The "lodge" we stayed at was actually just the private property of an indigenous family. As you can see, we slept on mattresses covered by mosquito nets (thank goodness), and had a restroom facility with semi-modern plumbing, but no lights. The family we stayed with however, lived in the same clearing, but they all slept in hammocks instead of on mattresses, in their tiny houses without electricity, under roofs made of palm trees, and instead of using the guest bath house, they bathed in the river.
The part of the jungle we stayed in was located in the Cuyabeno region of northeastern Ecuador, and is home to 5 different native indigenous groups. Our guides were part of the "Siona" people, who have their own unique language and culture. In 2005, the Siona had an estimated population of 250 people in Ecuador and 300 in Colombia. Our guides explained to us that marriage and family practices among their people are very different than the norm in the rest of Ecuador and South America. For example, it is not uncommon to get married and start having children at age 12 or 13, especially because most of the Siona people do not need to attend school. In fact, their literacy rate is only around 12%. Half of our guides were between 19 and 21 years old, and all of them looked and seemed much older than they actually are, and all had at least one child of their own.
The part of the jungle we stayed in was located in the Cuyabeno region of northeastern Ecuador, and is home to 5 different native indigenous groups. Our guides were part of the "Siona" people, who have their own unique language and culture. In 2005, the Siona had an estimated population of 250 people in Ecuador and 300 in Colombia. Our guides explained to us that marriage and family practices among their people are very different than the norm in the rest of Ecuador and South America. For example, it is not uncommon to get married and start having children at age 12 or 13, especially because most of the Siona people do not need to attend school. In fact, their literacy rate is only around 12%. Half of our guides were between 19 and 21 years old, and all of them looked and seemed much older than they actually are, and all had at least one child of their own. 
On our second day, we went on a 4 hour hike, or "caminata," through the jungle, fully equipped with ponchos, knee-high rubber boots, and of course plenty of sunscreen and bug spray. Our guide, Hernan, was 63 years old, but was nonetheless incredibly strong, and handy with the machete. He showed us a bunch of interesting plants, including palm trees whose leaves can be used to make roofs and backpacks, a plant that is used as a cold and fever remedy, a tree that can "walk," some anti-venom plants, a flower that the Siona women put in their tea to serve as a natural birth control, a giant 1,500 year-old tree, and a lemon plant whose stems contain edible red ants (which have a strong lemony flavor and are actually quite tasty)! Hernan also showed us the coca plant, which is used for making coffee, "te de coca" (coca tea), which alleviates altitude sickness, and--when mixed with the right chemicals--cocaine. He also mentioned that about 4 or 5 years ago, his people had problems with drug cartels from Colombia coming through the region because it's so rich in coca and is only about 40 km from the border. Since then, the Ecuadorian government has greatly increased border control in the area, which has virtually fixed the problem, according to another guide, named Pedro. 
We also got to see a great deal of wildlife on our caminata , including some sapos (toads), monos aranas (spider monkeys), monos oradores (howler monkeys), and a couple other monkey breeds, countless bugs, some parrots and toucans, and even a wild boar! Due to so much rain the night before, many sections of our hiking path were covered with at least a foot of water. Our guide had to bushwack several new paths and we all learned to rely on our balance and acrobatic skills (or in some people's cases, lack thereof) to cross over 10 creeks on logs, with only the occasional aid walking sticks when available.
After a break for a home-cooked lunch, which consisted of soup for an appetizer and a main dish of chicken and rice (just like almost every other meal in Ecuador thus far), we set out in canoe with our guide Veronica and her 3 year-old daughter Susana to the village or "comunidad" of the Siona people. There we were taught how to make "Pan de Yuca" from scratch. Pan de yuca is a bread made out of a potato-like tuber called yuca, which is commonly eaten throughout Ecuador and Peru, particularly in the jungle regions. First we had to walk through the jungle in order to find a yuca plant and dig up its roots. Then, we had to peel the yuca and grate them by hand, which took six of us a good hour to do. Then Veronica rolled the grounded-up yuca pulp into a large woven wicker contraption and squeezed all of the excess liquid out of the mixture, until all that was left was a dried, grainy substance. Next, she and her sister Isabel started a fire (also by hand) so we could cook the bread. It was nightfall before the pan de yuca was finally ready to eat, but it ended up tasting pretty good. The only things that could have made it better would be a few less bugs and perhaps a bit of butter or jam. All in all, the pan de yuca making process was very physically exhausting and took over 5 hours for us each to have just one piece of bread. I don't know how the Siona women can bear to do this day in and day out without any help from the men, nor from modern technology.
After a late dinner of carne and more arroz (meat and rice), Pedro finally took us on our night hike. We saw a lizard, a toad, and LOTS of tarantulas and other poisonous spiders and insects, many of which were as big as my head!
Around 10:30 the next morning we set out in canoe to visit the "laguna" (lagoon) with Luis and Isabel as our guides. At first sight, the laguna appeared to be nothing more than a very wide river. As we continued into it though, it began to transform into an entirely distinct environment, much more still and quiet than the other areas of the rainforest we'd seen thus far. I was quite surprised to learn that there was an entire forest of giant trees that survives naturally under water in the middle of the lagoon. Treetops jutted out all over the water's surface, even a 1/2 mile out from the nearest shoreline, creating an eerie, surrealistic sea of trees.
After our hour-long canoe ride to the lagoon, the first thing we did was go on another long, mostly uphill "caminata," during which we each lost about 5 lb. in sweat, due to the extreme heat and humidity, and probably got bitten by 50 mosquitos each. On the bright side, we got to see a great deal of monkeys and other wildlife, and Luis taught us how to weave a backpack out of palm tree leaves. 
We spent the rest of the day until well after dark hanging out around the lagoon. We ate a picnic lunch (yet again, chicken and rice) in the canoe and went fishing for piranhas. Surprisingly, unlike my past fishing experiences, I actually caught one!! We also got to swim in the lagoon, which was really fun, but at the same time a little unsettling. Besides myself, only two of the Chilean girls we were with were brave enough to get in the water. The rest of our group members were afraid of anacondas, fish, or cayman (aka-small crocodiles) coming close to the boat. These fears were actually pretty legitimate though, because we did see a lot of cayman along the shores that afternoon. Plus, one day earlier, a different group from our campsite had been approached by a giant anaconda while swimming in the lagoon. Luckily though, their guide saw the snake coming and was able to get everyone back into the boat before any damage was done.
I think my favorite part of the whole jungle experience were the two hours we spent watching the sun set over the lagoon. We had plenty of time to kill because we had to wait until dark before we could go cayman watching. Meanwhile, the view we enjoyed from our canoe was pretty incredible, so like any good tourist, I took advantage of the kodak moment. Here's just a few of the MANY shots I took that evening, plus a photo of one of the cayman we saw on our way back (it's hard to see him since it's dark, so look for two tiny red eyes).
No hay comentarios.:
Publicar un comentario