This tiny landlocked country in the heart of East Africa has a great deal to offer for the adventurous traveler!  Located near the equator, the country has a remarkably pleasant tropical highland climate, with average temperatures of just 70 degrees.  The clean and modern capital city, Kigali, is served by many major airlines.  Arriving in Kigali you will find comfortable hotel accommodations and there are many tours which explore the flora and fauna unique to this land.  Tours may be booked to the Musanze Volcanoes National Park where the last mountain gorillas reside; or you may choose to tour the rainforest of Nyungwe where there are wild chimpanzees.  You may even plan a side trip to neighboring Tanzania, offering safari tours in the famous Serengeti region.

But isn’t Rwanda a dangerous place?  You might ask, considering the events of 1994 when a huge tribal rivalry broke out into civil war and the genocide that followed made world-wide headlines.  Almost a million people died and millions more were displaced.  The infrastructure of Rwanda was devastated.  But in the 30 years that have passed since that conflict, a period of reconciliation and justice has led to rebuilding and stabilizing, thanks to the work of many organizations such as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (https://unictr.irmct.org/en/tribunal) and the reintroduction of Gacaca courts which traditionally provided justice in the village systems (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gacaca_court). Rwanda stands today as one of the most economically developed countries of Africa. 

Wherever you travel on the well-maintained road network in Rwanda, you will see stunning vistas of verdant hills, lakes, and rivers.  In the north, the towering volcanoes rise far above the surrounding landscape.  If you prefer not to join a tour, it is advisable to hire a driver to explore these places.

Flights may be arranged on a variety of airlines.  From the U.S. you may choose to travel via London or Amsterdam.  If you choose Emirates Airlines, you will be routed through the U.A.E.  Fares vary depending on the time of year.  Depending on your connections, the travel time from the U.S. may vary from 25 to 44 hours.  (Note:  If you have a lengthy layover on Emirates Airlines, you will stay at a hotel as part of your fare.)

Be sure to get all required vaccinations before traveling and protect yourself from malaria.  A tourist visa may be obtained in the Kigali airport when you arrive (about $50) or you can get it online before you travel.  You will need to exchange dollars for local currency in the airport or in banks or exchange houses.  Always drink bottled water and don’t take chances with unwashed fruits or uncooked vegetables.  With these basic precautions your visit to Rwanda will be far more enjoyable!

Please note: Rainy seasons are March-May and October-November. The driest months are June-
September. Often there is a light cloudcover, causing cooler weather in the dry months.

Bob Olden is our guest writer. He is the U.S. Office Manager of TL-Africa, a Christian mission organization currently operating in four East-African countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya.

The post Rwanda: Land of a Thousand Hills appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Editor’s Note: This article appeared in T-Boy two years ago, and also in three part series in the Tico Times, Costa Rica’s leading publication. It serves as a reminder that once the airways are clear again, it will be one of the first destinations I’ll revisit. It’s a nation of stunning land and seascapes, coffee plantations and jungles, national parks and biodiversity – but most of all my return will be to reconnect with the gentile and gracious people of Costa Rica.

Pura Vida in Costa Rica

I’ve been reveling in the warmth of my recent trip to Costa Rica, and not just because of the heat and humidity. This alluring Central American nation of five million Ticos (citizens), roughly the size of West Virginia, consists of just 0.03% of the earth’s landmass, but is home to 5% of its biodiversity. My checklist included hiking misty rain and cloud forests, strolling pristine beaches, witnessing an active volcano, touring a coffee plantation and experiencing unique plant and wildlife – which included my first encounters with a viper and boa constrictor. Yes, there were some bad dreams that night.

Because Costa Rica is located between 8 and 12 degrees north of the Equator, the climate is tropical year round. However, the country has many microclimates depending on elevation, rainfall, topography and by the geography of each particular region. Statistics tell us that Costa Rica has a bounty of 230 mammal species, 890 bird species, 220 reptile species, 35,000 insect species and 9,000 plant species. Virtually half the nation consists of national parks and nature and wildlife reserves. The best time to go to national parks is in the early morning. A guide is necessary to point out important sightings. Upon preparation for your Costa Rican journey, you will undoubtedly see numerous guide books with colorful photos of wildlife. You will be lucky if you manage to see a few. The rainforests and cloud forests are not a zoo, and the animals are on their own time table.

