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The mighty amazon! (8th-11 April)
Back on the bus, we took a very bumpy ride towards Misahuialli - The Gateway to the Amazon. We watched "The City of God" along the way and then stopped for food outside a school, where about 40 children stood a meter away watching us set up and then stared at us while we ate, like a crowd at a zoo.
When we arrived at Misahuialli twenty minutes later, we walked down to the river, and saw were greeted by a few cute but slightly scary monkeys. We then boarded the motor canoes and took a 45 minute ride down the Napo River (a tributary of the Amazon) to the Anaconda Lodge, where were to stay in log cabins for the next 3 nights. (There are 17 major tributaries to the Amazon, but the Rio Napo is the largest).
At dinner, the lodge's gave us some information about the Amazon; Ecuador´s slice of the Amazon Basin, The Oriente, occupies almost half of the country; but is home to less than 5% of the population, around 480,000 people. The forest stretches from as high as the Andes to the lowland borders of Colombia and Peru (over 250km). However, sadly 10,000 acres of rainforest are chopped down every day and if the deforestation continues at that pace, the Amazon will no longer exist in as little as 50 years.
After an overnight tropical rainstorm, we woke up quite early for breakfast and then set out for the day on our motorized canoe. We had all been divided into two groups and would stick with them for the next two days. Today was our turn to take trek in the jungle, so looking hot in our wellies, we began walking through the trees.
Along the way, our guide pointed out lots of interesting things including the forest's most colourful and poisonous frog (which he picked up), Champaign mushrooms which look like Champaign glasses and make a fizzing sound, a walking tree which had buttress roots which move and the locals use to make their spears, a rubber tree which the guide sliced with his knife causing rubber to drip down and a garlic tree with leaves which are a perfect substitute for the real thing. Our guide then got some big leaves from a palm tree to show us how the locals plait them to create the roofs for their houses.
We then had to climb up and down very steep slopes which were quite muddy and slippery. We were told to try not to grab onto any vegetation as there are poisonous bugs and plants all around… great! In fact 3 of us actually took a seat on a log while the guide was talking to us and both other girls got bitten on their bums (lucky me)!
A bit further into the trees and the guide gave us some fruit to try which was a bit like a coconut and very yummy. Then the others tried something not quite as yummy… ANTS. As a vegetarian, I declined. The guide cut open the branch of tree to reveal thousands of the tiny bugs which apparently taste like lemons. Later on we saw giant poisonous ants which can make your body numb for hours if they bite. We also saw a cinnamon tree and some ginormous buttress roots, much bigger than me, on a mahusive tree trunk. This was followed by a swing on a huge tree vine, like Tarzan! It was really fun and pretty scary as you actually swung quite far away and very high (an I almost hit a few trees along the way).
By this point we were starting to get quite hot and tired so we started to head back. In order to get back to the canoe, we had to wade along a cold river which was as high as our waists in parts, occasionally climbing over and under huge fallen tree trunks and branches which were covered in ants and spiders. We were slipping all over the place (some more than others), as the rocks and pebbles were all covered in algae. It was fun to begin with but started to get frustrating and exhausting constantly trying to keep your balance, but finally the canoe was insight. When we got to the boat, we all dived in the river and then ate some lunch at the river bank.
Back on the boat we then traveled downstream to visit a Kichwa Indian museum where we learned about the traditions of the Upper Napo communities; how they hunt with traps, what they cultivate, how they cook, their tradition of shamanism and the medical herbs and musical instruments they use. We them all had a go at using one of their tribal weapons; the blowpipe (I missed the board 3 times but also got closer to the target than everyone else…. possibly a fluke)?!
After the museum, we got back on the boat and traveled to an animal rescue centre on the river bank where we saw some of the species of animals the Amazon has to offer. On arrival, we were greeted by a fairly decent sized monkey who appeared to be coming to greet us. Fooled by his cuteness we went over to see him and say hello, but with that he began to grab Oa's leg and try to steal her handbag.
Latin American Advenures 8th Apr 2008 - 11th Apr 2008In the jungle, the mighty jungle....
Back on the bus, we took a very bumpy ride towards Misahuialli - The Gateway to the Amazon. We watched "The City of God" along the way and then stopped for food outside a school, where about 40 children stood a meter away watching us set up and then stared at us while we ate, like a crowd at a zoo.
