Rainforest heaven, Juanjui - Perú
It has been about a month since I’ve been back from an AMAZING trip to rainforest heaven, and I’m still taken away by the wonderful experience I had. Pictures can’t describe or justify the beauty and magical moments I experienced in the mountains and the jungle: where the days are endless and starts with a wake up call from the roosters; where each breath was an invigorating gift for my lungs and body; where you can eat fresh fruits and vegetables right from a tree alongside the road; drink clean fresh water from a creek; where plantains can be eaten in a hundreds different ways and all of them delicious; where eating worms doesn’t sound so bad because you know where they came from; where you can leave the front door open to welcome anyone and not to worry about burglars; with happy, friendly, welcoming people, a community of mostly hard working farmers whose main priority is the family. This piece of heaven is Juanjui, San Martin – Peru.
Juanjui is a small city at the western side of the jungle in northern Peru. Every time I go back to Peru, after visiting family and friends for a few days, I take off from the city-life and hide in some small town out in the mountains or visit some historical sites. This year I went to visit my childhood friend Alfonso who moved there from the capital 2 years ago to live with his wife and her family. As with many of my trips around Peru, I didn’t plan as much. All I told Alfonso was, “I am not sure what day, but I am coming to visit you, I will”. It had been more than 20 years since we saw each other last, and we lost contact until a few years ago, so I don’t think he believed that I was serious about my trip until he finally saw me at the airport. Great surprise for the both of us!!
I stayed with him and his new family for about a week, learning about the culture, food, traditions and the loving people in the community, whom after knowing me for a few days, or even hours, welcomed me into their homes and lives. Most families own ‘chacras’ (orchards) and grow fruits and vegetables that are sold at the markets in the city and in other towns and villages along the Huallaga River. Cacao is the main agriculture and is the primary ingredient in chocolate and it is one of the best in the region, making it the main contributor to the economy. I was in cacao heaven!!!! Could it be true? Lately with all the rage about healthy foods and cacao being an ancient superfood, I was mesmerized and eager to learn more about cacao agriculture. So I had the privilege of helping Alfonso and his family at their orchards. (more about cacao in a following post ;)
My days started early, with the wake-up call from the roosters before dawn, which sometimes started as early as 2am. One night I just couldn’t fall asleep at all; my mind was racing with ideas, filled with excitement, joy and a little sadness because I knew this trip to paradise was ending soon. I closed my eyes, taking in every second and appreciating the opportunities and all the new friends I made there. I wanted that moment to be mine, big inhale, shush! exhale.. I felt welcomed by the noises of the jungle and introduced my breathing sounds to the Amazonian beat. The continuous singing of crickets and other insects, the crowing of the roosters, and a puppy, who seemed to be in distress out in the streets, and to complement, the snoring sound of my friend who was sleeping next door. Even though I was tired physically and mentally, I just couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to exclude myself from what was happening around me. This was what I was looking for, PEACE. Finally, I fell asleep.
I only slept a few hours, the next morning we had to start a hike at 5am to one of the ‘chacras’ that was almost 4 hours away, approximately 7 miles through mud, fallen trees, narrow trails, steep inclines and deep ditches. Because of the harsh terrain, we brought 2 of the family horses to help bring the crop back to town. We ascended through the dense jungle, over various mountains, climbing higher and higher. Then the scenery changed: the clouds were almost to our level, and slowly the sun was breaking though them, over the foliage and green tops. It was just gorgeous; it was the perfect gift to start the day.
It was here where I had a magical and empowering moment, that of infinite love and nurture. Feeling that even though I am small in this vast Universe, every step I take is a gigantic leap towards my purpose of directly or indirectly making a difference in people’s lives.
"No matter what else you do with your amazing life and no matter how challenging it may at times seem, never stop 'stretching' yourself as you reach towards the stars."
Juanjui has breathtaking scenery, interesting food and amazing people. They are friendly, generous, spontaneous and very laid back. Soon after arriving in Juanjui, as I was exploring the town and interacting with people, I could feel a sense of calmness, warmth and contentment in them that I could almost breathe in the air. It seemed that people didn’t have the habitual stress that is sometimes perceived from city residents. Well, people here don’t have deadlines, huge debt to pay and simply don’t stress about little things. Their worries revolves around family stability and working their land, which is not perpetual and it mostly depends on Mother Nature. Weather conditions have to be optimal to maintain their land, but most importantly there has to be easy accessibility from the orchards to town in order to transport the harvest.
When I say ‘Juanjuinos’ are hard working people, it is no joke. On the days they have to work their land, it is usually 3-4 days a week for long hours under the imminent sun, the humidity and the prickling reminder of the mosquitos and insects that there is no time for a break. It is hard physical labor but it has to be done to see the fruits of their work, literally. This is a family activity where everyone gets involved and the community helps each other when needed. Another thing I admired from them, is that people have a clear distinction between hard work and leisure time. Working hard doesn’t mean exhausting yourself. As much as the people are hard workers and it is a demanding physical job, they also make sure to have time to relax, spend time with the family and get involved in social events. At one point, I couldn’t help to wonder why there wasn’t a set schedule for each day. There is no need for it, they are their own bosses and go with the flow with what’s happening at the moment. As long as the crops were taken care of, the rest of the days were pretty flexible. Some days we went sightseeing (because I was visiting), others we sat out at the front porch to see what’s going on in the neighborhood, taking a rejuvenating nap, but it all was done together as a family. I guess because most people work their own land and have flexibility in their daily activities, that gives them the ability to spend more time with their loved ones. Family is priority and every one takes care of each other. Kids grow up learning about being part of a community, about building a connection with nature, working the land and food.
This trip and the experiences were beyond of what I expected. I was so lucky and grateful for spending those amazing days with my friend and his family instead of staying in a more touristy city. I had the premium package deal!! Not only lived with a wonderful family who easily opened up their hearts to me, but also went on hikes and ‘personalized tours’ not found at any tour agency. I went looking not only for some time off from the busy life, but rather, I went with a vision of giving back in some way, at least my humble attention and appreciation. Since then my mind has been busy with ideas to help the community somehow, and who knows, maybe in the future I will be blogging from some small town in the jungle. For sure I will be back to this paradise.
I was driven by the abundance of life, resources, opportunities and the cohesive relationship of nature and her inhabitants. We have forgotten to pause and pay attention to things that contribute to our well-being. We allow other things to take precedence like technology and find ourselves in a rut, hitting a wall and looking for ways to scape from the hectic lifestyle. We forget to take care of ourselves. We forget to live a more simple and humble life.
Life is simple but full of wonderful things if we have our hearts open to receive them.
Wendy