For example, the only time I actually spotted a toucan was outside my cabin in the midst of my own private tropical rain forest, right under the Arenal Volcano. The primary colors of the toucan’s feathers, along with its yellowish orange beak, were so mesmerizing that it almost looked like a painting by Paul Gauguin. As was the active 5,357-foot volcano, which was in view every time I looked out my window.  In 1968 the Arenal Volcano violently erupted, burying almost six sq. miles under rocks, lava and ash; eventually killing 87 people and destroying  three small villages. Smaller eruptions continued through 1998.  A specialist from the Costa Rica Volcanic and Seismic Observatory explained that the eruptions are nothing unusual for the volcano. As a normal precaution, authorities declare a red alert, close nearby roads and evacuate people (mostly tourists) from the immediate area. I made a point of giving the specialist my cell phone number. For the complete celestial experience you can relax in one of Arenal’s many natural hot springs, surrounding the volcano’s base. At night, it’s just you and the stars above.

But, above all, it was the gentle charm and hospitality of the Ticos themselves which affected me the most. They seem to have graciousness in their DNA. Costa Rica has literacy and life expectancy rates higher than the US, and with no standing army. The former military budget is dedicated to providing health care services and education. This has resulted in a nationwide cultural phenomenon where Ticos are uncomfortable with any form of personal aggression or confrontation. The motto, Pura Vida! (‘Pure Life’), is an expression used in various contexts, reflecting the Tico’s philosophy of a simple life, free of stress and a positive, relaxed feeling. It can be used as everything from “hello” or “awesome” to “all is well?” I vividly recall a woman running over to assist my photographer who was struggling with changing her shoes on the beach. Asking for directions always ended in a handshake, and wait staff employees at sodas (little cafés) were happy to share their personal narrative when ordering a meal.

Backstory

Pre-Columbian Costa Rica was populated by 400,000 Amerindians. The various tribal nations seemed to be a cultural mix, influenced by the Mesoamerican civilizations of north Central America and the Macro-Chibcha civilizations of northern South America. Columbus arrived on his fourth and final voyage in 1502; the result of repairs to his vessel, off the coast of Limón. Greeted by welcoming tribal chieftains, he noticed gold and silver worn by some. He made a wrong assumption that this was a place of plenty. He proclaimed this new land as “Costa Rica” (“Rich Coast”), which led to the arrival of full force Spanish conquistadores in search of bountiful treasures – but there was virtually nothing to be found. Plus, the remaining Tribal People – most had died due to warfare and the spread of European diseases – would not adhere to the usual barbarous Spanish practice of encomienda  (forced labor). Costa Rica was described as the poorest and most miserable Spanish colony in all of the Americas by the Spanish governor. Most of the Spanish left in search of wealthier lands, while the remaining settlers headed for Central Valleys, where they found rich volcanic soil, ideal for farming, with no choice but to work the land themselves.  This period of history created the foundation for Costa Rica’s development as a more egalitarian society than the rest of Central America, resulting in a rural democracy with no oppressed mestizo or Amerindian class. After the final Spanish defeat in the Mexican War of Independence (1810–21), Spain declared the independence of all of Central America. Called the Federal Republic of Central America, Costa Rica eventually broke away and established its own democratic nation in 1838.

Since the late 19th century Costa Rica has experienced two significant periods of violence. In 1948, a six week civil war broke out between liberal and conservative forces that left 2,000 Costa Ricans dead.  The liberals won the bitter war. A new constitution was enacted which abolished the army, desecrated the country, granted women and Afro-Costa Ricans the right to vote, thus creating a stable democracy, progressive social policies, free compulsory public education, high social well-being, and emphasis on treating all citizens equally. In 1987 President Oscar Arias Sanchez won the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering a peaceful agreement between the peasant-class Sandinistas and US supported Contras, a remnant of the brutal Nicaraguan regime of President Anastasio Somoza. A covert CIA airfield just across Costa Rica’s northern border was quickly abandoned, which led to a nation-wide celebration where children planted trees on the empty airfield.