When we arrived at Misahuialli twenty minutes later, we walked down to the river, and saw were greeted by a few cute but slightly scary monkeys. We then boarded the motor canoes and took a 45 minute ride down the Napo River (a tributary of the Amazon) to the Anaconda Lodge, where were to stay in log cabins for the next 3 nights. (There are 17 major tributaries to the Amazon, but the Rio Napo is the largest). Grace, Charlotte, Kinga and I got settled into our rooms, I studied a bit of Spanish and then we went for dinner.
At dinner, the lodge's gave us some information about the Amazon; Ecuador´s slice of the Amazon Basin, The Oriente, occupies almost half of the country; but is home to less than 5% of the population, around 480,000 people. The forest stretches from as high as the Andes to the lowland borders of Colombia and Peru (over 250km). However, sadly 10,000 acres of rainforest are chopped down every day and if the deforestation continues at that pace, the Amazon will no longer exist in as little as 50 years.
After dinner, I learned all of the states in Australia (which have now forgotten) and played cards before bed. We had no electricity in our cabins so had to do everything by candlelight!
After an overnight tropical rainstorm, we woke up quite early for breakfast and then set out for the day on our motorized canoe. We had all been divided into two groups and would stick with them for the next two days. Today was our turn to take trek in the jungle, so looking hot in our wellies, we began walking through the trees.
Along the way, our guide pointed out lots of interesting things including the forest's most colourful and poisonous frog (which he picked up), Champaign mushrooms which look like Champaign glasses and make a fizzing sound, a walking tree which had buttress roots which move and the locals use to make their spears, a rubber tree which the guide sliced with his knife causing rubber to drip down and a garlic tree with leaves which are a perfect substitute for the real thing. Our guide then got some big leaves from a palm tree to show us how the locals plait them to create the roofs for their houses.
We then had to climb up and down very steep slopes which were quite muddy and slippery. We were told to try not to grab onto any vegetation as there are poisonous bugs and plants all around… great! In fact 3 of us actually took a seat on a log while the guide was talking to us and both other girls got bitten on their bums (lucky me)!
A bit further into the trees and the guide gave us some fruit to try which was a bit like a coconut and very yummy. Then the others tried something not quite as yummy… ANTS. As a vegetarian, I declined. The guide cut open the branch of tree to reveal thousands of the tiny bugs which apparently taste like lemons. Later on we saw giant poisonous ants which can make your body numb for hours if they bite. We also saw a cinnamon tree and some ginormous buttress roots, much bigger than me, on a mahusive tree trunk. This was followed by a swing on a huge tree vine, like Tarzan! It was really fun and pretty scary as you actually swung quite far away and very high (an I almost hit a few trees along the way).
By this point we were starting to get quite hot and tired so we started to head back. In order to get back to the canoe, we had to wade along a cold river which was as high as our waists in parts, occasionally climbing over and under huge fallen tree trunks and branches which were covered in ants and spiders. We were slipping all over the place (some more than others), as the rocks and pebbles were all covered in algae. It was fun to begin with but started to get frustrating and exhausting constantly trying to keep your balance, but finally the canoe was insight. When we got to the boat, we all dived in the river and then ate some lunch at the river bank.
Back on the boat we then traveled downstream to visit a Kichwa Indian museum where we learned about the traditions of the Upper Napo communities; how they hunt with traps, what they cultivate, how they cook, their tradition of shamanism and the medical herbs and musical instruments they use. We them all had a go at using one of their tribal weapons; the blowpipe (I missed the board 3 times but also got closer to the target than everyone else…. possibly a fluke)?!
After the museum, we got back on the boat and traveled to an animal rescue centre on the river bank where we saw some of the species of animals the Amazon has to offer. On arrival, we were greeted by a fairly decent sized monkey who appeared to be coming to greet us. Fooled by his cuteness we went over to see him and say hello, but with that he began to grab Oa's leg and try to steal her handbag. Before we knew it, the monkeys were starting to surround us. I ran back on to the boat.
After a bit of encouragement, I got back on land and started walking up the stairs towards the main entrance. Once again I was surrounded by monkeys but held my breath and ran to the top of the stairs, where to my horror I was met by an extremely feisty "Trumpet bird" who was making strange (I guess trumpet) noises and occasionally flapping his wings at me in an extremely territorial fashion. I turned to run back down, but came face to face with another blasted monkey! There was nothing I could do, I was cornered. So I ran for my life further upstairs.
