Pastaza, Ecuador (The Amazon) - Day 4

Sunday, January 30

Our fourth full day in the Amazon Rainforest — It was raining hard this morning. Andi, Tory, Aden and I put on our rain coats and made our way to the kitchen for breakfast around 8:30am. It was a busy place on Sunday morning! Many family members had the day off, including some that work in Puyo and only come home on Sundays.

Marcelina prepared fruit, yogurt, granola, pancakes, coffee, hot tea and hot chocolate for breakfast this morning. Tory said, “Pancaaaakes!” when she saw the big spread of food which made the family we’re staying with laugh. These pancakes were thin and tasted more like crepes than fluffy American-style pancakes. Tory and Aden sprinkled sugar cane and cacao powder on them & said it was “Ecuadorian lefse.” We make a flat pancake called lefse from potatoes at Christmastime in Wisconsin & it reminds us of that.

After breakfast, the four of us + Henry took the wooden canoe across the river & walked up the 1/2 mile jungle path to the main road. Henry said he called a taxi to take us to our morning activity, but no one answered so we’d have to walk there. Tory was already grumbling about it. We’ve walked a lot the past four days and all of our legs were sore, but I could tell it was going to be a real issue with Tory today. At least the overnight rain cooled off the humidity somewhat. The air temperature was pleasant this morning as we walked two miles to the indigenous Kichwa community of Indichuris.

Once we arrived there, we followed Henry up a steep walking path. It was raining again, so the view was cloudy when we got to the first overlook. It was still a beautiful sight overlooking the convergence of the Puyo River and Pastaza River below.

The four of us continued walking, huffing and puffing all the way up the steel hill. Tory said she counted 453 steps. At the top, we came to a restaurant with a big covered deck overlooking the valley below. It was an amazing view! The rain was coming down pretty hard now, and it felt cozy relaxing in the row of hammocks there.

About 30 minutes later, Henry said it was time for the swing. We followed him around the side of the building to a wooden platform and a giant rope swing. “Who’s first?” he asked. Aden stepped right up and said, “I am.” A crowd of about 10 people had gathered now and everyone ooh’d as Aden walked up to the platform and buckled onto the rope swing. I tried not to think about the dangers of my eight-year-old partaking in this activity. There wasn’t a waiver to sign and no one asked his age.

“Uno, dos, tres! One, two, three!” There went Aden flying over the side of the cliff. Judging by the stoic look on his face, I could tell he was nervous. After his feet were safely back on the ground, I asked Aden how it was. “Fast,” he said. My dare devil of a boy. We’re got our hands full with this one.

Next it was Andi’s turn. He strapped in and swung from the platform with a “Whooo!”

I went third. I felt nervous, but I told myself that if Aden could do it, I could do it too. I strapped into the swing belt and went for it. The first sensation was of free-falling and wind rushing against me. But once the initial shock wore off, it was peaceful swinging back and forth looking out at the valley below.

Several more people took a turn on the swing after us. Tory said she didn’t want to do it, so we watched others and then made the trek down the mountain. As we walked down the narrow, wet path a dog came out of nowhere and started to follow us. Tory started to freak out, continuously looking behind her to see if the dog was coming closer to her. I urged her to forget about the dog and start watching where she was walking. One false move and she would have fallen down the side of the hillside. That would not have been pretty.

Half-way down, Henry took our picture at a design carved into the hillside. The word Indichuris roughly translates to “Sun’s Children” hence, the design. At the top of this hill is where the giant swing flies over.

We laughed as we walked down to the parking area. There is no easy walking in Ecuador — every trail is straight up or straight down. Hard on the knees, that’s for sure!

We left Mirador Indichuris and followed Henry down the roadway to see the caimans. We walked for about a mile on a beat-up road, some parts of it pretty steep. I said to Aden that I hoped we didn’t have to walk back up this hill on our walk home, but I had a bad feeling that we’d be doing just that.

Henry said he was showing us the caimans. We came to a swamp on the side of the road and cut into the jungle alongside it. He started grunting loudly in a pattern that sounded similar to a drum beat. All of a sudden, caimans (which are brown reptiles similar to an alligator) started swimming toward him. We spotted several in the water.

Henry said his people eats the caiman in December (presumably around Christmastime?). At night, the caimans come onto the shore & they kill them by sneaking up on them with a machete. The Kichwa also use caiman blood as a medicinal heart attack remedy. When someone is in cardiac arrest, they drink 2-3 glasses of caiman blood and it stops the heart attack, he said.

