Can You Get Fresh Bread in the Middle of the Jungle? Yes, You Can.

I was somewhat surprised to see that there were several small villages dispersed throughout Manu NP. I guess I was hoping that there still would be a few pristine, uninhabited places left in the world, and I was hoping that the Amazon Jungle would be one such place. My hopes got further crushed by the “Internet” sign in one of the villages. It must be true that we now live in a global village, and escaping from civilization won’t be that easy anymore.

Our guide wanted to stock up on bread in one of these villages, and he invited us to join him on his visit to a local bakery. There, we chatted a bit with the baker, and got to try delicious fresh-out-of-the-oven Peruvian bread. Even now as I write it, and the memories of this experience flood my brain, my mouth starts to water . . . There are good bakeries in San Francisco, and at some of them it is even possible to get fresh warm bread, but nothing beats eating the bread handed to you by a local baker who puts all his heart into his work. There is something simple and pure, and deeply touching about that experience. We all made sure to let the baker know how grateful we were to him for baking the bread for us, and we assured him that it was one of the best breads we had ever tasted in our lives.

Peruvian bread:

The baker and the oven that baked our bread: