Melted

After packing up for the weekend back in Pucallpa, I decided to join Jenni on a trek to town (Campo Verde) to buy some groceries before the Sabbath. The rest of the team was collecting supplies from the jungle and would pick us up on their way out.

The walk to town takes about an hour. We had only been walking for about 10 minutes when a guy on a motorbike stopped beside us.

Do you want a ride? he asked us. (They don’t have quotation marks on these Peruvian keyboards--sorry).

No! thought Ansley.

Sure! said Jenni.

We climbed on. Jenni told me to sit in the middle. I was quite uncomfortable holding on to a strange guy on his motorbike and flying over the bumps and potholes, but it was kind of exciting.

Town came up quickly. Jenni got off on one side of the bike, and I took the other side, trying not to throw the bike guy off balance. As I jumped off, my leg knocked up against the exhaust pipe, causing me to jump in pain and nearly fall over. The pipe melted a patch of my skin which turned into a lovely fat yellow blister. I followed Jenni around the market, biting my lip.

I will remember to dismount the correct side of the motorbike next time.