Lauren Mokhtarzadeh

Wildlife Editor

This year, 32 students got the opportunity to go deep into the Amazon Rainforest and experience what most people don’t get to see in a lifetime, making it a popular tiyul choice. The Amazon tiyul included many activities: bird watching, piranha fishing, community service at a local village, hiking, canopy walks, visiting a shaman, trading with local villagers, visiting a sugar cane factory, learning about the Yagua lifestyle, and collecting scientific research.

There were many highlights on the Amazon trip, but here are some of the most memorable events of the trip. Piranha fishing was one of the activities that all the students got to do; it was so popular that the students got to do it twice. Piranhas can bite your finger off in an instant, so fishing for piranhas is pretty exciting. Students like Samson Isaacson ‘17 and Jake Rosenfeld ‘17, caught several piranhas and had the opportunity to eat the piranha they caught for lunch or dinner. Another highlight of the trip was the sunrise canopy walk. After waking up at 4 a.m., students got to experience the sunrise from at least 100 feet above the ground. Despite the rain, students got to go to the canopies with their friends to see their last sunrise in the Amazon.

Another highlight of the Amazon tiyul was the community service project that the group got to be involved in. Students went to a village along the Amazon River where they built tables, painted walls, and played with the most adorable children. Students felt that spending the day at the village dancing, assembling tables, playing soccer, and swimming in the Amazon River was an experience that they will never forget. Another highlight was the viewing of bioluminescent fungi. On the last night, all the groups went on a night hike to an area of the rainforest where they could see the sky over all the tall trees. After looking at the star-filled sky, the guides told the groups to look down. When the students looked down, the whole ground of the rainforest was glowing.

Students that went on the Amazon tiyul gained an appreciation for the world around them and for what they already have. The world of Peru introduced the students to nature, education, religion, and people of Peru. Students on the trip were surprised about how friendly the people living in the Amazon were,  how resourceful your creativity and body can be, the wonders of nature and animals, and the mental and physical strength of the villagers living alongside the Amazon River.