San José: Your journey will probably begin with a flight to the capital city of San José, due to its direct access from many US cities. Located in the center of the nation, peopled by 1.035 million citizens, San José’s densely packed urban center almost felt like a third-world city. Wealthy expiates generally live in self-contained guarded communities in the hills, complete with barbed wire as protection. Many visitors use it as an one-night stop-over, and then head for their destinations of choice. I had been warned: as a new capital city it is a bit charmless, with only a few examples of colonial architecture, museums, historic government buildings and grand boulevards. I took a midnight stroll on Saturday and another one the next morning. Contrary to popular opinion, it was a great experience. I felt safe and enjoyed the colorful Main Market and sense of life on the streets of Costa Rica’s largest city. My hotel, located a block away from the city center, was buttoned up like a fortress, with steel shutters blocking the parking area. It was almost midnight and I must have driven four times around long blocks to find the unassuming locked entrance with barely a small sign. But, once inside, I was greeted by the manager who was helpful and hospitable, serving almost like an ambassador. This was my first indication of the kindness of the Ticos.

Don Juan Coffee Tour: What nation leads the world in coffee consumption? Did you know the lighter the bean, the more caffeine?  Or, that vanilla needs to be added to the cacao bean in order to transform it into chocolate? All this and more is what I learned at the two-hour Don Juan Coffee Tour. Located in the rich coffee country hills of Monteverde, you’ll receive a real taste of coffee education from touring the plantation’s sprawling coffee fields to the processing of the beans. The tour also includes turning Don Juan’s cacao beans, whose birthplace is pre-Columbian Central America, into chocolate. Aztec Emperor Montezuma II reportedly drank 50 flagons per day of the liquid chocolate (ocōlātl), mixed with water, honey and dried chili pepper.  Visitors are welcome to participate in the process from grinding coffee beans to pounding the cacao into a paste. As an extra treat, you’ll receive coffee, chocolate and limeade tastings, made from the plantation’s sugar canes. BTW, Finland leads the world in coffee consumption per capita. This was my favorite tour in Costa Rica.

Tamarindo Beach: For ocean pleasures, the surfing Mecca of Tamarindo Beach on the northwest Pacific Coast, is a prime spot for surfing schools and sport fishing charters, diving and sunning. This is a location where the locals can be a little relentless selling souvenirs, such as wooden oxcarts (a national symbol), constructed with recycled wood. To the north, Playa Grande beach is a major nesting site for huge leatherback turtles, and forms part of Las Baulas National Marine Park. The mangrove-lined estuary of Tamarindo Wildlife Refuge protects animals such as Howler Monkeys and crocodiles.

Conchita Tours: On the last day, I was able to book a two-hour jungle boat tour with Conchita Tours. Floating through mangrove swamps in the safety of the boat, the highlight was finally spotting a family of Howler Monkeys sleeping in a forest canopy. Their unique howls had served as a soundtrack for my every night. The little critters, though, were hard to capture on film. There were a number of crocodiles lazing on the shore, which explains why the monkeys prefer the safety of the trees.

Did You Know?

The Little Drummer Boy and US Tyrant, William Walker: In 1856, American William Walker and his ragtag army of mercenaries attacked Honduras, Nicaragua and later Costa Rica with the intention of creating a slave-holding empire with himself as its president. With the blessing of US President Franklin Pierce, Walker was successful in Honduras and Nicaragua for a period, then turned his sights on Costa Rica. President Juan Rafael Mora Porras called upon the general population to take up arms and head north to fight against the foreign invader. After routing a contingent of Walker’s soldiers at Santa Rosa, Costa Rican troops continued marching north, following Walker’s army to the city of Rivas. The Battle of Rivas was brutal and fierce. Walker’s men retreated into a hostel near the town center where they commanded an advantageous firing position. Juan Santamaría, a poor laborer and son of a single mother, had joined the army as a drummer boy. A general suggested that a soldier should advance towards the hostel with a torch and set it on fire. Juan Santamaría volunteered for the suicide charge, but with the condition that someone would look after his mother if he died. He then advanced and succeeded in setting fire to the hostel, and was mortally wounded by the enemy. His heroics were the defining factor in the Costa Rican victory at Rivas. Walker escaped, and eventually returned to Honduras in an attempt to reestablish his control of the region, but was captured and executed by a firing squad in 1860. Juan Santamaría, the Little Drummer Boy, is Costa Rica’s national hero. You will see monuments, statues and parks named after him throughout the nation. Juan Santamaría Day, a national holiday, is held every April 11 to commemorate his courageous death.

