Final Day in the Amazon: Day Drinking with a Shaman! by Stuart R. West

Even more peculiar than the Amazon Rain Forest...

Sniff. The last day of our adventures along the Amazon River...

During our final meal at the lodge, one of the teens in our group mesmerized Antonio, our shaman in tow, with excellent sleight-of-hand coin tricks. Pretty amazing, something I thought I'd never witness: old magic meeting new.

Our new family.

Even more astounding is what transpired on our last day in the jungle, something I never thought I'd do in my lifetime, something that I'd never even considered: day-drinking with a shaman!

Cheers! ("Tink.")

We were told we were visiting the rum "factory." Yay! Something finally more my speed. Still, to get there we had to go via boat, so I blundered into my usual seat (the anchor position), and off we went. Across from our destination, I witnessed entropy in action as a tree toppled into the river with a gargantuan splash. Just another amazing sight, one of many. But the best was yet to come.

Shaman at work in the rum factory.

Calling the rum joint a "factory" was pure embellishment. Our tour consisted of standing around a hot shed, where an old-fashioned press was operated by a horse to squeeze sugar from cane. Antonio passed around the resultant sugar for us to sip from. I figured if I hadn't caught a rare disease by now, sharing germs with my fellow travelers wasn't gonna kill me. 

Victor explaining rum to a thirsty crowd.

Our shaman then dumped the resultant sugar into a fermenting barrel. Once he set the bowl back on the ground, a friendly pig lapped up the rest (I still don't know if he was a family pet or breakfast). Hey, alcohol kills germs! Apparently the pig had too much to drink and then sat on my wife's feet.

Rum-guzzling pig.

We hurried through the rest of the "tour": there's the fermenting barrel, over there's the oven to boil it, bla, bla, bla, let's drink!

All creatures, great and small, love them some rum.

Gathered around a table, three bottles were plopped down in front of us. Again, we shared a shot glass, all of us practically family now. After the first several shots, germs began to not matter so much.

Na zda-ró-vye! 

Ay caramba, dios mio!

The first bottle was straight up "aguardiente," aka "firewater." Akin to grain alcohol, it could strip paint off a wall and melt a clown's face. My chest nicely warmed, we moved onto the next bottle of booze, a ginger-infused alcohol.

To your health!

Antonio nudged my wife, pointed at the bottle, then wound a finger around his ear: muy loco! Didn't stop him from enjoying his rum, though. What's good for a shaman's good for me. 

Here's mud in your eye!

Ay, yi, yiiii, Viagra!

Next came "Siete Raices," which Antonio described as Viagra. For some reason, the factory owner kept pushing it on me. Did he know something I didn't? Hey, who was I to stand in the way of medicine?

Down the hatch!

Soon, our guide Victor filled up his cup by mixing two of the rums. He claimed it was Antonio's fault since he said he needed his Viagra. We weren't about to let him drink by himself, so the men joined him. 

Education can be fun!

Salute! 

Not to be outdone, the women had their turn at the bottles. Again and again. 

Gettin' some good learnin' done about nature!

Cin-cin!

A perfect way to end our jungle adventures, this went on for a while...

Incredibly, my boat balance appeared to have improved by the time we left.

Prost!

All in all, a very peculiar day. Which leads me into an extremely awkward and shameless segue: Have you read Peculiar County yet? Here's what critic "The Cellophane Queen" had to say about it: "Amazingly good. Brilliant. Pitch perfect characterizations and intriguing use of language remind me of the master writer, Stephen King. Dibby is a heroine of the first order taking charge in a very Peculiar County in Kansas." Visit alluring and strange Peculiar County now.

 

Another year of Rainforest Writers Retreat is come and gone by Nancy M Bell

This latest release of mine was my 2018 Rainforest project. Click on the cover to find out more.

The retreat is on Lake Quinault in the middle of the Olympia Penninsula. From Wednesday night until Sunday at noon a person is surrounded by other writers in the most beautiful surrounding you can imagine. If you venture out on the trails you might even meet the famous Big Foot or Sasquatch if you prefer. Walking in the shadow of the massive personality of the magnificent trees in the green light of the rainforest festooned with ferns and all manner of greenery it is easy to imagine Sasquatch watching you from sanctuary of the prolific growth. The lake at sunset is spectacular and I always spend time with the world,s largest Sitka spruce tree which makes its home on the Rainforest Village Resort property. I call him Sid and we have some quiet conversations while the birds sing around us and the other trees whisper their secrets.

It's a magical place. Registration for 2020 was last night and session 2 is already full. Last I looked session 1 and 3 still had openings but they go fast. Thursday night is group dinner night at the Salmon House Restaurant which serves the best food ever. Merriman Falls mushrooms are to die for and of course the salmon is second to none. Friday night we got together with some other writers and shared what we were working on in an impromptu readings session. It was such fun to hear what everyone else was working on. The genres are incredibly diverse. I look forward every year to spending time with my BFF who lives near Portland. I fly into Portland and then we road trip up to Lake Quinault to much hilarity, fun and some serious plot discussions.

Rather than ramble any more I'll just blow your mind with pictures of Lake Quinault and the Washington Rainforest.

You'll note there are no SUNRISE pictures

This is my friend Sid the Sitka Spruce and some shots of the trails that are right outside your door and just calling you to come and be inspired.

A Little Romance or a Lot

  

These are the areas where I write and I discovered something while looking at the books. There is romance in all my books. In some, there is a lot and in others, there is little.

Of course the ones titled romances have a lot but there is more to them. Most of my full length novels have something a bit more than just being romances. The romance underlies the other problems and I enjoy writing them.

My cozy mystery series has a romance that begins with just a mention of the romantic interest’s name. Each book the romance grows stronger until they are married. Both being in their sixties and a second marriage for both. The funny thing is I didn’t realize this was a romance until I reached the third book.

Even the YA fantasy series has a bit of romance. While the main characters become great friends, some of the minor characters have a bit of romance.

Why romance to flavor the stories. Probably because I’m a sucker for happy endings.