Jungle Walk

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Of all the activities Juma Lodge provides, my favorite was the jungle walk, a serious hike through the Amazon Rainforest. The breathtaking flora and fauna, the steamy nature of the air around you, the wild views of dense tropical rainforest reaching stories high above your head to the fallen leaves under your feet. It was – in one word – BEAUTIFUL. Leaving the lodge by boat, we ventured to a new part of this dense forest. I loved when our boat would enter into the tree canopies; it was like entering a magical world full of natural secrets. We started by clearing the path through the jungle with a machete, then learned how to climb Acai Trees like the natives by making rope out of leaves, how to communicate far distances with a stick and a tree, that Babasu Gongoin (beetle larvae) tastes just like coconuts (and according to our guide, Bill Gates loved them on his walking tour!), and how to separate palm leaves in order to fold them into forest crowns. Not your typical Monday activities in Manhattan!

After a refreshing swim at the end of our hike (remember it’s like 100000% humidity) we had lunch cooked over an open flame and took a dip to cool off. That evening we went fishing for piranhas which later became part of our family style meal. The journey to get here, the monkeys, and being forced to disconnect from the rest of the world will put this place, deep in the heart of the Amazon, forever deep in mine.

and FYI- Manaus is only a 5 hour flight from Miami, what adventure you take from there is up to you!

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The Love Affair

Leilani Bishop (17)

Leilani Bishop (16)

I have been thinking a lot about love affairs: my great love affair with photography, and how something that can bring you so much joy can cause so much pain. The thing about love affairs is that there is always a beginning and an end. Summer, for me, is the greatest love affair of all. The way its beauty and light hurt in your memory on cold winter days. How much you look forward to it when it blows in through the window and how sad it is when the light of day ends and golden leaves begin to fall. Summer is love. Summer was made for love.
Leilani Bishop knows the bittersweetness of summer. She makes perfume oils that entrap the florals that dance through the long, hot, sticky afternoons. The single note scents of a delicate flower that rub off on summer lovers and reminds them of you long after the last petal falls. Here Leilani plays our muse who is trapped forever in an impossible love affair as the end of summer prepares to turn the page into fall…

Starring Leilani Bishop and Zach Lynd, styled by Kelly Framel, hair and makeup by Ana Sicat. Shot in Amagansett, NY.

Leilani Bishop (15)

above: Candela Skirt, Todd Snyder Coat

below: Mara Hoffman Dress, Maggy Frances Coat, Birkenstock Sandals 

Leilani Bishop (14) Leilani Bishop (13) Leilani Bishop (12)

above: Mimi Plange Skirt, Todd Snyder Coat, Vintage Fedora 

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