Advertisement
Published: July 10th 2008
Edit Blog Post
So THAT'S why the tour was so cheap, the Amazon rainforest during the wet season...hmmm.....
No, it was lovely, and during our four day stay we were blessed with more sunshine than rain (a very rare occurence according to the guides). I spent the 12-hour overnight bus sitting next to a teenage girl from Quito who was very curious to know what American movies and music were my favorite, which Ecuadorian dishes I had tried (she insisted that I eat their scorpion soup before leaving...we´ll see), and which animals existed where I lived (nope, no giraffes).
After getting off the bus and a short canoe ride up a river the color of coffee with a lot of milk in it, I arrived at a plot of land owned by the tour company within the Cuyabeno Reserve (1 to 2 hours south of the Colombian border) dotted with little open-air cabins (roof but minimal walls), and brightly colored hammocks. The tour company was really neat in that they only built the cabins out of trees that had already fallen and gave everyone biodegradable soap to use in our showers or the river (exact same water).
For the first two
Perdy
This lake is composed entirely of rain water and so comes and disappears twice a year. The water (yep, we swam here too, anacondas, piranas and all) is warm in the top 3 feet and then super cold below that. days, I had the pleasure of being a 9th wheel as there were 4 couples staying at the reserve, and me. However, it was quite fun to get to know the guides and cooks better and chat with them in Spanish about topics ranging from other places I should visit to their opinion that women now have more rights than men in Ecuador (laws were recently passed giving women more protection/voice with regards to domestic violence) to the ongoing civil war in Colombia to the pet names couples have for each other in Ecuador versus the U.S. (the canoe driver found it absolutely hilarious that couples in the U.S. call each other types of food like cupcake, honey, muffin, pumpkin etc.). I did not even try and explain that my family's pet name for me is little shit...
During the four days we walked, road in the canoe, and swam a lot looking for animals, birds, medicinal plants, and one of the seven indigenous communities currently living within the reserve. It was quite a different experience to be slashing through the jungle with a machete moving towards the loud noises and following the tracks when my instinct told me
Sunset on the lake
I am convinced this is proof of the universe celebrating. My cousin's wedding was happening simultaneously in Chico Springs, Montana. to do the opposite. We were lucky enough during our adventures to encounter: several different species of monkey (the guide commented that he gets confused on who is the monkey when we are all staring open-mouthed at them and they are staring open-mouthed right back at us), pink river dolphins, tulcans, herons, an anteater, anacondas, piranhas, alligators, tarantulas, leaf frogs (holy cow, evolution at its best, I took a picture of these guys and in the picture cannot tell who is the leaf and who is the frog), poisonous frogs, and leaf-carrying ants. If you are wondering after reading all that why on earth swimming was one of our activities, intelligently, the guides had us swim in the lake and river earlier in the trip before we knew everything we were swimming with. The guides explained that in the reserve the food chain is preserved so none of the potentially dangerous animals are left hungry making humans more scary than tempting. While this fact was comforting, it did not stop me from screaming and violently thrashing when one of the guides swam under me and grabbed my foot while we were swimming...jerk.
I spent most of the four days
Leaf Frog
That's right, one of the leaves in this photo is a frog. Evolution rocks! with my head craned back and my jaw dropped. I felt like a little girl in my knee high rubber boots looking at leaves bigger than my body, trees wider than I am tall and higher than most buildings I´ve seen. Listening to the guide, who grew up in the jungle, talk about what could be done with each layer of one single plant. The wisdom of the communities with regards to their surroundings just astounded me. On a visit to a Sinoa community we helped to make bread from the roots of a yuca plant and I wondered the whole time how they discovered that this one plant had huge roots that were edible and that could be peeled, ground into a mush that looks like cheese, put into a hammock that is twisted wringing the juice out of the root which is used to make a chili, then the root is sifted like powder and put on a large round stone over a fire, flipped over like pizza dough, making a tasty bread that stays edible for up to 6 months. Incredible.
Well, I am back in the city and hoping to meet up with a friend
from Boulder who has recently moved to Ecuador, stick around for the weekend art show in the park, and then head further south to hike some snow-capped volcanoes and learn. I hope you are all doing swimmingly and I will write again next week!
Big hug and smile,
Andra
Advertisement
Tot: 0.126s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 13; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0679s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Rachel
non-member comment
there's a frog in that picture???
Yep you are definitely going to have to point it out for me when you get back! I realized that I have been reading all of your blogs but haven't posted any replies :( ay caramba! Lo siento amiga!! It sounds like you are having a great time! You are so adventurous and gutsy hoo -rah! I am proud to know such a great woman and can't wait 'till you get back so that you can show me which leaf is a frog amongst other cool things you have seen. Beso! Hasta luego ~ coco