Then, just as I thought I was safe at last, a monkey came running at me out of nowhere. I started to scream and took a detour with Mitchell off the path and across a bridge, but sure enough, the monkey followed. I actually thought I was about to be attacked but the freaky creature flew passed me and carried on heading for Mitchell! Then, to our relief…. nothing happened (is that the biggest anti-climax you've ever read).
So we got off the bridge and back on to the path, with everyone screaming at us that if we had just stayed calm, none of this would have happened because the monkeys thought we were playing with them (easy for them to say when there wasn't a giant monkey chasing them. Anyway, it all make's for an interesting blog entry doesn't it). So we carried on walking up the stairs and as if it was a creature from some cheesy horror film, the dam Trumpet bird had somehow managed to sneak passed us and was once again in sight, literally attacking one of the centre's volunteers. He was angrily pecking away, flapping his wings, flying at her, in fact it looked extremely painful (and they call this place a bloody animal sanctuary? Trust me, it's not the animals that need rescuing). Yet the volunteer was calmly asking us to quiet down and simply walk passed her and the bird. I was absolutely petrified but she insisted that the bird wouldn't bother us, he was only doing it because he liked her (lucky her).
Things calmed down A LOT after that. We met our guide who took us around the park to see tortoises, parrots, toucans, tapirs, ocelots, macaws, some freaky sort of cat and some kind of leopard. We also saw a Capybara, which is the world's largest rodent (a cross between a pig and a rat, gross ay) and of course a lot more monkeys of the spider and woolly variety (thankfully these were caged because apparently THEY were the dangerous ones)!!!
Safely back at the lodge, we had dinner and then had some entertainment from a Kichwa Indian family who came to play music and dance. They had some of the cutest kids I have ever seen and got us all up to dance!
The next day we got taken back on the boat and took a trip to Misi-cocho where we walked through the trees to a small village. The first interesting thing we saw was coco plant (chocolate) and were given the chance to eat part of the bean (it was white and gooey, nothing like chocolate). We then stopped at a Paja Toquilla palm tree, which is used by the locals for lots of things including thatched roofs and fans and hats. The baby leaves from the tree are used to make Panama hats. We also saw a huge millipede.
Eventually we arrived at a village and saw manioc plant (a root vegetable, like potatoes) being harvested. The young girl later cooked the plant for us to try and made some moonshine out of the starch. We were also shown a Barbasca plant, which has berries which can be as powerful as dynamite when under water. When wrapped in banana skins, they absorb all the oxygen in the river for 2km, thus killing the fish, making it easier for fishermen!
We then visited the village school, however school was out today as the teacher was on a course but there were still quite a few children hanging around. The classroom was made from some sort of bamboo and was extremely basic but cute. We had a little play with the kids and then because there was no lesson for us to watch, some of the girls put on a traditional dance for us and got the boys to join in.
We then visited a local house - all of the houses are built on stilts due to the risk of flooding and to prevent unwanted creatures such as snakes getting in! We saw the manioc being cooked. We then headed back to the river and back on the boat.
After 5 minutes we got out to meet some local men who had made us some balsa rafts. We split into two groups of 9 and got on the rafts to drift back to the lodge. It was a really relaxing ride but the raft I was on was far smaller than the other, but with pretty much equal weight so the wood was completely submerged in the water and we got soaked. I swum in the water which was pretty cool as now i can say that i have swum in the amazon rainforest!!!
After dinner, we had a visit from a traditional Kichwa Indian Shaman who performed ceremonies to cleanse the spirits of any willing volunteers. It was really cool, the volunteers sat at the shamans feet, surrounded by candles as he chanted, brushed leaves on their heads and then spat moonshine on and all around them.
The next morning, the lodge's owner said a few lovely words about our group which he said he doesn't say to everyone (very sweet) and then we left the lodge and headed back to Misahuialli . The journey took an hour and a half because we were traveling upstream, but it was a lovely sunny day with great views and the company was great so I can't complain.
Once back in Misahualli we met up with Marc who had been working on the truck. He'd had some spare time so made a great video of the bridge swing which we watched in a café before stocking up on snacks and getting back on Swampy.
We arrived in the famous market town of Otavalo (back in the Northern hemisphere) in the early evening just as it was starting to get dark. We couldn't park near the hotel so had to walk a few blocks but just as we started, the heavens opened and we (and all our bags) got absolutely soaked. However, when we finally reached the hotel, it turned out to be one of the nicest we had ever stayed at so we weren't disappointed! I had a great shower (I hadn't showered the whole time we'd been at the Amazon because the water was brown).
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