Arriving into Lima the capital city of Peru is no shock to the system for a foreigner. All the first world necessities of Starbucks, Mcdonalds, and Apple stores are within walking distance in the modern district of Miraflores. Guidebooks will tell you that some of the best dining in the world can be found in Lima, which I fully agree with after having had the best sushi of my life there, and for a measly price compared to North America. When you’re in Lima enjoying the fine dining or maybe catching a movie or strolling through a park (some parks even having free wi-fi to keep you connected), it can hard to fathom that this city is only an hours flight away from what can only be described as the wildest place on earth: the Amazon Rainforest.

Getting to the Amazon is easy enough with three or four different airlines having daily flights into the major cities, but the moment I stepped off the airplane and was met with a gust of air that felt like a steam room I knew I was leaving the first world and its comforts far behind. A bit exhausted from arriving into Lima at 3AM the night before and sleeping on a couch in the hostel common room as my booked room had been flooded I was ready to get to Santuario, the healing center I would be spending the next 2.5 months of my life and sleep. Though I still had a 2hr drive, 20 minutes boat ride, and 45 minute hike before I would be there! I departed the plane, quickly collected my bag in the basic 2 room airport (with no air conditioning), and stepped out into the chaos of the Amazonian city of Pucallpa.

Amazonian cities have an unique atmosphere, with the main land access into these cities being by boat the main form of transportation is modified motorbikes with three wheels and bench seating for 2-3 passengers. With hundreds of these “motortaxis” on the roads, the noise is a bit deafening and the drivers weave in and out of traffic like NASCAR drivers. The heat and constant state of humidity combined with the garbage lined streets and slick red clay roads evokes the feeling of poverty, yet most people you meet will seem more content than the average westerner. Pucallpa is not a huge tourist stop with the main draw being ayahuasca tourism though another city, Iquitos at the headwaters of the true Amazon River a more popular ayahuasca destination. No Starbucks can be found here, and it warrants only brief mention in the guidebook with a small paragraph mentioning the Shipibo art museum and nearby wildlife refuge. Pucallpa is mostly an industrial center with logging, oil and metal mining industries in the surrounding areas, and is devoid of all the bells and whistles in most tourist driven cities.

Though I had been to the Peruvian Amazon on three different occasions before, I still found myself unprepared for the heat and humidity of the jungle. With daily air temperatures exceeding 30 oC, feeling upwards of 45 oC with the 100% humidity, it’s a shock to the system for anyone especially a Canadian. When I was booking the center I would be staying at, the 45 minute hike in seemed like no big deal as I sat on a couch enjoying the mild temperatures of the final days of summer in the UK. Within 5 minutes of getting off the boat and hiking more rugged terrain than I had expected, I was covered in sweat and questioning not only the nessecisity of every item I had packed, but also my resolve. I could just turn around, and do like the majority of people in the world do on their vacations, finding a nice room with air conditioning near a beach drinking fruity alcoholic drinks instead of tromping through the jungle on a goose chase to work in a shaman in hopes of healing myself and figuring out my life. I pushed these thoughts from my mind, remembering how miserable I had felt before embarking on this trip and that sitting on a beach was not going to solve my problems. This was not the first, and I expected it would not be the last time I contemplated going home during this journey. Nothing worthwhile comes easily, or so I will keep telling myself.

40 minutes, a few pit stops, and loosing 5 pounds of sweat later I arrived at the center, thanking God that I had my guide Juan to get me where who had carried the bulk of my baggage on the hike. No reprieve from the intense Amazon heat was to be found, with the center located in a U-bend of a steaming hot river containing water around 80 oC (see Boiling River Project). The one place in South America with unlimited hot water to shower with, though a hot shower is the last thing anyone would want!