I was carrying a big backpack with food for five days, sleeping bag and clothes. It wasn’t heavy but it was enough to turn an innocent trip into a serious fall. I caught myself flying forward only to face a liana with sharp spikes.
‘Ahhhh’, I muttered as I grabbed on it and then immediately let go as the spikes poked my hands. By then I have gathered enough speed to hit the ground with a force that took my breath away. A sharp pain hit me in my upper stomach and I heard myself moan. As luck would have it I have landed on a stone that was big enough to make an imprint on my tummy.
We were on day 4 of our 5 day jungle trip and by this point it was clear that being in the jungle was not a walk in the park. The four of us were somewhat struggling.
For a while I could barely walk after the fall. Instead I limped slightly folded at the waist to avoid the pain. Our guide Miguel carried both his pack and mine till we stopped to make a camp that day.
We were also starting to look rough. Our bodies were covered in bug bites. The previous afternoon we ran eagerly to bathe in the river without checking in with Miguel who was busy building camp. We were so hot and sweaty after 7 hrs of walking that no force on Earth could stop us from stripping down and cooling off. I even decided to take time and wash our stinky clothes. Quickly we found out that at this time of the day exposing our skin was equal to signing all our blood to the hoards of sand flies just hanging around and waiting for a victim. In the span of minutes we were eaten alive. Miguel couldn’t hide his amusement at our frantic jumping wet figures running up the muddy river bank in panic.
‘You only go to the river after sunset or at noon‘ his words cut by deep laughter. I was quickly named Señora Picadura/The Lady with the bites, a name that lasted only 24 hrs to be replaced after my fall by Señora de la Roca/The rock Lady and the four of us acquired a new annoying habit of scratching ourselves constantly till the bites turned into bleeding scars. Later, when our annoyance with the flies subsided, Miguel showed us the shadow silhouette of an alligator, chilling right where we bathed.
From then on I insisted at bathing at camp after night fall.
R’s nickname came easy. Tengo hambre/I am hungry fit her like a glove from the moment we started our trek. Every now and then she would cut through our conversation with a drawn Tengo hambre! Miguel always had a mouthful of coca leaves in his mouth so he was exempt from hunger and thirst. The rest of us were starving all the time, but only R had the guts to always ask for food:) Well, there was no constant snacking the way we were used while hiking in the US. Here, we ate three times a day and that was it. When we hiked we ate twice a day, so Kuba and I resorted to chewing coca leaves. The kids moaned.
Boryan was the next in line to get a jungle name. While tracking through a sandy area with high reeds something bit him on the leg and then on the finger. ‘Mom, it is Veinte Quatro!’ he ran to tell me. The previous day Miguel showed us the giant ants and told us that if one of them bit us we would be in horrible pain for 24 hr. ‘And then?!’ B asked nervously. ‘Then, you die!’ Miguel responded and winked, but B missed the wink. I didn’t much pay attention to this until the moment B got beaten by a 24. Miguel rushed in the woods for a natural remedy and B quietly sat on a piece of wood preparing to die with tears in his eyes. Of course he survived the night and woke up only with swollen finger and foot and the consolation that he had survived the attack of the ‘deadly’ ant. The name 24 stuck to him though.
Speaking of food – on Day 2 Miguel gave us each a small piece of wood attached to a fishing line with a hook at the end. He showed us how to throw it in a muddy pond and then left us on our own. The four of us fished for 2 hrs and caught n-o-t-h-i-n-g! All the cow’s meat bait got eaten by the piranhas as we got more and more frustrated. Then suddenly Kuba started pulling out a heavy load! Finally!!! Only to see a cute turtle being dragged by the fishing line. We begged Miguel to let her go. The price was that from that moment on Kuba was labeled as Tortuga/The Turtle.
With the four of us equipped with proper nick names we got out of the way and let Miguel fish. In no time he pulled 7 shimmering piranhas from the brown waters! We were speechless.
Not only did he catch the fish but he quickly built a grill from green wood, made a fire, washed and gutted the piranhas, wrapped them in palm leaves and then grilled them till the palm leaves got charred. What a treat. This was the best fish I have ever tasted!
The fishing incident just pointed our complete inability to survive in the jungle on our own. First, we would get ourselves eaten by bugs and our clothes cut in pieces by the leaf cutter ants. Then, we would starve a slow death as the only thing we would probably eat would be termites. We wouldn’t know how to find good water to drink and would probably have to drink from the river – the color of red mud. Finally, we would be killed by a jaguar as we wouldn’t know how to make a safe night shelter… And this is not a pessimistic take on our jungle options, it is probably a very realistic one.