I had one of those “pinch me” travel moments as we walked along the swamp bank searching for caimans. Just look at where we found ourselves! It’s hard to believe we’re in the Amazon Rainforest.

We walked along the path to another viewpoint of the Puyo River. There, we relaxed in a set of hammocks by the water. The water was rushing rapidly from all the rain. Henry explained that the Puyo River connects to the Amazon River further on into the jungle.

Now, it was time to start the long walk back home. Tory was already throwing a stink about it because she did not want to walk anymore. Andi and I reminded her that we didn’t have a choice — there aren't a lot of vehicles here; we can’t just catch a ride. In the Kichwa communities, people walk where they want to go. At one point, Henry got nervous when he didn’t see Tory trailing behind us. “La Niña?!” he said with concern in his voice. Eh, she’s coming… Andi and I responded. She’s just walking really slowly.

I think Henry felt bad for her because he stopped at a farm we saw along the way and asked the lady who lived there if we could have a ride in her truck the rest of the way home. She agreed, so we all loaded into the back of her pickup. Henry also made this pretty headband for Tory from a flower on the side of the road as a peace offering.

The lady dropped our group off at a tienda (small convenience store) near the jungle trail entrance to Henry’s family property. Henry offered to buy the kids each a Popsicle and also purchased two giant bottles of drinking water.

Henry asked Andi to carry one of the heavy water bottles down the 1/2 mile trail to his property. Andi wasn’t very excited about it, but he obliged. It was heavy and awkward, and we were all tired, but I suppose that’s how you get things you need into the jungle — you carry it. I can’t imagine carrying things like mattresses or building supplies down jungle paths and across the river to get them home. It’s no wonder most of their furniture is hand-made with logs and wooden boards.

Henry mentioned something about an afternoon activity, but Andi and I agreed — we were happy to chill at our cabin for the rest of the afternoon. We’ve been going non-stop since we arrived in the jungle four days ago and the kids need a break. We all do.

For the rest of the afternoon, we relaxed in hammocks, read books, and played cards in our cabin. Meanwhile, there was plenty of action on the family property. Dozens of family members were gathered. They fished for tilapia in the pond and then set up a big fish cleaning station near the kitchen. Music was playing and they seemed to be having a great time. It felt similar to a big holiday event, except I think it’s just a regular Sunday get-together for their large family.

Our dinner was served at 7:00pm and by then, all the family members had left. I suppose when you have to canoe across the river and then walk home, you have to leave before the sun goes down. Marcelina prepared tilapia, French fries, cucumber salad and fried plantains for our meal + hot lemongrass tea, of course. It was very good.

Henry asked if we wanted to take another shower tonight. We didn’t really want to, but he already heated up the water for us, so we thanked him and said we would. Andi and Aden went first & came back to our cabin saying it was quite an experience! The 5-gallon bucket of cold water was filled with tilapia and the hot water bucket was filled with tea. When I went to shower, Henry explained to me that the tea water was made with leaves in the jungle that are good for “shampoo.” I gathered from our conversation that he made this water especially for us to shower with because it is suppose to be good for our skin. That doesn’t quite explain the bucket of tilapia (other than it was left from fishing earlier in the afternoon), but I appreciated his thoughtful gesture to boil the herbal water especially for us. Tory didn’t want to shower, so I got to use the entire 5-gallon bucket of hot water for myself and I have to admit, it was pretty enjoyable — as much as bucket showers in the Amazon can be.

We returned to our cabin after dinner, and slept soundly. It rained heavily all night long.

Monday, January 31

Today it was time to say good-bye to our Amazonian jungle adventure. After breakfast, we packed our bags and carried them to the covered structure over the open fire. Henry’s family thanked us for choosing to stay with them for the week, and we returned our gratitude in sharing their culture & traditions with us. They have a beautiful family, and we really enjoyed our experience. Henry’s mother presented us with hand-made bracelets and necklaces which was a very lovely gesture.

We had to delay our departure by an hour due to the rain, but eventually we made it across the river and up the trail to the main road where a taxi was waiting for us.

We’re staying in the city of Baños this week. As much as we enjoyed our Amazonian adventure, we’re looking forward to creature comforts like real showers, laundry and having a little more space to spread out. What an experience this was though! One our family won't soon forget.