Mysteries and Mossies

July 10th, 2008 by Rochelle Trail

Miss Marple has nothing on me…

I have now realised after chatting with an Irish couple who both came down with Salmonella as to why I am immune. As they described their symptoms I began to think that sounds awfully similar to that bout of flu I had in Bolivia just before I got to Cusco. No appetite, couldn´t get out of bed, achy legs… And so we put two and two together and realised that I probably did have Salmonella but due to my regime of garlic, charcoal and probiotics over those two days I managed to beat it. Who needs antibiotics? Which explains why everyone else got sick after Chifa but me – cos I already had immunity.

So decided to get a Salmonella test to be sure it wasn´t still lingering. Sure enough I did have it but have recoverd. However unfortunately what I don´t have immunity to is Peruvian mosquitoes. And consequently I´ve ended up with infected mossie bites, each one the size of a small continent. Unbelievable that I beat the salmonella but the mossie bites have got me. Fortunately there is no malaria in these parts.

So back to the place where it all began – the jungle. It was a great trip. I flew to Puerto Maldonado and then took a boat 2 hours down the river to Eco Amazonia lodge which was in an amazing setting with lodges set amongst the jungle. After a magnificent lunch we visited Monkey Island which is owned by EcoAmazonia. Unfortunately these monkeys are well used to humans and thus you have to avoid them trying to jump on your backs and stealing your water bottles. Not everyone was so lucky and I spoke to an Aussie girl who was licked up one arm and across her face by an over-friendly primate before managing to disintangle herself. It also made me realise that the guide´s machete wasn´t necessarily just for chopping bananas.

After dinner we went crocodile hunting and managed to spot a number of caiman (crocs) resting peacefully on the river banks. With only limited use of electricity 6-10pm at night, everyone was in bed pretty early after a couple of games of pool.

The next morning was a 5am start and after an amazing sunrise we rowed our boat for an hour and a half down the river we ended up in the middle of the jungle and walked up a watch tower, painted ourselves with natural dyes and spotted more monkeys, caiman and turtles. It was pretty muggy but no more so than a typical summers day in Auckland. It was just so pleasant having such warm evenings – unlike Cusco which drops about 20 degrees in the same amount of minutes.

After a 5km trek back through to the lodge we had a bit of relaxation time which I spent hanging out in the hammocks which is when I believe I may have suffered the attack of the aforementioned mossies. Later in the afternoon we went for a walk through the medicinal garden which was really interesting. Our guides father was a shaman (medicine man) so he had an intimate knowledge of healing plants and also extolled the virtues of ayahuasca which is a hallucinogenic jungle plant that is supposed to lead to greater life clarity. That is after you have spent most of the day vomiting (an inevitable side effect).

The next morning we headed back by boat to Puerto Maldonado. While waiting for our flight we visited a snake farm and managed to hold a python, an anaconda, a small caiman (carefully) and a biting turtle. One group had seen a snake in the jungle that if it bites, death will result in 30 minutes unless you get the antivenom in time. Fortunately this one was busy laying eggs so wasn´t so interested in biting anyone. And then it was back to Cusco, exchanging the dangers of the jungle wildlife for the perils of Peruvian taxi drivers.