Amazon: Face Painting, Medicinal Ants, Chicha - AND THE SNAKE!

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After an amazing stay in Banos, we headed deeper south into the Amazon basin to a fairly big city, Puyo. While Puyo, didn’t have quite the charm of Banos, it was a decent place to stay so that we could enjoy an Amazon experience.

After the bus dropped us off into town, we attempted to find a cab to our hotel (El Jardin). I asked several police officers at the bus station, and they were totally convinced El Jardin was about a two-hour ride up the road in a town called Tena.

In fact, the cops were so convinced, for a brief moment, they convinced me. I had thought I royally messed up with my logistics and took us to the wrong city. Thankfully, there was an internet café across the street. I was able to confirm we were indeed in the right city . We showed a cab driver the web page of our hotel and arrived minutes later.

After checking into our charming little hostal on the edge of town besides the Rio Puyo, we ventured around to get acquainted with our surroundings and then enjoyed probably the best meal we’ve had our entire trip at our hostal/bbs restaurant, El Jardin.

The next day, our Amazon adventure ended up being a little bit more touristy than we had wanted, but on our time frame, it’s all we could do. You really have to go deep, deep into the Amazon to truly experience the nature, the people and the indigenous way of life.

For our experience, we contacted a local tour operator who offers day trips to a community of Kichwa Indians who have colonized and lived in the Amazon jungles nearby. The tour departed early in the morning from the company’s office where we were unfortunate enough to have had a surprise encounter.

It was there in that office-in the middle of the city -we encountered our first snake –Antonio, a 4-5 foot boa constrictor who spends his day slithering around the racks of rubber boots, oars and misc. paddle gear for the company’s tours. One of Antonio’s hobbies is hiding and then reappearing when you least expect it, such as when you are on the computer emailing a client in Houston as I was when he reappeared.

To my horror, I looked up and there was Antonio just dangling above my head. If encountering Antonio was a sign of things to come in the Amazon, we were in for a long haul as I am personally not a fan of snakes.

After departing the office, we drove for about an hour and arrived to the jungles front door steps. Our faces were painted with tribal marks by an oil from a fruit that hangs in the trees. The Kichwas have painted their faces in this manner over the course of time as they believe it fends off evil spirits and beings, such as snakes. I must say, it seemed to have worked. Once my face was painted, I didn’t see another snake. If only they would have done it sooner, back in Puyo.

We hiked through some well-defined trails where our guide told us about some of the medicinal practices of the Indians. We were very impressed. Despite, how primitive the Indians way of life may seem, they are very advanced in their ability to find natural resources that work.

Let’s take Ants for example- who would have ever thought ants can seal wounds? They can. Indians take a certain type of very large ant and place many of them on a cut. When the ant bites the wound, they snap the body off of it. The ants teeth stay in tact and suture the wound. It is mind blowing when you think – how did they figure that out?

A spa treatment was the next order of business – river rocks that produce a special mud for baths. Already clean and bathed, I seized the opportunity to give myself a facial instead, something very costly in the US -there in the Amazon – Gratis!

For the conclusion of our day, we spent a few hours in the village with the Kichwa Indians. We all shared a bowl of Chicha de Yuca, a very thick rich, pulpy drink made from Yuca.

Chicha must be an acquired taste. We did not enjoy it but still partook to be polite. The women prepare the Chicha for their men to take with them deeper into the jungle as they hunt for several days. The Chicha’s nutrients are able to sustain them during their hunts.

After our Chicha experience, they prepared a tasty lunch of rice, plantains and fish cooked over wood wrapped in banana leaves

That was the extent of the Amazon experience- short, a bit touristy – but still educational and enriching!

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Photos

Hanging Over My Head
While on internet emailing a client, Antonio was watching.

Comments

[jane pefanis]

Antonio looks pretty :) I think he likes u!