Coffee is King: By the mid-1850s the main market for high-quality coffee was Britain. The locals drank a watered-down version which continues today, saving the best for export. Most of the coffee was grown in the Central Plateau and then transported by oxcart to a port city. It was a slow and brutal endeavor, compounded by traveling through rugged hills and valleys, thick jungles and torrential rains. It soon became a high priority to develop an effective transportation route from the Central Plateau to the Atlantic Ocean. The Costa Rican government contracted US businessman Minor C. Keith to build a railroad from San José to the Caribbean port of Limón. The railroad  proved extraordinarily challenging due to inadequate financing, tropical diseases, lack of food and poisonous reptiles along the tracks. As many as four thousand people, including Keith’s three brothers, died during the construction of the first 25 miles of the track. Having subsequent trouble recruiting Costa Rican laborers, Keith eventually brought in US convicts and indentured Chinese servants, and finally turned to freed slaves from Jamaica.

Keith had a brainstorm by growing banana fields along the railway’s tracks, which provided a source of food for the workers. The railroad was completed in 1890, but Keith was still badly in debt. With the excess bananas, Keith experimented by running a steamboat to New Orleans. The gamble paid off which resulted in an extremely lucrative banana trade. He soon established the Tropical Trading and Transport Company to increase banana shipments to foreign destinations. Bananas eventually replaced coffee as the king of exports.

Still short of money, Keith eventually partnered with the foreign-owned corporation, the United Fruit Company, which became a symbol of an exploitative export economy. This resulted in a major labor dispute between the peasants and the United Fruit Company, which eventually led to the formation of effective trade unions in Costa Rica

What to Eat

Costa Rican cuisine is primarily a blend of Amerindian, Spanish and African recipes. Dishes such as the tamale and others made of corn are the most representative of its first inhabitants. Spaniards brought many new ingredients to the country, especially spices and domestic animals. In the 19th century, Afro-Caribbeans added a little heat to the flavors, and like the US, each new arriving ethnicity brought their own ancestral recipes along with them.

Salsa: Food is the spice of life, and Ticos prefer their salsas mild and flavorful. The local favorite, Lizano Salsa is readily available at numerous stores.

Gallo Pinto is the national dish of Costa Rica, consisting of black beans cooked with rice, a few spices and petite pieces of carrots and other vegetables thrown in. It can be topped with a scrambled egg, generally served at breakfast. It’s filling, delicious and will vary in every kitchen.

Casada serves as a midday set-meal of rice and black beans, cabbage and tomato salad, fried platanos and your choice of either beef, chicken, pork or fish generally served in a soda, an unpretentious little café and a great place to meet Ticos. Casada means ‘married’ or ‘married man’s lunch’ for it was first prepared by the wives of workers.

Boca is a snack served in a bowl of rice, black beans, small salad, pico de gallo (a tomato based salsa), fried pork bellies, plantains, avocado with tortilla chips to scoop this delicious concoction up. Patacones are twice fried plantains, and a real treat.

Seafood is well represented due to Costa Rica having two coasts, just 75 miles apart. So there is a bounty of fresh sea bass, red snapper, dorado (mahi mahi), octopus, tilapia, bill fish, prepared any way you prefer. My personal favorite was sea bass, cooked in palm leaves.

Beef: Costa Rica is beef country. It’s inexpensive, cut thinly and full of flavor.

Frescos are usually fruit drinks made with milk or water. The fresh fruits are endless: mangoes, papayas, blackberries and pineapples. If you’re lucky, there’s also passion and star fruit. Horchata is made with water, rice flour, cinnamon and chan, a seed that is reputedly to be good for the digestive system.

Beer: Thanks to the early presence of German settlers, Costa Rica has a series of solid lagers, including my favorites, Bavaria and Pilsen. Keep an eye out for the craft beer, Maldita Vida, a deceptively smooth stout with 9.8% alcohol content. Many tourist are surprised to find themselves a bit tipsy after a downing a few.

In 2017, National Geographic magazine proclaimed Costa Rica as the happiest country in the world. Their article included these words: “Costa Ricans enjoy the pleasure of living daily life to the fullest in a place that mitigates stress and maximizes joy.” It  sounds like Pura Vida to me.

