Ecuador - Journey to the Rainforest

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Hi Friends,

I'd be remiss to publish a travel blog without pictures and unfortunately, I haven't had much success at uploading these past few weeks. I've finally gotten about 2/3 of the way through my trip with uploads on to flickr so I'll post the links below and finally share with you some of my adventures.

The last I wrote, I was departing Quito in the morning and heading off on the Pachamama Alliance trip lead by my college roommate, Prema. The first stop was in the small indigenous community in the town of Salasaca in the Andes. We stayed with a man name Alonso who has been working hard to convince his community to maintain their traditional ways of living. For his family in particular, this includes having the women clean, spin and die the wool they shorn (sp? present tense?) from their livestock. Then, the men will take the wool and do all the weaving of handicrafts. The weaving process is far more intricate than I realized. Shee-it, cleaing and spinning the wool ain't no joke either! I tried!! Alonso and his family threw us a great party in honor of Prema's birthday. My highlight was swapping hats with his 4 foot tall mother! Sorry, didn't get a picture... Salasaca photo set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/69192286@N00/sets/72157622376361683/

The next day, we walked along an ancient Inca trail behind Alonso's property. The Incas were only in Ecuador for approximately 50-70 years depending on the region and who you ask. Later that day, we stopped in the town of Banos, making our way down from the Andes toward the Rainforest. We spent the night in Puyo at a lovely place called El Jardin. Puyo is situated right next to the town of Shell (named after the oil company). Shell use to be one of the bases out of which the oil company operated but is now an Ecuadorian military base and a hub for numerous small airlines. Early the following morning, we flew in a 6-seater plane into the jungle. See the flickr set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/69192286@N00/sets/72157622501020182/

The highlight of the Pachamama Alliance trip, and really it's main mission, is the Kapawi Lodge and learning about the Achuar people. During this time, I did not take many pictures especially as they are frowned upon within the Achuar communities. Once our group was all assembled (it took two flights), we were lead on a short hike through the Rainforest. Immediately, our Achuar guide pointed out all types of plants around us and how they can be used as medicine. It was a fascinating reminder of how important the Rainforest is and how giving of healing remedies it is.

The next two days, we traveled to various Achuar communities and got to spend some time talking with the people there. The villages are small - some had 9 families, others had one extended family of 30 some odd people. I did take video at one place. Must communities have an air strip through the middle with huts on either side. The Achuar did not live in villages until the missionaries came along. Now, all villages (I think) have at least one building constructed the missionary way - different than the huts - which seemed somewhat run down and unused. The construction materials don't appear to be things that can be retrieved from the Rainforest unlike the huts. The missionaries are still down there and the Achuar, like other indigenous communities, live with a dual belief in shamanic healing as well as Christianity.

One night, we got to spend the evening in a village. At Kapawi Lodge, while extremely relaxing, you heard all kinds of wildlife, in particular, lots of frogs at night and birds in the morning. The village was quite different. It was a bit silent of animals but full of people sounds. In particular, the sounds of children running around and playing stands out in my memory. And the stars! Oh my gosh, it was hard to do anything but stare into the Milky Way. It was so clear out there.

Our last day in the Rainforest, we took a leisurely adventure down the river. I was in an inner tube while some others were in kayaks. We got to see lots of pink dolphins - very magical experience. I couldn't help but wonder how many other people were in an inner tube in the Amazon jungle at that very moment. I relished in the remoteness of it all. If you haven't seen my twitter or facebook post, I came back from the Rainforest comparing it to Narnia. It was like time stands still there down there. It was so relaxing and peaceful. And it was such a great reminder of what life once was (and meant to be?) seeing how the Achuar live off their natural surroundings. Of course, their lives are threatened by oil companies who want to drill. The Kapawi Lodge, recently turned over to be owned and operated by the Achuar, and the Pachamama Alliance are both working to help the Achuar and several other indigenous communities work to help fight against oil companies and to protect this extremely important part of our earth. They need your help. Go stay there. All of you.

Kapawi Lodge photo set : http://www.flickr.com/photos/69192286@N00/sets/72157622503950108/

Friday morning we sullenly flew out of the Rainforest, back to Shell. That afternoon, we drove back to Banos, this time spending the night at the very lovely Luna Runtun (spa and resort?). It sits up on the backside of one of Ecuador's sacred volcanoes called Tungurahua, looking over the town of Banos. It's a gem of a spot and an excellent place to ease back into the (cough, cough) "real world". For many people, their return to the U.S. was only a day or two day away. Harsh, harsh reality...

Luna Runtun flickr set and lovely pictures of another sacred volcano called Cotapaxi: http://www.flickr.com/photos/69192286@N00/sets/72157622514970670/

The Pachamama Alliance trip ended Sunday night back at Cafe Cultura in Quito. It was a sad but touching farewell to all the people I had spent this special time with. I didn't wallow too long however. The next morning, Linda (Aunt Sue and Uncle Dan's friend living in Quito) and I hopped on an early morning flight to Vilcabamba! Stayed tuned for the rest of the story...

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