For the flight to Chiclayo, we are given first class seats. Not the way to toughen up our team for the jungle, but no one complains. The drive over the Andes to Bagua is long and winding. The temperature and humidity steadily rise eventually resembling the inside of a dishwasher, (mid cycle). The bugs seem to think my 100% Deet repellent formula is some sort of Tabasco sauce for my legs. I have over 45 bites within the first few hours. Another long drive to Imacita leaves us with our first conundrum; There are no available hotel rooms. Actually, this whole town only has about 10 rooms anyway, and just when we are about to take over a small brothel, a local guy offers up use of his discothèque floor for our tents and gear. A disco in Bagua? It turns out to be a large concrete slab with a roof. Perfect. His dog, Comisario, (kitchen store room) claws his way through Tammy’s tent to get at some snacks that Ashton scattered around the tent floor. Nothing a lot of duct tape can’t solve. Good thing their pet giant tortoise is too shy to try the same tactics, because he tends to crap where he eats. We take a day trip to our first Aguarunas village and are greeted by over 75 citizens who are dying to see my pictures from five years ago. Picture if you can 75 people in a bamboo meeting room watching a slideshow on my 12” laptop. They took turns and I showed it at least seven times. We eventually get around to telling the story of Leonard Clark’s visit down here and introduced them to Alex, our teammate and Clark’s grand nephew. Did they know of the ancient ruins of Juan de Bracamorous? No, not specifically, but do say the very building we are meeting in was built on top of an old Spanish church. They don’t know how old. Do they specifically remember Clark visiting? No, they do not, but would we like to join them in a big soccer game? Of course. Their’s is an odd game with odd rules and when a hard shot isn’t saved, the ball sails off into the jungle to be retrieved by some barefoot soul far braver than any of us. But it allows us to catch our breath in the heat and humidity. So with me and Ash anchoring the defense and Paco running circles around their team, we may not have found answers, but we made friends. After a swim in the opaque Maranon River, we return to Imacita.
Tammy Leland
Equally at home in Peru, the mountains, or Seattle, Washington, Tammy Leland has spent the last 18 years exploring every nook and cranny of Peru’s Amazon, its Andes mountains, Southern desert and ancient history. Earning a reputation as a passionate adventurer and explorer, Tammy had wandered over 5 continents, spending her time learning from different indigenous cultures, gleaning important lessons about sustainable tourism and now offers practical guidance as a tourism consultant and environmental educator.
Dan Travers
Living on the edge explorer, traveler and climber, Dan Travers has traversed, climbed, scaled, scrambled, skied, trudged, trekked, hiked, biked and kayaked in 6 different continents and over 40 countries. Wilderness First Responder trained and a jungle veteran, lacrosse player, beer drinker, trekker and traveler, diver and climber, but not dancer nor singer. "I want to experience all I can, because if you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space."