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The tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the Earth flows somber under an overcast sky. Joseph Conrad would have gone for it. Villages disappear, but after every few bends in the river, I can see Indian fishermen netting or gigging catfish, from armoured ones that can “walk” on dry land, to giants that can swallow a small pig. My destination, Loving Light Amazon Lodge, keeps a shaman on retainer. I seek his vision.

An endless palette of greens shifts in light filtering through cloud patterns and treetops. With 11 times the water volume of the Mississippi, the river system moistens the strongest lungs of the earth. As ill-advised development schemes narrow species diversity, jungle shamans are also endangered. These medicine men and spiritual leaders carry rain-forest knowledge accumulated by countless generations. Most villages are now without a leader. Remaining shamans are elderly, and do not have apprentices. As they die, libraries burn. This blows an ill wind for modern medicine, which acquires many of its clinically useful prescription drugs from the rain forest and the realm of folk medicine. Of 80,000 Amazon plant species, only a fraction have been thoroughly analyzed.

One shaman hanging tough is Marcelino Nolorbe Talexio. Third generation and in his mid-30s, with hopes for his son to join the mystic guild, he looks like an Indian James Mason. Talexio’s house specialty is Ayahuasca, the Inca “vine of the dead, vine of the soul.” Boiling down a species of Banisteriopsis vine and a half-dozen other plants, he produces a potent mix of hallucinogenic alkaloids, used for millennia to enter sacred supernatural worlds for worship, healing and insight.

In the meantime, my fellow travelers and I spend several days gathering our jungle rhythms. We occupy the day with plant lectures, drinking water from one vine, climbing another, and avoiding one caustic enough to burn skin. Traveling the river and adjoining lakes, we take in the local village life that revolves around the river. Children in a one-room schoolhouse sing for us, then play soccer in a jungle clearing. A woman we visit downriver climbs down the high riverbank with several children. They carry parasols and wear pained looks. She lost a child the week before, another is down with fever. A simple gift of ibuprofen is gratefully accepted. The small mounds in a family graveyard, marked by tall yellow and scarlet plants, betray the Amazon’s sadness – high mortality for children.

At night, we hunt tree tarantulas. Is it the brown or the black that really nail you? Whichever, it’s the opposite for scorpions. Or we paddle in suspenseful search of caimans, alligator-like reptiles whose glowing eyes don’t betray their actual size. Our boat guide’s hands move with startling speed, tossing small ones into the boat that unnerve those wearing sandals. Small, colourful frogs land in our arms, one leap ahead of the repeated query, “Is this a poison dart frog?”

Fishing for the legendary peacock bass requires special tackle – one quickly takes my lure like an hors d’oeuvre and keeps going. But piranha are a no-brainer – eat ’em before they eat you, that’s my motto. Actually, you can swim and bathe in the river as long as you’re not bleeding. The tough part is retrieving the hook from the razor teeth of a decent-sized piranha. The best implement I’ve found is an Indian carving of a phallic symbol, although hook removal sends a shiver.

And best not to get caught in a downpour while fishing. Sheets of rain pound our long dugout canoe as lightning slices the gray horizon, thunderclapping applause and layering dread on the faces of the young Indian couple guiding me. We bail wildly until comically pitching our metal pots to the far end of the canoe, as if lightning is so choosy. No jumping to land, either – the thick reeds on this river section hide vipers and, the speedboat long gone for supplies and the shaman who knows where, I chance lightning in preference to the bushmaster and his cousins.

The night of the vision quest finally arrives. The house band – singing guitarist, a maraca shaker and a bongo player – warm up Peruvian blues of unrequited love as we light lanterns and ponder a dinner spiced with a side dish of yellow seed pod sauce known as “monkey-dick.” Offered by the chef with a sly look, its memory alone makes my face sweat.

The ceremony is in a huge, thatched dome roundhouse, with wraparound windows covered by mosquito netting. Those not participating wisely retire to the deck porch overlooking the river, with the exception of the American lodge partner, the designated lifeguard this night.

Talexio begins by blowing tobacco smoke into a soda-pop bottle filled with muddy grey glop, topping off the foulest, vilest tasting brew to cross my lips. How bad? Large, red buckets sit ominously in front of the newly initiated, just in case.

He settles into a five-hour rendition of his Ayahuasca Icaro. An Icaro is a shamanic power song learned from an elder or from the spirits, intended to provoke visions. The song alternates with a melodic whistle while brushes woven from reeds carry the beat on our heads and shoulders, rapping on the door between the inner self and the rain forest.

