Ecuador: They Don't Call It A Rainforest For Nothing (Amazon Part 2/3)

"Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aesop

I slept like a baby last night. After a long night of travel and long day of adventures, sleeps was due. I untied my mosquito net, read a few pages of my book since we only had a few hours of electricity and then lights out. They run the generator from 6pm-10pm and that's it.

Our adventures today led us to a local indigenous community about an hour up the river by boat. Along the way, we encountered a nice sized anaconda and "prehistoric birds." These birds were a mix of chicken and turkey and had spikes on its head. We stopped at a tiny community of 150 people to have a break. We tasted the fruit from a cocoa plant and drank sugar cane wine. The cocoa fruit had a nice taste but slimy texture. The wine was strong. Our guide told us that many communities like this are fighting to keep their small cultures alive, especially their unique languages. 

Once we made it to our final destination, we were greeted by a young lady that taught us how to harvest yucca and prepare the yucca to make bread. We went through the whole process and ended with eating the yucca bread, along with our lunch. I hoping modern day practices are more efficient because it was a long process. 

Next up, the local Shaman talked to us about his healing rituals and performed two of them on a few of the group. One was a healing that cleared the mind that involved him waving his leaves and changing a song. The other was a circulatory healing and involved him lightly whipping a guy in the buy with a particular prickly plant. It didn't seem that forceful and the guy wasn't in pain, but after, his back was completely red and full of welts. 

As we made our way back to the boat, we could see the sky darkening and the wind was picking up. Sure enough, as we got seated it began to rain; hard. We put on our ponchos and braved the hour ride back home. It's still raining now, but peacefully. I imagine the rain allowed for the fantastic sunset that I witnessed from atop the lookout tower. 

To put an exclamation point on the day, the monkeys came to our dining area. They were an arms length away, eating bananas from our hands. It was quite exciting.