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ADDITIONAL TRAVEL INFORMATION FOR THE AMAZON |
~ Path through the jungle, Manu |
In addition to our general |
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Most of you will read this several months before traveling with us and then some folks will forget various vital bits of the information presented here. You guys, PLEASE read this stuff again AND all the travel information a week or two before your journey. The rain forest can be in the 80-90's F with 80-90% humidity, hot and wet. The rain forest means rain is possible at any time, be prepared. When cloudy and damp even the forest gets quite cool. In fact sometimes cold fronts roll in from the Antarctic and everyone is putting all the clothes they can. So a sweater or light jacket is advised. Light is Right - For going into the jungle there is a 20 lb maximum limit on the small aircraft. Less is More Better - especially on our charter flight over the mountains. You can leave your extra stuff at the hotel in Cusco or Lima. An extra bag and luggage lock is good for leaving behind unneeded bulk and weight. If need be, we can get you a bag cheaply in Peru. Your everyday cotton clothes are fine, you don't need to go out and buy 'expedition' clothes for these journeys; you can if you want to but it's really not necessary. (Back to top) Special Jungle Shoes The vastly lighter sneakers dry really fast. Actually, if you do decide to stomp through the mud puddles, the water in your socks feels good on an otherwise hot hike. Perhaps you have an inner-child place grinning at the idea. Walking in the rain or rivers is no big deal, just splash right in. Sandals are a comfortable way to hang around the lodges. But if the little sand flies show up it is good to have those important socks on. It should come as no surprise if you run into biting bugs in the Amazon; it's a jungle out there. If you are going to use chemical bug repellent 100% DEET is the one, but it is best used on your clothes, not your absorbing skin, amongst other side effects it can cause confusion (go figure if you still can). Citrus-based natural repellents help some. Avon 's skin-so-soft also helps some, but it has a strong Avon type smell not especially congruent to the rain forest experience. The best of protection, especially during high bug hours, are simply long sleeves and long pants. An over-hat bug net can bring some ease too. The next step deterrent is simply a bandana swished about like a tail. The bugs will really back off from that one... for a moment. Perfumed laundry soap, face soaps, shampoo, deodorants and such are bug attractors. I use good old Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap and a citrus-based shampoo the first day to wash the city off; followed by a swim or shower in the jungle water and then lemon juice all over. For the next few days of our journey I use only lemon to bathe with, and apply it though out the day as well. It actually feels very good in the steamy jungle, my skin loves it and I seem to do as well with the bugs as those using repellents. No matter what you do some of the buggers are gunna' get through to ya, an after-bite application such as Sting-Eze helps to sooth the situation. The Amazon natives will often just wait until they land and then slap. Until then they don't get much bugged by the buzzers. It's an attitude thing that results in environmental agreement and a worthy skill for visitors to practice on. (Yeah, yeah, yeah... sometimes they'll just drive you nuts. Our screened cabanas and gathering areas can make a welcome sanctuary). (Back to top) No shots are required, although, some are suggested by health boards. The choices and responsibility are your own. Your local health department will have vaccine information, if this is something you choose. You can read up on vaccines for travel if you would like at: www.travmed.com and www.cdc.gov/travel. Sometimes people react to the vaccines. If you are going to get the shots it is better to do so some time before the journey. Even just one shot can cost more than US$200 so allow time to shop around if you do decide to have them. For general travel, vaccinations or boosters against tetanus, typhoid/diphtheria, Hepatitis A, and polio are commonly advised. Most of our journeys are in the cooler highlands, which are not overly disease prone. We are often with native healers and local herbs are available to effectively treat local diseases. Many travelers choose not to get inoculations. Information concerning the possible hazards of vaccines can be found at: www.whale.to/vaccines.html or www.thinktwice.com. Some recommend malaria prophylactics and yellow fever vaccination for the Amazon jungle near Manu. However many of our informed travelers choose not to use them either due to the low incidence of these diseases where we travel. http://www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk/destinations/peru.htm. (Back to top) Some of the anti-malarial drugs available that work for South America : Doxycycline is an antibiotic which can also be preventative against traveler’s diarrhea. But it makes you very sensitive to sunlight so you burn very quickly and severely. Some people report starting to have strange dreams a couple of weeks after beginning the course. You need to start taking Doxy 2 days before entering the malarial zone, and for 4 weeks after leaving it. Mefloquine (Larium) is another drug that give weird dreams and occasionally provokes psychosis! Avoid this one if you have any history of depression or mental illness. If you going to use it try please try it out a few weeks before going into the outback Amazon. Having given you warning, know that many people use it without side effects. You are supposed to continue taking it 4 weeks after leave the jungle. Malarone tends to have less side effects but it is relatively new so the long term effects are not known. It is recommended you take only 1day before entering the Amazon and only 1week after leaving. However it is very expensive. Information from malaria.com: Common malaria symptoms: fever, chills, sweats, headaches, nausea and vomiting, body aches, general malaise. Fever occurring in a traveler one week or more after entering a malaria risk area, and up to 3 months after departure, is (could be) a medical emergency that should be investigated. Anti-malarial drugs taken for prophylaxis by travelers can delay the appearance of malaria symptoms by weeks or months, long after the traveler has left the malaria-endemic area. Returned travelers should always remind their health-care providers of any travel in malaria-risk areas during the past 12 months. Ayahusca Diet |
See Travel Information and Travel Health
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