Taking you back to June of 2012. I went to Peru on an adventure of a lifetime, a real bucket lister!
It was me, Dave B, and my good friend Jeff. We had just come off of hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu, which was truly an epic experience! Both Dave and I are vegan and we were amazed at how we were catered to on every step of this journey.
Next up was trekking into the depths of the Amazon Jungle! How crazy and exciting this was go to be!
Each adventure being handled by a different tour company, we had made all of our arrangements well in advance and we were assured that our dietary needs would be met.
Of course at first we were a bit apprehensive about this, but after coming off of the Inca trail where we were astounded by the meals, we were rather at ease and comforted in the local knowledge of our diets/lifestyle!
We were picked up by the guide in the very early morning to begin our Amazon adventure. The first 2 days were going to be mostly spent bussing us in, until the road ends, and then taking a small river boat to the trail head and staging our stay at various Ecolodges.
On that first morning, we were introduced to our guide, the chef, and the driver. We were all very eager and excited. We started out on the very long day that was ahead of us!
It was me, Dave B, and my good friend Jeff. We had just come off of hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu, which was truly an epic experience! Both Dave and I are vegan and we were amazed at how we were catered to on every step of this journey.
Next up was trekking into the depths of the Amazon Jungle! How crazy and exciting this was go to be!
Each adventure being handled by a different tour company, we had made all of our arrangements well in advance and we were assured that our dietary needs would be met.
Of course at first we were a bit apprehensive about this, but after coming off of the Inca trail where we were astounded by the meals, we were rather at ease and comforted in the local knowledge of our diets/lifestyle!
We were picked up by the guide in the very early morning to begin our Amazon adventure. The first 2 days were going to be mostly spent bussing us in, until the road ends, and then taking a small river boat to the trail head and staging our stay at various Ecolodges.
On that first morning, we were introduced to our guide, the chef, and the driver. We were all very eager and excited. We started out on the very long day that was ahead of us!
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There were 5 of us, the 3 in my group and we were also joined by a sweet couple from Switzerland for this journey. First stop along the way was for breakfast. Our driver took us to a tiny cafe in a small town along the route. We all piled out of the bus, and into the cafe.
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Needless to say, there weren't many options for us vegans.
We were very understanding of this and knew that we'd be in good hands for the rest of this trip once the chef for our trip got to working her magic!
After breakfast, our trip continued. Sights and history about the culture and the area was being pointed out to us. We have even stopped and did some bird watching. Then it was time to pull up some road, find a rock to sit on and break out some lunch.
We were very understanding of this and knew that we'd be in good hands for the rest of this trip once the chef for our trip got to working her magic!
After breakfast, our trip continued. Sights and history about the culture and the area was being pointed out to us. We have even stopped and did some bird watching. Then it was time to pull up some road, find a rock to sit on and break out some lunch.
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No lunch for us!
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At this point both Dave and I were definitely on the hungry side! We were each handed a brown paper bag sack lunch. We opened the bag to find several handfuls of chocolates and other candies, a granola bar, and a sandwich. I'm not much of a candy type of girl, and wasn't in the mood to have the granola bar, so I went right to opening my sandwich.
At first glance, I thought that there had to be a mistake. I was given a Ham and Cheese sandwich?!
When of course neither of these fillings are vegan, I asked Dave to take a look at his...Same thing!
Then I moved onto Jeff, thinking that perhaps it was as simple as a mix up of what lunch sacks had been handed out. Jeff searched his bag and found lots of candy, a chicken drumstick, and opened his sandwich to find Ham and Cheese.
I went over to our newly found friends from Switzerland, as they must've had our veggie sandwiches, and it was a complete bust! They had the same items that were found in Jeff's bag.
So the only difference between the vegan bag and the non-vegan bag is a chicken drumstick vs a granola bar.
Do Peruvians think that Ham is vegan?! I guess Chicken is meat, but the Pig is a vegetable??
It then hit me and I realized that we haven't even really started out yet, and that we were going to be doomed and starving for the rest of this trip.
Luckily I had brought some dry goods for the "just in case", but I really don't ever intend to eat the "just in case" rations!
Quite shocked, unhappy, but somehow also hysterical at the same time, I approached our guide and informed him of the major problem.
He had immediately questioned the chef, and then came back to me explaining that the cafe in town is where the error was made. The first day heading out, they order and pick up these sack lunches from a local cafe when we are all sitting down for breakfast. That is obviously where the miscommunication occurred, and he assured us not to worry, that we would be fed very well for every meal during the rest of our Jungle adventure!
I'm very glad to say that he kept his promise and for the rest of the trip we never went hungry again!
At first glance, I thought that there had to be a mistake. I was given a Ham and Cheese sandwich?!
When of course neither of these fillings are vegan, I asked Dave to take a look at his...Same thing!
Then I moved onto Jeff, thinking that perhaps it was as simple as a mix up of what lunch sacks had been handed out. Jeff searched his bag and found lots of candy, a chicken drumstick, and opened his sandwich to find Ham and Cheese.
I went over to our newly found friends from Switzerland, as they must've had our veggie sandwiches, and it was a complete bust! They had the same items that were found in Jeff's bag.
So the only difference between the vegan bag and the non-vegan bag is a chicken drumstick vs a granola bar.
Do Peruvians think that Ham is vegan?! I guess Chicken is meat, but the Pig is a vegetable??
It then hit me and I realized that we haven't even really started out yet, and that we were going to be doomed and starving for the rest of this trip.
Luckily I had brought some dry goods for the "just in case", but I really don't ever intend to eat the "just in case" rations!
Quite shocked, unhappy, but somehow also hysterical at the same time, I approached our guide and informed him of the major problem.
He had immediately questioned the chef, and then came back to me explaining that the cafe in town is where the error was made. The first day heading out, they order and pick up these sack lunches from a local cafe when we are all sitting down for breakfast. That is obviously where the miscommunication occurred, and he assured us not to worry, that we would be fed very well for every meal during the rest of our Jungle adventure!
I'm very glad to say that he kept his promise and for the rest of the trip we never went hungry again!
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