Hello
Blog Followers, Welcome to the land of Ernest, I hope that you enjoy the next
few weeks, which will be packed full of adventure and surprise, as I fill you
in, about my Quito to La Paz Tour.
So
to start...
Welcome
to Days 1-4, My Amazon Jungle Homestay!!!!
On
May 28th, the morning after our introduction evening, where we met each other
and our tour leader Gabriella, we were all up early for the bus ride to Tena, a
small town just outside the Amazon Jungle, where we would meet Delvines Family
(our host family) and be on our way into the largest rain forest in the
world.
The
drive to Tena was long, but the landscapes we passed were truly 'breath taking', the way the clouds rose over the mountains and how small the villages
looked in comparison to the hugeness of Quito - which as we left seemed never
ending.
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| (Although, at this point, I hadn't been in South America, for any length of time, the vibrancy of Ecuador and Peru was already so noticeable, even if just through nature.) |
When
we arrived in Tena, we all went to a supermarket, to buy food items for the
local school, which we would also be supporting through our stay in the
Jungle.
In
the afternoon, we went on two small hikes, with Delvine and his son. The first,
was to a view point, where after looking through the never ending canopy, you
could see the Napo river, which is one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon.
It was incredible to see it, and be in the jungle, especially after studying it
for so many years in Geography. The second hike was to a small river in the
jungle where we all got mud masks. It was so much fun, and the evening finished
perfectly, with me writing my diary by candlelight listening to the bugs
clicking and the rain falling.
May
29th, our first full day in the Jungle: My roommates and I, decided this
morning that we would get up early and wash in the nearby river, it was really
refreshing, and gave a small break from the humidity of the Jungle. After a
lovely breakfast, we were all given a jungle headband and had a symbol painted
onto our faces. My symbol represented 'the cycle'. The idea that everything
that begins, must end, and will then be replaced/or start again. I thought that
this idea was really lovely, and I, admittedly from this point on, became fascinated
with their idea of Life, Death and a need to keep the balance.
After
we were all dressed ready to face the jungle, we started out for our cascada (waterfall) climbing
trip. We climbed up 2 main waterfalls, both about 5 metres high. Rather than climbing up the other waterfalls, we used fallen trees which had been made into ladders,
by cutting grooves into the length of them. The first waterfall we came to, we
all climbed onto a ledge and stood beneath the water, the water was so heavy,
it was crazy. On the way down, I slipped and fell, cutting my leg and bruising
my bum, but looking back from the comfort of my new home, I realise how much
worse it could have been. But at the time, the only positive of hurting myself, was that I
got to try some jungle medicine. Using the sap of a tree, Delvine covered the
cut, the sap worked as an antiseptic, plaster and glue. It was incredible, and
by the time it washed off, the cut was healed.
It
is incredible to think what the jungle contains. We went on a nature walk that
afternoon, and it just proved how blind I had been whilst walking around, to me
it just looked like a lot of greenery, but to Delvines Family and many many like them,
the Jungle is a hive of food, medicine and organic material. There are branches
which when broken down and plaited can be used as rope strong enough to hold
houses together, leaves that when weaved together can create watertight roofs.
Then there are Aloe Vera plants, root vegetables, cinnamon trees, Palm trees
that move, poisons which help catch fish when dropped in the water, bark from a
tree which when bitten causes numbing so is used in dental practices, and
rubber trees which weep rubber when cut. Out of all the days in the Jungle,
today was the day that really opened my eyes. It was incredible.
May
30th: our last full day in the Amazon Jungle. Today we visited the
school, which at the beginning of our stay; we had brought all the food for.
Delvine's wife is the only teacher at the school and teaches a range of grades
and ages in one class. She has been teaching for many years and her main aim is
that all children get an education and therefore have the knowledge to expand
their horizons. Before we left, she explained how due to decreasing numbers of
children coming to the school, as people having the next generation of
children, have moved into cities rather than staying in the jungle, has led to
her numbers dropping, and if her numbers drop below 6 the school will be shut
down as the government won't keep it open and the children left will have to
travel for anything up to 3 hours to get to and from another school each day.
That is awful, and we all left with a huge amount of respect for Delvine's
wife. The afternoon we spent swimming in some natural springs before returning
to make CHOCOLATE!! It was delicious and we made it from scratch, from cooking
the beans, to pealing the shells, grinding the beans, cooking with the milk and
then serving with fresh fruit. Yum!!!
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| Playing football at the school |
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| The walk to the natural springs |
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| Making Chocolate |
That
evening whilst we sat around eating our chocolate, Delvine taught us all about
the Jungle way of life and how you can become a Shaman. It starts off so young,
3-5 years old, where they will put you through a series of trials to see if you
are right for the training. The trials can be anything from putting chillies in
their eyes to making them drink tobacco tea through their nose. The trails
finish when they are 10 and they are ready for training, and their final task.
This is where they have to walk alone in the Jungle, until they find their path
and are told that they are ready to return and be a Shaman. It was incredible
and something that Delvines family believes in very strongly, but can see
through their own children, start to disappear, as they have more contact with
the outside world.
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| Delvine |
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| Recreating a jungle wedding |
The
last evening in the Jungle was beautiful, it rained so heavily, and along with
the Thunder and lightning it created such a mysterious atmosphere.
I
hope that you enjoyed reading about my Jungle Adventure, and if you are
wondering where day 1 went, seeing as I have only recorded 3 days in the
Jungle. Day 1 was spent in Quito meeting my new group and exploring. I got to
stand on the Equator, and visit the beautiful old town. The pictures below are
all of that first day in Quito. Until Next time...
Maisie
