The day had arrived. For weeks I had been anxiously concocting every possible worst-case scenario for my trip to the Amazon, though of course the time ticked on unaware of my self-imposed anguish. I packed and repacked and packed again, double and triple checked my packing list until I could do no more than wait for the time when I would be driven to the airport. 

 A strange thing happened at the airport. My nerves began to calm and excitement began to grow. I was going to the Amazon rainforest. As I sat on the plane, I reminisced on the best gift I had ever been given; my great grandfather's extensive collection of National Geographic magazines, dating back to the 1960's. I thought about all the critters I collected as a child and the countless hours I spent watching David Attenborough, Bear Grills and Jeremy Wade with my father. Although these memories exist only as dusty flashes now with no one left to share them, I got the sense that my trip was not only about me. My trip was for all the adventurous spirits who came before me, the ones I knew and the ones who now only exist in my genome. How fortunate I am to bring these dreams to life. 

Cusco 🏔

My connecting flight from Colombia to Peru was nothing short of magic. For three hours I watched Amazonian rivers twist and wind, suturing together the vast expanses of green. Then the Andes appeared, shrouded in white blankets, providing only the highest point for the bird's eye viewer. We descended through the thick clouds that veiled a city etched within the valley of the mountains. The holy land of the Incan capital, Cusco, revealed itself to us. 

 My volunteer group of only seven met in Cusco where we spent only two days to acclimatise to the high altitudes. Our tour, conducted by one of the biologists at the Manu Learning Centre where we would be based for the coming weeks, led us higher still to view the ancient city from above. The colonial

 architecture laid upon the impressive earthquake-proof stone masonry of the Incan, reminding us of the long and tumultuous history of the city. We squeezed through alleyways bursting at the brim with intricate craftsmanship in the shape of hats and ponchos made from precious alpaca wool. We tried new fruits, chocolates and local delicacies, like trout ceviche.

And as soon as we had arrived, we were packed into a mini van to begin our two day journey to the Amazon. 

Pan chuta and the Huacarpay wetland 🫓

The first stop we made was just outside of the city in a town called Oropesa at a small bakery where they make chuta bread. Chuta bread is a sweet bread most similar in taste to brioche. The round, flat breads are baked in an oven made of straw and clay, and may have caramel in the centre. Although chuta bread is made elsewhere in the region of Cusco, Oropesa is thought to produce the best due to the use of water that runs off the nearby mountains. 

 In Oropesa, we also stopped at Huacarpay - a protected wetland that is home to 140 species of bird. All eight of us clamoured up a small wooden viewing point to conduct what was to be my first bird watching session. We kept good company with our local biologist expert and an enthusiastic amateur bird watcher in our group.

Ninamarca 🛖

High up in the Andes (3.6 km above sea level), we briefly stopped to view a pre-Incan site consisting of funerary structures. In the unforgiving environment of the Andes I could not help but be amazed at the perseverance and ingenuity of those early civilisations and of the people who still rely upon the land to this day.

Paucartambo; where the Andes meets the Amazon 🍃

 We approached a town at the bottom of the Andes where the environment started to shift. Golden angles melted into swaying greens and it was easier to breathe. We did not stop in the town of Paucartambo due to a local fiesta taking place that day, though our guide informed us of the town's importance as the convergence point of the Andes and the Amazon. Historically, the town was a trading post for the coveted coca leaves, which are grown in the Amazon and transported to Cusco high in the mountains. Coca leaves are prominent throughout the Amazon and Cusco for their energising properties and as a natural remedy for altitude sickness. Of course they have also grown infamy for being a crucial component of cocaine. Although only a brief stop on our journey, it marked a significant shift in the world we found ourselves in; soon we would meet the Amazon...