Nothing. Wait, there’s a shot left over. The shaman spies my move, his eyebrow starts rising, but he’s too slow on the draw. Still, nada.

Ticked at having drunk that gunk to no apparent effect, muck so foul no monkey-dick could fix it, I stand up. I sit down. The jungle’s cacophony of night sounds blend into the shaman’s song, which I hug like a life raft. Skepticism over the shaman’s mental alchemy vanishes as the forest reaches out to my senses while the night’s lightning storms play on the horizon like distant artillery.

The chaotic onslaught of the jungle coalesces into an inclusive organic wave washing over me, imparting the reverence with which many locals view their surroundings. What a loss to lose this relationship. I mull over private thoughts until sunrise.

I’ll share one. My father was a traveling salesman with a well-received megawatt smile. Our bond cemented around riding horses on weekends and vacations where his LeSabre, replaced every two years with phenomenal miles logged, navigated the West in a week. He drove hundreds of miles across Kansas at a fast clip to just make a high school wrestling match. Our relationship strained during the Vietnam protests but I felt lucky to have it. Insights often came from around the corner, a tear while watching “Death of a Salesman.” Born in 1907, his life was interrupted by WWII, when he was second in command on a Navy ship. So dad was in his mid-forties when his only child was born. Some kids confused him with my grandfather. My father died a few years before my Amazon sojourn, just after the birth of my daughter – I think he struggled to hold on until then. I felt I never had time to grieve.

The shaman’s brushes chased away molten pools of gold. Suddenly my father was with me. Arm in arm, we strolled about the circular chamber – which gained size with every step – sheltering us from the thunder and lightning outside. He was a young man I’d never known.

His face matched a large oval portrait photo I’d found in a farm attic, from when he was called “Slim” and “Red”. He wore a straw boater style hat. In real time, I was a generation older than he was during his visit, but that night my years rolled off, too – a peer, a pal. I don’t recall words, but communications were clear as a bell. A smile speaking volumes. Immensely satisfying. Joyful. Fantastic.

In the morning, we gather for the shaman’s debriefing. We describe our visions to a translator and hear the shaman’s analysis. The shaman sips a mixture of rum and garlic, blowing it onto the back of our heads as he sings and whistles and beats about our heads and shoulders with brushes. Sobering.

Talexio takes the helm of a long dugout and we journey down the Yanayacu to the Amazon for a rendezvous with pink river dolphins. They bob around us, like they’re waiting to play a game of Marco Polo. Mixed with their grey brethren, they look as if some crazed interior decorator named Kurtz had gone up river in the ’80s and then gone terribly wrong in the heart of darkness. Hot and weary from the night’s rigours, we swim in the cool murky waters, but the dolphins keep respectful distance. Local mermaid legends undoubtedly originated with the pink dolphins, fueled by a local’s cane-juice horror.

Swimming off the broad expanse of a river beach one easily imagines caimans, electric eels, big fish with fins like daggers and pesky piranha. They don’t concern me. My frontal lobes are captive to the legend of the Candiru, the Toothpick Fish. This tiny parasitic catfish is said to navigate warm urethra canal currents. Once upstream, he secures his berth with open fins. Wrapped like an onion, I sport two swimsuits and all my dirty underwear. If the Candiru gets me, it would only be as an overwrought metaphor for the civilization I have sought refuge from.

Flocks of ducks fly low in formation along the river as we begin the long voyage back up the Yanayacu. Our all-purpose shaman tends the precious motor rigged onto our dugout. Despite strong currents, floating plants form a thick pea green soup. Approaching storm clouds turn the sky steel gray. Not to worry, my shaman is at the rudder.

Suddenly, Talexio looks sheepish. The dugout stops, then drifts backwards. The shaman, who does Ayahuasca four or five times a week, forgot to fill the gas tank. The dugout has one paddle. Night falls.

Lightning flashes and the rain comes. A flashlight beam lights a caiman’s eyes. The beer runs out. “Before we die, what is the lesson, O shaman?” I ask with a sneer.

“Manten tus pantalones bien puestos,” he replies, reading my earlier fit of fright with the Candiru. Roughly translated, it means, “Keep your pants on.”

