A City Girl's Guide to the Amazon

I’m a born and raised city girl from Toronto, Canada. I’ve grown up in a concrete jungle filled with glass skyscrapers, cars, busy streets, and the wildest animal I deal with is a racoon. Now I’m by no means allergic to nature, I absolutely love getting out of the city. Indiana Jones is one of my all time heroes and I had always fantasized about going on an adventure, just like him, deep into the jungle! When I had the opportunity to trek into the Peruvian Amazon for a few days I was ready to go full on explorer! The Amazon is no joke. It is wild, dangerous & most places you stay are off grid and you will be cut off from a lot of supplies. Here are my list of things you should know before trekking into the jungle!

1. Pack Smart, Pack Light

I flew into a small town called Puerto Maldonado, from there we went to the offices of the jungle lodge we were going to be staying at and repacked our bags into small duffels that they provided for us. The porters carry the duffels on their backs, so they can’t be too heavy! If it can’t fit in the duffel, then you carry it on your own back into the jungle, and let me tell you, its not a short journey. They also make you take rubber boots which were really heavy to carry. So really only bring what you absolutely need! I had my toiletries, the clothes on my back, an extra shirt, pair of leggings, and long sleeved top, socks, any valuables and my camera hanging around my neck. From there it was a bus, a boat, and hour long walk, another boat, and then another two hour walk until we reached the lodge so seriously, make sure you can carry it!

2. Clothing Choices Matter

Its not exactly like you are putting on a fashion show for the local parrots, monkeys and fruit bats…but what you wear in the Amazon makes a difference. Its hot and humid, but you dont want to be wearing short pants. There are bugs everywhere! Ideally you want to keep covered up and in a material like cotton or linen. Linen breathes and is thick enough that a mosquito can’t pierce the material. They can get through spandex or lycra. A good waterproof ankle boot is important, either hiking style or rubber. To my horror I was warned that lots of people accidentally step on snakes who will retaliate by biting their ankles, or step into ant hills so boots that fully cover will protect you. I personally always have a neckerchief, its become somewhat of a signature, but when it got too humid and I needed to throw my hair up, or we walked through a swarm of flies and I wanted to cover my mouth, it was there. I say all this, sometimes it just got too hot and I needed to throw my jacket around my waist. Or when we would hang in the lodge surrounded by nets I would just have on my leggings and sports bra, but when youre out in the thick of it cover up!

3. Bugspray is your best friend

Its the jungle, what did you expect! There are bugs in any forest you go into, but rain forests, due to the high humidity have just about every bug imaginable buzzing around! Douse yourself in bug spray. Get your ankles, behind the ears, arms, everywhere! Have it on you. There were mosquitos buzzing around, fire and bullet ant nests on the ground, bugs big and small zippin all over the place! I’ll be real with you, you’re going to get bitten anyways, but it’ll be a whole lot less if you are vigilant.

4. Push yourself and Explore

Now’s your chance to live your your Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, Jumanji dream! Take advantage of every night walk, tree top climb and boating excursion you can! I got up at 4am to go find giant river otters and saw caimans, got to hold piranhas, watched bats shake around on a tree and listen to monkeys howl at each other! At the crack of dawn on Lake Sandoval the world was the most silent and still I had ever experienced. I didn’t love seeing the giant tarantulas at night and felt on my guard walking around in the pitch black of the trees but it was amazing. I was given the opportunity to climb up into the canopies, and learn how to machete open Brazil nuts (surprisingly hard to do) from the locals. My guide Pepe even whacked open a termite hill and offered us to eat them - I was the only one who did. Tasted mostly like dirt. Get the most of the experience, try everything!

5. Get Ready to Rough It

You won’t be staying in a five star resort, but the jungle lodges have lots of charm! The walls don’t go all the way up to the ceiling, electricity gets turned off at 10pm and the showers attract lots of bugs. The only thing that really freaked me out was having to check under my sheets for bugs every night before bed and then not being able to peel my eyes away from the stray bug who landed on my bug net. This is what its all about though! It adds to the experience and its so much fun! Getting to swing outside in a hammock, or listen to all of the sounds of the rain forest through the window. Most of the lodges will have a bar, however!

6. Breathe

The Amazon is the Earth’s lungs. You know that feeling when you head out of the city for a while and you feel like you can breathe. This was like that times 100. Its why it is so vital to protect the rain forests and the animals and plants that reside there. There were a few times I caught myself just breathing because the air felt so pure! As I said before, you are off the grid. No wifi or cell service. Completely disconnected from the world, except for those who are with you in person. It sounds cliche but it was completely liberating. Just to exist entirely in the moment, in the most beautiful, untouched place in the world. It made slowing down and just being really easy and lovely. One of the best moments I had was laying in a hammock, watching a rainstorm roll in drinking a cup of coca leaf tea in silence. Its perhaps the most centered and tranquil I’ve ever felt.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of nature bathing. The idea that spending quiet time among the energy and clean air of nature can help bring balance, improve moods, lower anxiety and focus your mind. I love this! I think being out in the Amazon, I definitely felt it. I’ve never been somewhere so wild, so untouched, filled with so many colours and sounds of monkeys chittering and birds singing! Whether you are a hardcore city kid or from a small town, if you find your way into the dark jungles of the Amazon, make sure you’re prepared and make it count.