Shining beetles, green oranges, and other peculiarities: My last days in the Peruvian Selva

Time has flown by - I spent more than 3.5 months in the Peruvian Selva. Conclusion: I really enjoyed it and by the end, I felt quite at home. The 'family' from Santa Rosa said that I must have been Peruvian in my previous life... Even the mosquitos accepted me, and that must be a clear sign ;-).

As a wrap-up of my time with the cocoa farmers, I want to share a few anecdotes that I found particularly funny and that still make me smile when I think of them ;-)
(There are, of course, many more stories I could share. I would be happy to do that over a good cup of cocoa (or coffee) once I'm back in Switzerland :-)).

Shining Beetles

At 6:30 PM, it's already dark in Santa Rosa. I had made it a habit to sit in a rocking chair before dinner (and sometimes after) to watch the stars since they were so visible there. Not only the stars shone, but also many beetles or fireflies around me. Some trees looked a bit as if they were decorated with Christmas lights or as if I were in an Avatar movie ;-).

Hot Days, Cold Nights

Almost every day, the thermometer rose above 30 degrees. I or rather my body got used to about 33 degrees. Anything above that was definitely too hot for me. At night, the temperatures often fell below 20 degrees. That's why I also asked for a second thick blanket, as I can't sleep when I'm cold. The people found that funny: as a Swiss, I should be used to the cold ;-)...

PS: The best response to very hot temperatures: swimming in the fresh Huayabamba! My 'Santa Rosa brother' and I often walked upstream for about 15 minutes just before lunch and then swam back. Wonderful! Especially since the river was always very refreshing, and we had the whole river to ourselves.

Green Oranges?

Until now, ripe oranges were always orange to me. Once, during a walk, I picked what I thought was a ripe orange and wanted to eat it, only to be surprised that it was very sour. On another day, there were just two of us, and my companion offered me a green orange. I told him that I preferred to eat ripe oranges... He just laughed and said that this one was definitely ripe. When I skeptically started to eat the orange, I was completely confused: this green orange was sweet! I couldn't tell by the end of my stay which oranges were ripe and which were not. Maybe I just had trouble distinguishing oranges from lemons ;-).

Lack of Nighttime Peace

In Santa Rosa, there was no morning, noon, or nighttime peace. There always seemed to be something happening at any time of day or night. At night, the dogs were often very active. I was always amazed at how much endurance these dogs had while barking... In the early morning, you could hear monkeys and many birds. At the same time, the first cocoa farmers were already out and about. It was also quite normal for someone to be standing in front of our house at any time of day, calling someone from our family or asking something. Communication then took place between the person outside the house and the person in bed inside the house ;-). The earliest 'conversation' (that I noticed) was at 4:00 AM.

Once, while we were waiting for a boat to Juanjui, we went to the house by the river at 5:00 AM. There, we waited on the 'terrace' of the house, and the señor of our family made himself comfortable in the hammock. He then began to speak loudly. Shortly afterward, the neighbor from next door came out and joined our early morning conversation. Suddenly I heard another voice chime in. When I realized that it was the person in the house (in bed), I had to laugh again - such an amusing scene: at home in Switzerland, we would probably have received a reprimand for being so loud at that time. Here, it's just the norm :-).

Great Acceptance of Odd Gringa Habits

Basically, people seem to have a very high acceptance for 'different' people and other customs. If someone played loud music late at night or early in the morning, it didn't bother anyone. Also, my special habits seemed to not disturb anyone. When I jogged through the cocoa and plantain plantations, I was greeted warmly. When I did my strength and stretching exercises on the cocoa drying field, that didn't disturb anyone either. They often curiously asked what I was doing and whether I could recommend any exercises. During my time in the Selva, I never felt unwelcome but rather enjoyed a great openness and even greater warmth.