Day 8 - AMAZON

UPDATES and NOTES:

Our first trip to the city was not to Béle, but to Belén. 

We painted the boat not on the Amazon River, but on an outskirt of the Amazon, or so to say, a part of it. This trip today was my first true venture into the Amazon. 

Please be mindful that to go into full detail about this trip is impossible with my time (and also somewhat my attention span, haha). I will only summarize, but don't be afraid to ask me questions about more detail when I come back. 

Sugar cane drink

VBS in a church without electricity in the middle of a thunderstorm. One hit the goal post that shook the entire village, like an extreme flash of white followed by a Civil War canon. 

Today happened. To be honest, I thought we were going to be sleeping in the heart the jungle with some remote village. 

We got up early in the morning, had breakfast, and made our way to where our painted boat was. 

Our first stop was at this risen port that housed a bunch of cool animals. I was able to hold a sloth and crocodile, but the monkeys were the best. They were everywhere, swinging around us on the railings and the roofs. They were the softest and the cutest things you could imagine. I've never seen something so primitive and active so close. 

We stayed awhile, and after many, many pictures along the Amazon consisting of beautiful greens and amazing raised water houses, we landed at a remote tribal village. They welcomed us in and performed some dances for us inside one of their huts. Some of us were even pulled in to join them. (I wish I was too, but since I had the camera out, I think the kids around me had the better chances.) Once the dances were completed, the tribal leader invited us to the "market" in the hut that was right behind the stage, filled with colorful (and hopefully authentic) souvenirs like woven bags, woven hammocks, blow dart guns, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and so on. It was obviously a marketing tactic for the village, but it was still cool to talk with the villagers and the children while the shop was open. And I have to admit, I love bargaining. 

Our last leg of the trip for the day took a three-hour ride. I stayed awake and took pictures along the waters, trying to soak in everything I could see and smell. Many others were beat and took the opportunity to take their Amazon naps. I succombed to that temptation near the end of our journey in one of the upstairs hammocks. If you ever get the chance to ride the Amazon on a boat like this, take a power nap in a hammock; it is worth it. 

We made it to the village where we would stay for the night. We were welcomed by about sixty to eighty kids and adults as we piled into a room and were welcomed by fruits we had never seen before. I would be wasting my time trying to remember all the names of the foods, so please comment if you see something you know. I will say the sugar cane was what people say it is: really good. 

We went off the play with the kids afterwards. I went with a group to play soccer in the muddy, drenched fields. Again, Peruvians can ball. They slide tackle well, have good ball control, take good shots, basically the full package for varsity high school players in what seemed like seven- and eight-year-olds bodies for the most part. There's nothing like seeing some real aggressive futbol players play (sorry MLS). Many of us gringos (white boys) slipped in the mud and cow manure and got our feet drenched in water that came up to our ankles. It was a really cool experience. I would have loved to play the kids in a more fair field, but on the flip side we would have gotten demolished either way. 

We had dinner on the boat and then made our way to VBS in a small church with no electricity. It was a couple hours passed sunset by now, and it was as black a night as you could get. Once we all made our ways inside the church, the water came down like a waterfall outside us. We could see the lightening pretty prevalentally as we did the service, and once did the thunder truly scare the living beejeezus out of ourselves. Not many kids showed up because of the weather, but some kid along with their parents and other adults, like the village's pastor. We sang songs and PT appropriately shared the message about Jesus calming the storm on the sea. The village pastor was touched and came up to the front to welcome and thank us for coming. 

Finally, we made our ways back to our places of stay. The girls got rooms with bunk beds, and the guys had mosquito tents set up in a concrete building which I think acts as an elementary school for the year. 

One final thing I will say is that bugs here are the problem. Mosquitos, chiggers, fire ants, and other strange dirt and water bacteria do have us to our toes. I have been lucky among my peers; I have not really had any itchy bites or bruises, where the vast majority of others have experienced painful bites and sicknesses. That can all change pretty quickly, of course, but I'll feel proud while I can. :D

Tomorrow we'll do a morning VBS, and hopefully the weather will cooperate to allow more kids to show. My shoes are soaked in dirt, we have no access to a working clean shower, and I forgot to ring a blanket. But God will provide for our upcoming day. We'll make our way back in the afternoon, and I heard we may have the chance to feed some homeless children tomorrow night. 

That is, if we can make it until then. :)