Safari in the Peruvian Amazon Jungle

You get to know the rainforest well when you participate in an expedition. We travelled upstream by boat on tributary rivers to the Amazon. Now, sitting in Norway , I´m thinking back at this expedition as a memory for life. It may sound hard to believe, but it´s true. We lived with natives in the low jungle and we travelled the waterway, going up the river of Urubamba .

We used all the means of travel on the expedition: car, airplane, small plane, boat, bus and train.

"Are you archaeologists?" Nayda was curiously asking us. We were far away, in the middle of the Amazon jungle of Peru .. Nayda was a teacher on her way home after one week of teaching in a native community.

We had just completed 10 days of our expedition, each of which had provided us with a multitude of new and exciting experiences. It was difficult for her to understand that we were just some journalists from Norway in search of adventure.

We felt experienced now. That was certainly not the case when we anxiously arrived at Lima , having travelled half-around the globe.

 

Together with the Natives

Our expedition consisted of five men: Alberto was our expert on anything regarding the Amazon Rainforest; Øyvind from Lima and Norway was our expedition operator and tourleader; and native Ashaninka Frank was our local guide.

The expedition was well prepared and equipped with special tents and all the material necessary for living an extended time in the jungle.

Our first encounter with this new world was at 4818 meters above sea level in Ticlio, the highest point in the Andes by road.

The first night we stayed with the Ashaninkas in San Miguel and were received with open arms. Enrique, the chief, was happy to receive us and gave us welcoming greetings in Ashaninka language and in Spanish. They lead us to a two-floor bamboo-house and we received the message that dinner will be served in their communal tribe house.

 

Spectacular Nature

We climbed the ladder entering our rooms. Thin walls and floors of bamboo. High up enjoying freedom and the fresh jungle air. The windows were holes in the wall and the panoramic view was wonderful.

This first day had been full of spectacular nature. Crossing the beautiful and wild Andes mountains and descending into exuberant high-jungle vegetation. It gave a nature-proud Norwegian something to ponder about. Peru has a nature so powerful that our bragging about Norwegian mountains got stuck in our throats. Two different countries naturally, but our first experience with Peru immediately made a significant impression.

 

Welcome to the Native Tribe

The food came as a surprise-gift (los juanes). Wrapped in palm leaves and filled with delicious chicken and rice.

"We don´t have much but we are happy to share", the chief said in his long welcoming speech. Then it was our turn and after that it was dance.

We woke up to the sounds of birds singing. They showed us their biodiversity. High season for coffee and yucca. Frank and the chief showed us how they use the bow and arrow. We played until they called on us for a new community meeting with new speeches and new declarations of long lasting friendship. Suddenly, the "Club of Mothers" appeared and told us that they had been watching us and decided to give the "two Norwegian men" a special welcoming.

The next day we drove further into the jungle and arrived at the city of Satipo - one of the headquarters for the terrorist maoist group, Shining Path, during the 1980/90´s. Although this is now a peaceful place, there are still few tourists in this area. From here we continued our way down to the low-jungle by small plane.

 

The Hope of Wings

Before entering the small Cessna plane with the encouraging name "The Hope of Wings", the pilot weighed us. We were found too heavy so the chairs had to be removed. The pilot gave maximum acceleration and we slowly ascended above the grassing cows on the airstrip. After a while underneath appeared a tremendous green curtain of inaccessible rainforest. We were on our way to the low jungle.

 

Urubamba River

The pilot punched me in the arm and pointed out the river of Ene , "over there we will not fly, that is the place of drugbandits." From the air we had an excellent and wonderful panorama, viewing the multitudes of rivers sliding in between this impressive "broccoli forest". After 50 minutes in the air a big muddy river appeared. The pilot pointed and screamed "Rio Urubamba". The next three days we spent navigating this river in a riverboat equipped with a 95 horsepower Yamaha, breaking our way from the low-jungle to the high-jungle, only interrupted by few visits at Amazon native tribes of the ethnic group of Machiguenga.

It was a serene travelling experience in the riverboat feeling the current of the river tugging the boat. The captain knew his job very well and zig-zagged the boat upstream the river; always reducing the speed when passing the natives who were navigating the river in their canoes. "I have the river in my blood", the captain explained.

 

Wild Landscape

We were getting close to Pongo Mainique, the cliffs in the mountain range that seperates the high-jungle from the low-jungle. The natives believe that this was one of the places were the Gods separated the good people from the evil. If you were good, you would pass the "Pongo" without any problem and damage. If you were evil, the whirlstream and the high waves would trapp you. When entering the cliffs, the landscape becomes increasingly narrow, and the waterfalls hang over the cliffs in cascades and create several small rainbows. It is a wild and wonderful landscape.

We managed to pass, and we were entering the high-jungle. Later on we changed the medium of transportation from the boat to a bus, which took us to the coffee-city of Quillabamba. After ten days in the jungle we finally arrived at the foot of the majestic Machu Picchu . We arrived at this legendary place from its backside. Before reaching Machu Picchu , we had to visit the last stopping point on the railway, Aguas Calientes. That was when we first realized that there were actually other tourists in Peru as well.

 

 

"Another World: In the Mood for an Adventure?"

Øyvind and Laura Wesseltoft, a Norwegian-Peruvian couple, run an expedition service company in Lima , Peru . Their company, Coex Amazon, provides guided expeditions that offer participants the unique opportunity to experience both the wild nature of Peru , the Amazon and its ancient Indian tribes.

Øyvind and Laura launched their company two years ago and has for example facilitated a Norwegian television reality show "Worlds Apart" that placed different Norwegian families with different Indian and nomad tribes in Africa, Asia and South America .

 

Five Expeditions

Coex Amazon offers five principal expeditions totally off the beaten tourist tracks in Peru . Coex Amazon emphasizes security in these unique settings and that its trips do not present an intrusion in the lives of the local Indian tribes. Instead, the company attempts to create trips that actually provide a positive influence and relationship with these ancient societies. As such, Coex Amazon requires that all of its clients to be sensible while interacting with the local tribes.

Each of the principal five Coex Amazon expeditions last approximately two weeks.

They are as follows:

• Ucayali (route Central Jungle)
• Pacaya (route north Peruvian Amazon)
• Urubamba (route Central jungle)
• Triangle (border-triangle of Perú, Brasil and Bolivia )
• Tingana (Coast-Highland-Jungle)

 

Custom Tailored Expeditions

In addition to the five principal expeditions, Coex Amazon also offers custom tailored classical trips. People looking for a custom tailored adventure should contact Laura and Øyvind who will help design a trip that meets each client's goals and expectations. Although these trips are not for the low-budget traveler, they do offer a once-in-a-lifetime experience.