Welcome to the Jungle

We´re here in Manu National Park, for a two week volunteering stint in one of the best preserved tracts of rainforest in South America. The lodge here is run by an amazing and inspiring woman named Magda Ruiz. She´s hoping to turn the lodge into a model of sustainability for eco-tourism. There is no electricity and the cabins are very rustic, consisting of screened-in open air rooms with several beds.

The rainforest surrounds us on all sides, and a few steps away is the surging Rio Kcosñiapata. Everywhere you look are high forest canopies with lush foliage and brilliantly coloured butterflies fluttering around and sunning themselves. So why have I spent the last nights sleepless, tossing and turning?

It´s not because I´m worried about prowling pumas or boas lurking in the trees above. It´s not because I´m afraid that one of my 60-odd recently acquired mosquito bites might lead to malaria. And it´s not because the guides leave at night, leaving me, Meghan and Eric the other volunteer to fend for ourselves... it´s because of ghosts. Yes, ghosts.

A couple nights ago, in a very roundabout way Magda pretty told us that the lodge is haunted. She had a shaman come to visit to clear the air around the land, and we learned that crimes had taken place here in the pst. Mostly to make conversation, I asked Magda to go into detail, and she said that on different occasions she had seen the ghost of the man who used to own the land here. He led a very simple and solitary life, living off of the land with only his dog as a companion. He refused all creature comforts and didn´t even like using candlelight at night. One day he disappeared - then his dog disappeared several days later. The two used to be inseparable, which made it all the more strange. Magda said they searched for his body for weeks, but found no trace of him, not one single piece of clothing. Soon she began seeing his ghost at night, and others did too - people who had never even seen him before.

Magda believed he died a violent death, and so she brought in the shaman to rid the area of negative energy. He may have served his purpose, because that night she claimed that she saw his ghost departing as a white horse... a good sign, apparently. Which is of little comfort to me, because in the jungle, at night there are few distractions and lots of time. The perfect ingredients for an overactive imagination.

Tonight there are more tourists staying at the lodge, and hopefully they´ll provide a very welcome distraction.

-V