Loving Light Amazon Lodge: Extremely remote and rustic, but pleasing, with a minimum of layers insulating visitors from the environment. Medical personnel stay for free at Loving Light on any day they spend half their time tending the needs of area villages. Major medical volunteer missions elsewhere in Peru’s Amazon can be organized through the Rainforest Health Project in Washington State (

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).

Don’t travel down the Yanayacu to bushwhack through the jungle in search of Loving Light enlightenment. You might instead brighten an anaconda. This reprise from the Wayback Machine is in memoriam to Loving Light. Years ago some locals sold off the lodge wood piece by piece without notifying the stateside owner – choose management carefully – a sad loss making this a glorious but brief place in the space/time continuum. Gone but not forgotten, the lodge moved to the Twilight Zone.

The post Amazon Off-Line: Eat This Shrub and Call Me in the Morning appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The mighty Amazon River has amazed me since boyhood. It is the largest river in the world by amount of water discharged and the second longest in length. Boasting earth’s largest rainforest, the river offers visitors an unforgettable journey into the “selva” or jungle as locals call it, where the world’s largest and most diverse collection of plant and animal life are found.

The 4,000-mile-long waterway stretches across nine South American countries as it makes its way eastward from the foothills of the Andes Mountains in Peru towards the Atlantic Ocean. Along its route, the river provides a source of life to more than one-third of all recorded animal species in the world. This includes some 40,000 plant species, 427 types of mammals, 1,300 birds species, 378 different reptiles, more than 400 amphibians, and roughly 3,000 freshwater fish.

A great way to experience the river and jungle together is by boat. There are numerous excellent companies that provide memorable experiences down the Amazon. A friend recommended Rainforest Cruises, which showcases Amazon River cruises from Peru.

Rainforest Cruises start in Iquitos, Peru, located on the banks of the Amazon River, or in the city of Nauta. Both cities are the center of Amazon River cruise activity in Peru, and are found in the enormous province of Loreto, in North-Eastern Peru. Two-thirds of Peru’s land mass is covered by the Peruvian Amazon jungle, much of it unspoiled and waiting to be explored by riverboat.

“An Amazon River cruise in Peru will provide you with a genuine experience of the mighty Amazon River, the rainforest and all the wildlife and people who call it their home,” says the Rainforest Cruises website. “Mischievous capuchin monkeys, tasty Amazonian superfruits, smiling locals and rich rainforest scenery will be sure to give you a lifetime of lasting memories.”

The company says the best way to visit the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest is to tour backwaters aboard a traditional riverboat. River travel is still the primary method of transportation in the region as the Amazon rainforest is mainly a roadless wonder. An Amazon cruise is the only way to access the narrow, winding creeks and tributaries. Trips head deep into the rainforest for the best wildlife-spotting opportunities, jungle treks and local community visits.

Other animals to see on trip down the most biodiverse rainforest / river system on Earth include pink and grey river dolphins, three-toed sloths, jaguars, macaws, capuchin monkeys, anacondas, to name a few. Some of these creatures are endemic to the Amazon region, so being able to see them in their natural habitat can be spectacular. “The Pacaya Samiria National Reserve in Peru boasts some of the Amazon’s most abundant biodiversity. Once you are there, just sit tight, be very quiet and use each of your senses to listen to leaves rustling in the trees,” says Rainforest Cruises.

For many Rainforest Cruises travelers, an unexpected highlight of an Amazon River tour is the chance to sample many of the region’s popular dishes, both traditional and modern. “Meals are lovingly prepared with fresh, locally sourced ingredients from the surrounding environment. You can expect to sample a variety of exquisite fish, meat and vegetable dishes, accompanied perhaps by a cocktail made with exotic tropical fruits. Ask your guide for a Pisco Sour lesson,” says the tour company. With any style of Amazon cruise you choose, the food and drinks onboard will be a trip highlight!

The Peruvian Amazon is also home to a diverse population of Amazonian tribes and mestizo communities. Many of these people keep their traditional lifestyle and some are completely isolated from the outside world. Other communities have decided to share their culture with visitors to the Amazon, inviting tour groups to learn about their lifestyle. A river cruise can give guests an opportunity to meet a local shaman, learn about natural medicine, meet local school kids and see first hand how Amazonian food is prepared.  For more information, visit: Rainforest Cruises

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