Ciao(ta) Nauta!

Thus begins my Ode to Nauta:

Nauta (pronounced now-tuh) is located geographically south of Iquitos, the rainforest’s major city. After flying into Iquitos from Lima, Nauta can be accessed by a two hour bus ride down Peru’s bumpiest jungle streets. Upon arrival, little buggy’s that look like the offspring of a motorcycle and golf cart populate the small roads. The streets are cluttered with trash and small structures made out of old wood and tree leaves that serve as homes and sometimes restaurants. In the center of town, there is small square with a fountain that doesn’t work and a hospital that charges just seven soles to be seen by a doctor ($2.18 USD). There are street vendors and store owners that have kept us fueled and fed these last seven weeks.

Nauta is the middle ground between Iquitos and the jungle. To get to the deeper part of the jungle where we lived, we had to take a two hour boat ride up the Amazon River from Nauta. My first memory of Nauta is a slightly traumatic one. My team and I had just arrived in Nauta, and we were nervous to see where we would be living for the next two months. Our bus took us through town, and because it’s so small, it took roughly ten minutes to traverse through the whole parameter. We drove until we quite literally ran out of road; if our bus had gone further, we would have been driving in the river. As we grabbed our bags, we saw the boat we’d be using approach the shore, and we noticed a team of Americans getting off our boat. These Americans were like us, late teenagers that seemed to have little to no experience with jungle life. We heard their laments before they had even docked, which only continued to get worse once they were on shore. We quickly realized that they had been staying in the same location that we were on our way to. Their optimistic conversation with us went something like this:

Girl #1: OH my GOSH that was HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!
Guy #1: I got bitten by two piranhas
Girl #2: GUYS!! We NEVER HAVE TO GO BACK THERE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My team: ~~** silence **~~
Guy #2: I’ve never seen so many bugs in my life.
Someone brave on my team eventually: How long were you all there for?
Girl #1: SIX DAYS!!!!! How long are you staying there for?
The same brave person on my team: Seven weeks.

And that was our welcome to Nauta and jungle life. Fortunately, seven weeks allows for a place even as difficult as the jungle to start to feel like home, and the only piranhas we saw were on our dinner plates. But as we adapted to the trials of the jungle, a bright light in our week was always the promise of Nauta on Saturday.

Every Saturday morning, we left the jungle to return to the promised land of Nauta. Nauta offered us the golden gem of wifi at a sweet little spot named Bitel. Bitel is bright yellow, decorated with plastic chairs and tables, and it enabled us to communicate with home for only two soles. About three weeks into our trip, we discovered that Bitel also serves a kickin’ lunch of rice and lentils, chicken, and plantains, along with a new mystery juice every week, for only seven soles.

After our inbox’s and stomachs were full of Bitel’s services, we made our way over to Landers. Landers was home to all of the rice, beans, potatoes, and peanut butter an American could hope for (except for the Great Peanut Butter Shortage of July 2015, when we went two weeks without it). It also hosted several piñata options for when we threw our teammate Liz a 21st birthday bash, and even shelved the God-ordained Oreos we sometimes splurged on. The poor workers at Landers probably had no idea what to do when fourteen people speaking a language they don’t understand stormed in and demanded all of the eggs and bread in sight. They eventually got used to our business, and even knew what to start grabbing for us as we approached. After we helped organize all the groceries for the week, we all went our separate ways to partake in all Nauta had to offer us.

Some days we went next door to the less significant grocery store. This store that I don’t remember the name of sold over priced plantain chips and animal crackers that soon became staples of our weeks. Other days we went a few doors down to the bakery. The bakery is an extravagant place that we discovered far too late into our trip. Though it looks like a small stuffy room with only bread for sale, you can sometimes spot the golden glow of cakes for sale. There is something truly divine about the cakes of Nauta; maybe it’s because we hadn’t had any sort of desert in like four weeks, or maybe it’s because they’re actually that good, but the cake slices for one sole were a sure way to make your Saturday in Nauta count. Another option was to walk to the pond and look at the turtles bigger than our teammate Chelsea. There was also the smoothie lady who sold, you guessed it, smoothies in the street for a sole and served us with a confused smile. You could even happen upon a snow cone man who dished out ice and artificial flavorings to your heart’s desires. Suffice it to say, Nauta was truly the land of milk and honey when we had just spent our weeks in the company of mosquitos with the mud and rain.

It turns out that God had much more in store for us in Nauta than just wifi and groceries. We were fortunate enough to spend the last week in Nauta staying at a base with missionaries from Scotland and America. We got to do some pretty neat things, like swim in a pool and sleep without mosquito nets, but we also got to become friends with some of the sweetest people. One of the biggest differences between our ministry in the villages and our ministry in Nauta is the energy and joy we felt while being in Nauta. The kids didn’t address us by the usual “gringo/gringa” but instead exclaimed “hermano/hermana” meaning “brother/sister” whenever they need our attention. They didn’t let our skin differences stop them from attacking us with hugs and laughter at all possible moments. They treated my good buddy Carlito Daniel, who has a severe disability that hinders his walking and communicating, with love despite his inconvenient differences. They brought us so much joy in just four days, and I can’t imagine not seeing this beautiful and loving side of Nauta anymore.

During the first week of our trip, our translator Magly asked us why we weren’t going to Machu Picchu. A valid question, considering we were in the same country as this wonder of the world, but our team leaders explained it just wasn’t on the agenda and we didn’t have the money for it. She explained that it was possible for us to go for a cut rate, and truthfully, the whole team had been daydreaming of it from the second we landed in Peru. Our leaders began doing some research, and because God is good and wants us to see more of His magnificent earth, all the doors have been opened for us to travel south to Cusco and see Machu Picchu. So now, as I’m on the bus on the way to Iquitos, and then Lima, and then a 21 hour bus ride to Cusco, I am reflecting on where I’ve already been and where I get to go. Living in the Amazon Rainforest for two months is an experience I will never forget, as is the helpfulness, willingness, and love in the people of Nauta. I have already seen some of the most challenging, astounding, heartbreaking, and beautiful parts of Peru, and I am so excited to spend my last week in this amazing country exploring the mosquito-free mountains.