But we had Miguel, our jungle god. He didn’t know how to read or write BUT he knew everything there is to know about the jungle. We followed him like puppies eating every word out of his mouth. B was always a step behind him, imitating his every move.
Later in the day things got even more exciting on the fish front. On the way back to camp we stopped by the big river where our cook Jacob (not Kuba), caught two GIANT fish. Kuba, B and him had to pull the fishing line out of the water together – that’s how strong and big the fish were. I had trouble even lifting one of fish with both my hands, but Jacob was so proud of his catch that he made me lift it so we could take a photo. The creepy thing was that these giant cousins of the small piranhas had teeth looking just like human teeth. I tried to block this from my mind as we were about to eat the creatures.
Kuba the vegetarian suddenly turned into pescaterian and carried the catch to camp where we (I mean Jacob) grilled them on fire and we feasted on them for whole three giant meals.
Now, listening about our struggles might give you the wrong impression that we didn’t enjoy our time in the jungle. Heck No! Since the moment we boarded the boat to Madidi National Park we were under Miguel’s spell and all the magic he revealed to us step by step.
He knew the language of the jungle and could read its sounds, interpret its melodies and knew the properties of plants that looked all the same to us.
He showed us how to crush the leaves of a special plant (don’t ask me which one) in your hand till they literally bled to death and then he grabbed Kuba with a giant knife pressed it to his throat covering him in red blood while signalling at me with his eyes to take a photo. My bashful Kuba sat there politely while me and the kids literally peed our pants.
Miguel also picked a round green fruit from a tree, ground it and squeezed it in a cloth till the juice came out. With a stick he painted invisible drawings on our hands. We didn’t think much about it till we woke up the next day to a dark blue tattoo on our skin that lasted a week!
Together with B he made a machete from a discarded rusty blade found in the forest and then dressed it in a shield made from a banana leaf. What more could our nature boy wish for?! This same machete has been traveling for months now with us and is his most prized possession.
He weaved us hats out of palm leaves and a ‘fish on a fishing rod’
Showed us amazing jungle stuff like trees which have their roots above the ground and move in search of better light! Or formations of colorful caterpillars.
He crafted us all rings out of seeds. Mine was made of a white nut that at the end he burned with fire to give a watercolor design. The rest of the family got rings as black and shiny as ebony with intricate drawings he carved with his knife.
He made us each a necklace, that we all religiously wear. Mine is from the same white nut my ring is made from. The face of the woman is burned darker by fire. And no, you can’t have it. It is mine!
He demonstrated how the local people made clothes by stripping the skin of a special tree and then softened it in the river on a stone and hitting it with a stick till his hand hurt. Then we cut it and sewed it into a shoulder strap bag.
He showed us how to swing on lianas like Tarzan and taught us how the recognize the ones that were in the jungle solely for fun from the ones that hid pure drinking water. If you have this knowledge you would never go thirsty and wouldn’t have to drink the brown muddy water from the rivers!
With Miguel building a jungle camp took no time – all one needs is a machete, two giant tarps and mosquito nets. He taught us to smile when rain soaks us wet ‘The jungle will wet you, but the jungle will dry you‘. He showed us what plants were poisonous and what were edible, what were medicinal. He guided us into weaving fans out of palm leaves, invaluable in the heat. He also laughed with us till our bellies hurt:)
But most of all he gave us a lesson in belonging. Miguel haven’t traveled outside of Rurre, but he was so content in the jungle, his whole being was radiating love for his home. He wasn’t too curious about the rest of the world, he was happy to be where he was, doing what he was doing. Me, the world traveler felt a ping of jealousy. I was suddenly craving this level of simplicity and comfort in nature. I was also in awe of his way of being and his knowledge.
It was striking how comfortable he was in the heat, surrounded by sand flies, while we were struggling:)
But despite the occasional discomforts, the jungle left an imprint on our memory like no other place we have visited so far. It was the total immersion in a mystical world holding so much unknown. The sudden understanding of how vast this ecosystem was and how important it is to guard it as it is the HOME of unique plants, animals and indigenous tribes.
It was the immediate connection we felt with Miguel and Jacob. The complete peace around us. The filtered light. The laughter over pretty much everything. The wonder that we could learn to make useful beautiful things out of whatever surrounds us and that Nature could provide for ALL our needs. We felt empowered, inspired and connected to the jungle with strings that would always pull us back.
Even when we are far far away.
~M
This sounds incredible! Which tour did you make in Rurre?
Irene, the company was called Max Adventure and we chose the 5 day – 3 nights option. Honestly the experience depends entirely on your guide. We were lucky to have a friend who has already taken a tour with Miguel and loved it so we asked the owner of the company for Miguel to be our guide and by chance things lined up. Hope that helps!