by, engage in some light conversation, play with the few things I had with me (one son, Luis Sabin, was especially fond of my flashlight, and a Luke Brown hologram I had placed on my alter), then disappear. By night, the real magic shone, as the jungle came to life: crickets and sapos (frogs) sang their cascades of harmony, bats whizzed by, and fireflies shone like mini shooting stars. On some nights, the heavens were torn apart by thunder and lightning, the rain pounded the earth; I lay there mezmorized in sheer awe of nature.
I´ll admit: I went a bit crazy during dieta. Not due to stressful activities, or some sort of pressing issue on my mind... but rather, the simple result of a low-calorie diet, and the feeling of being hungry all the time. And you know what I was craving everyday? Hot buttered toast. Yep... so much so that my blanket smelled like it when I woke in the morning. I´m not sure why, as there was no toast around, and I hadn´t eaten it in ages... but it did. I see now that dieta really opens you up, brings you closer to your body, and forces you to face yourself. And Ajo Sacha helps with that. From what I understand, the plant was used by native peoples here as a hunter´s tool, to help cover up the human scent. As such, it assists one in ´stalking´ their internal / mental issues, to identify the blockages in their life. It also helps instill motivation for change, a drive to resolve issues and initiate growth. All three of us noticed this, especially after I found myself writing out exactly what I want to do and achieve in my life upon returning home. Plus, I compiled lists of how to improve the Sanctuary at Entheos this year. So, you could say the slight craziness I experienced was in many was beneficial :) Although looking over my journal entires from dieta, one might wonder...
The day following our last ceremony brought the end of dieta, which requires a special process. Post-ceremony, we were bathed in water steeped with Ajo Sacha (I smelled like garlic all day!). Luis came to see me late in the afternnon, with a bowl of chopped onion, salt, and lime juice. Sound gross? It was actually one of the tastiest things I´ve ever eaten. This food helps to signal to our bodies the end of dieta: salt, to close the body energetically; lime juice, to shock and refresh the system; and onion, to heat and stimulate us. After, a final song and energentic cleansing by Luis, and it was over. I left the tambo, and immediately sought my friends for a big hug, which, besides fat/hot buttered toast, was the thing I looked forward to most.
What I looked forward to least was the city: returning to Iquitos the next day was a major shock. After atuning to the tranquility and slow pace of nature, the general insanity in town was almost too much. Yet, a quick in and out got us back to the Hummingbird, where I spent the next 2 days headachy, sick, and generally ill. It turns out that: A) I shouldn´t have eaten quite so much food in Iquitos post-dieta (especially … ugh... peanuts. What was I thinking?!?); and B) I ate some meat for dinner at the Hummingbird which was too much for me. Plus, I think the city energy had something to do with it. We were therefore given another jungle medicine, chuchuwasi, which really helped control things.
As well... if you can believe it, our good friend, Neith, also happened to be a guest at the Hummingbird at the very same time I was getting back! SO great to see a friend from home, a fellow tribie, and a wonderful boost for my spirits. I´m eternally grateful to the universe for helping keep me connected with my family, despite being so far away... :)
(On a side note: I have also become a total believer in jungle medicine, a whole-hearted convert. Any time I´ve been at all sick, and taken jungle medicine to treat it, I´ve very soon after felt amazing!)
If you walk into the front doors of the big house at the Hummingbird, you see written there the `four immutable laws of the universe´, which contains the gem: `when it´s over, it´s over´. How true. With that in mind, I left the Hummingbird a few days later, confident that my time was complete. I think back fondly on my experience there: wonderful new friends, a warm, inspiring, supportive environment (including composting toilets, which I´m really motivated to build!), good medicine, and the peace and tranquility to just be my rediculous self. Plus, I read some great books! If any of you folks are planning to visit Peru, consider volunteering at the Hummingbird Center.
Anyways, back in Iquitos, I slid into a hostal, there to nurse myself back to 100%. Besides, my previous travel companion, Lydia, from Germany, was scheduled to arrive on the 7th. With a full hostal kitchen, I could finally completely control my diet, which was still restricted by a post-dieta. `Hooray`, screamed my body, `for salad, vegetables, lentils, fish, quinoa, yogurt, and simple foods`!
So, what did I do for my birthday? Well... there´s a well-known tourist attraction near Iquitos, the Pilpantuwasi Butterfly Farm. After breakfast and a lazy morning (in which I received an origami penguin!), Lydia and I took a boat to Padre Cocha, and took in the butterflies. Initially started many years ago by a gringo woman, Pilpintuwasi has grown to include a sanctuary for orphaned and confiscated jungle animals. During a tour from an excited and knowledgable, although quick to move, tour guide, we learned that there are 43 varieties of butterflies raised on the farm, including several species of rare moths. Each moth or butterfly has a very specific host plant, which is cultivated with great care. Much work goes into eliminating pests from the eggs, keeping the caterpillars safe from predators, and protecting the crysalids. The results are spectacular, as butterflies of brilliant colors swoop through the air, and dazzle the senses. There´s also a species of moth there with translucent ´windows´ in it´s wings!
