We had a 5:30 AM alarm 6:30 breakfast and then we were fitted with rubber boots.  

Then we embarked on a fifteen minute skiff ride to meet a local shaman.

Karola is a Shaman.  She was selected at age 14 at an Ayahuasca ceremony.  She led a very restricted lifestyle and diet during her 8 years of training by her shaman grandfather. 

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive drink beverage, traditionally used by South American shaman and indigenous cultures.  It is used for spiritual ceremonies and healings.   The ceremony has gained popularity for people outside the Amazon area to experience as a cleansing or mystic event.  The drink is also used recreationally for its hallucinogenic properties by some North Americans and Europeans. 

Karola is showing us the root of the plant by the same name. She also has a bracelet and a necklace containing a flat piece of the root.  

She also demonstrated the opening minutes of a traditional Ayahuasca ceremony.

As shaman, Karola uses plants to take care of nine villages in her region.  She travels to her patients if they can’t come to her.  Karola does not charge for her services but is often gifted back something grown or made by her patients.  She treated villagers during the Covid 19 crisis and none of them died.  

We were told 60 percent of all medicines originate with plants from the tropics.  

Karola is also a wife, mother of three, and co-laborer on their family farm.  She gave us each a lucky bean for good energy. 

We had all climbed up a muddy bank to reach the ceremonial shelter.  This route had a few steps and railings. We were told the upcoming jungle walk would be two muddy, hilly miles without supports.  

After being given the option to do the jungle walk or not Randy and I made different choices. Can you guess how?!  The only thing I can say in my defense is that more people opted to go back then to go forward on the jungle walk.

Will we see them again?

Instead of going right back to the ship, we enjoyed a skiff tour along the Amazon.  I was very happy with my choice!  They gave us water, Coke or Inca Cola, a very sweet local carbonated drink that tastes like bubble-gum.

This boat is a water taxi for locals.

This is water lettuce.  It is a main food source for manatees.

Rice is planted and harvested cooperatively.  The plants get water from humidity.  It is harvested in November before the area’s flooding season begins.  The flooding brings silt full of nutrients.

Papaya, bananas and beans are also grown.  When harvested, the villagers take food to town to trade for salt, fishing line and machetes. 

The river’s source is snowmelt from the Peruvian Andes.  In this area it is generally about 6-10 feet deep at this time of year.  Ships have to look for the slightly deeper channels.

This is a Road-side Hawk, even though right now it is river-side.

Water hyacinth, like the water lettuce,  is generally a floating vegetation.  

The fisherman is using an old refrigerator or freezer to store fish.

Our group made it back to the Delfin III. The ship’s crew had a system to remove our boots before stepping aboard.  They cleaned them before we would need them again – and keep the ship clean!

Randy enjoyed his hike in the jungle but he was towards the back so didn’t hear all the commentary.

He got some interesting pictures, even if we don’t know what they are about!

His guide was showing them the rubber on the rubber tree.  Randy brought a small piece back for me to see.

They made it back to the Delfin III hot, dirty, tired but alive.

After lunch we went back on another skiff ride. About one hundred people live in this community along the Amazon.

We saw some gray and pink dolphins but none of them gave us an opportunity for very good pictures. The pink dolphins we saw were not like the pictures I’d seen before the trip. These were more of a light gray with a bit of pink.

Next we were kayaking on the Amazon!

And the fun never stops!  Next up was fishing for red belly piranha!

The piranha were small and our guide was kept very busy taking them off the hook for those who were fishing! Everyone was catch and release!

Then we went a ways up or down the river and some chose to go swimming in the Amazon!

After that busy day, it was back to the Delfin III to clean up.  We had a nice sunset before dinner.

Remember when I said the food presentation was amazing on the Delfin III.  This was the first course of our dinner.

We were busy on the Amazon on September 22, 2024.

Next Up: More Amazon