The farm also hosts many jungle animals, such as manitees, some huge rodents, parrots, caiman, monkeys, aligators, a jaguar, an ocelot and anaconda, as well as several other species of jungle birds. Although I would prefer to see these animals in the wild, these ones are better off here, than as pets for someone, or killed for their parts.
(Two little known facts about butterflies: 1) catterpillars do not simply grow new appendages and become butterflies. They actually dissolve themselves into a genetic goo inside their crysalys, and are completely reborn as a butterfly. 2) Have you noticed that butterflies aren´t really active in the heat of the day? This is because the butterflies wing muscles are composed of a jelly-like substance, which will harden if exposed to temperatures over 43 degress celsius. Cool, eh?)
After the tour, and our failed second attempt to see the manitees (although we did see an aligator raise it´s head for a while), we came home... where I was presented a surprise birthday cake by the owner of the hostal, Paola, and her family! Photos, rounds of singing, and general rediculousness ensued, and the night ended just right, on the upstairs patio, visiting with friends new and old(er) over ice-cold beers. I love birthdays while travelling :)
I can´t say much about the last few days... not because I´d have to kill you if I did. Rather, it was just preparations for leaving: wandering through the Belen market on a hammock hunt, gathering fruits and veggies, looking at jungle medicines in the `Shaman` Market (perhaps for the last time), and enjoying the last (smoke-filled) breaths of Iquitos. We put off catching a boat for a few days, and left the morning of the 14th. After over 5 weeks there, I´m thrilled to have left Iquitos. It´s a nice place, and I´m glad to have been there... but, well, it was over. My backpack, though, is filled with memories and little pieces of the jungle, including mapacho, paulo santo, some handicrafts, and quite a few Shipibo tapestries (which I´ll one day put up in the house I don´t currently have).
Yesterday evening, we boarded the riverboat Gilmer, and began the slow (although by local standards, fast), leisurly trip up-river to Lagunas. The only foreigners on the boat, we slung up our hammocks on the second deck, and settled in nicely. The food is simple and reasonably appealing (mmmm, cooked in somewhat sketchy river water!), and when it´s not unbelieveably hot and I´m not sleeping (or wishing I was sleeping), some really friendly children come over and engage us in conversation, pointing out jungle animals (I saw river dolphins!), asking me about home and my hammock, and why I have tattoos and piercings, while inquisitivly pawing through my books. They've certainly made the trip more colorful :) Tonight, we watched an absolutely remarkable sunset, with some of the most vibrant reds, oranges, and pinks I´ve ever seen, as if the sun held brúshes upon the canvass of the sky. Tomorrow afternoon, we arrive in Lagunas, with our fingers crossed that there´s a place to stay, and the hopes that jungle treks aren´t that expensive. The Parque National Pacaya-Samira is just outside Lagunas, and I don´t think I could leave the jungle without going deep into old-growth, and experiencing the real magic.
(Again, as I finish writing this, I´m in a hostal in Lagunas. The final day of our boat trip was smooth... although I had the embarassing experience of locking our keys in our cabino, and having to ask the crew to come pry the lock off, which was a bit of a scene. The day´s sweltering heat was calmed by late afternoon rain, a welcome relief which also produced a faint, yet brilliant rainbow. Finally, the dock in Lagunas is little more than a long piece of wood ramped down the side of the boat, which I surely could have fallen off. Our feet on land again, and as we´d lounged in hammocks for three days, we insisted upon walking into town, which brought us upon a clean, bright, friendly hospedaje... for less than $4 each a night. The owner introduced us to his friend, who runs a jungle tour agency. A long conversation later, over some well-deserved beer, we´re probably going to book a 4-day jungle trek in the park for friday to monday. It´ll be muddy, wet, and flooded with mosquitos... and it´ll be the jungle! I think we´ll be some of the only travellers there, drifting along in canoes, wandering down paths in knee-high gum-boots, and hopefully scoping out local flora and fauna. Besides... when our agent, Genaro, mentioned Ajo Sacha in his description of the local plants, I figured I was meant to go. And the price, while not totally in my budget, feels right...)
In closing... I´m happy and healthy (yes, I´ve put weight back on after dieta...), and VERY excited to be on the move again, to finally see some place new, and continue to experience the magic of Peru. This land has really captured my heart... and I can see myself coming back here many, many more times.
To all my friends and family: thank you SO much for the nice birthday wishes, and the little messages of love. I really appreciate hearing a bit from my loved ones back home – especially all the way down here. I can´t wait to reconnect in the summer!
Until then...
Paz, luz, amor, y many blessings,
Chris / Nagdeo /Gnome
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