Another 6AM morning, I got up to grab breakfast and began chatting with Esteban who mentioned I really lucked out because the original flight I was going to take was still delayed for entry into UIO and was expected for arrival by 2PM. If I hadn’t done the flight swapping, who knows how much more I would have missed. I was so happy to be here with yet another fun and supportive travel group!
After breakfast, we loaded into the bus and made our way to Sacha Waysa, a local community among the Ecuadorian Amazon jungle! It was here we spent most of the day immersing ourselves in the local culture and engaging with the local inhabitants. We started off with a nature hike through the dense jungle brush led by a couple of the locals with machetes. One must always remember to carry a machete when traveling through the jungle. Any other knife wouldn’t do! As we followed behind our fearless jungle guides, we had to watch our footing as we descended. The ground was wet and muddy from the rains the night before. Luckily no one fell, although a few people did have some close calls.
Once at the bottom, we continued along the path carved for us by the guides and they showed us some pretty cool plants and explained how they natives use them in their daily lives. There was a long reedy stalk that when whacked really hard opened up to reveal plaited palm leaves. These are used in the making of authentic Panama hats
(which ironically are produced in Ecuador). Another plant we were shown was what our tour guide referred to as “magic shrinking leaves”. I do not recall if this plant had any substantial purpose beyond being super interesting and mesmerizing to watch, but
when the plant receives a small touch, the leaves retract and appear as if shrunken. One other plant we were shown was a leaf that ants make their home inside. Our guides told us that the ants, while very tiny, could be eaten and provide an unexpectedly high amount of nutrition for their size. Half of our group immediately started licking the leaves!
After having some fun with the local flora, we continued on our way to a hidden waterfall. In the sweltering heat under the canopy of the Amazon jungle, we all jumped straight into the pool at the base of the falls to cool off. It was at this moment that I realized I had worn the completely wrong outfit for this hike. My long sleeve cotton shirt clung tight to my chest and quickly became waterlogged as I swam to the edge of the pool. I spent the next 5 minutes taking off shirt and swam back out to the area behind the waterfall while we all took a breather before our inevitable ascent back through the jungle towards town.
Once everyone had their fill of swimming in the jungle waters, our jungle guides led us back towards the town. Along the way, our guides stopped by a small stream and gathered handfuls of soft grey clay to draw symbols on our faces that matched the “auras” they felt we gave off. Apparently mine was ‘the jaguar’. In addition to embodying our auras, the mud also provided a rejuvenating face cover under the sultry sun. Just before we returned to town, we stopped by a hanging vine to embrace our inner Tarzan as we each swung along and attempted our best George Of The Jungle yell.
Back at the main building in town, lunch had been set out for us and we chowed down. There was roast chicken soup with a yuca broth (which tasted like Matzo ball soup), heaps of white rice, fried yuca, and various fruits. I gave the yuca a try and was not a fan …at least not at first. Yuca is a common root vegetable a bit less flavorful than potatoes. I had yuca several more times throughout my trip to Ecuador and learned to appreciate the filling starch.
After lunch, we walked over to an open hut and were given a history lesson on Wayusa Tea, an herbal beverage commonly consumed in Ecuador. We were each given a cup to drink while watching a local family partake in some traditional dancing before we were coaxed to join in. Afterwards, we had the opportunity to peruse their local handicraft shop for some handmade souvenirs. Then we were brought over to another hut to make chocolate. We were given an actual bucket-load of raw cacao beans and 20 minutes to remove the shells from as many as we could. At the end of the 20 minutes, we placed all of the de-shelled beans into a grinder and took turns crushing the beans into a chocolatey paste. As far as raw chocolate goes, this paste was insanely bitter. After being mixed with some sugar, the chocolate paste was drizzled over many banana slices and we enjoyed some sweet fruit!
Hopped up on sugar, we then took on the local schoolkids in an unregulated 18v18 soccer match. What was expected to be a complete and utter decimation of the puny schoolkids by us large, towering, and imposing adults ended in an almost humiliating defeat. If not for Samantha M, who pretty much steamrolled 5 of the small kids on her way to the goal and an unfortunate self-goal by the youngest member of their team who likely had no idea what he was doing but was just happy to have the ball, the game would have ended in a tie at 1 all. The schoolkids had earned the first goal early on which prompted Samantha M to go full berserk mode. Our third goal came towards the end of the game and scored by none other than our tour guide, Esteban in a final drive to show off his sick skills!
With adrenaline pumping and spirits high, we took some time to slow things down with a memory game for the schoolkids. Back in the lunch hut, we went in a circle stating our names and where we were from. Esteban would then point to one of us and ask the kids either “what is his/her name?” or “where is he/she from?”. If one of the kids recalled correctly, they got to pick a prize from the pile of school supplies we bought for them. At the end, there were many smiling faces as the kids were beyond excited to be getting new notepads, pencils, bookmarks, etc. We then said goodbye to the kids as they headed back to their respective homes and we hopped back on the bus to head off for our next activity: caving!
What is caving? Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like: spelunking through a dark, damp cave with nothing but your wits and a headlamp. We walked in through the large cave entrance. One moment we were out in the bright sun and the next we were surrounded by darkness as we ventured into the unknown guided by only our headlamps to light the path. As we trudged single file through the ankle deep water further into the cave, we had to communicate to the person behind us about the hazards informed by the person in front of us. Whether it was a sharp rock, a low ceiling, or even an underwater drop off, communication would be instrumental in ensuring everyone made it through unscathed. After what seemed like an hour (but actually only 10 minutes) of proceeding through the darkness, we arrived at a large deep pool alit by several battery operated lanterns. To cross the pool, we had to tight rope walk across a length of rope sitting just below the surface, holding onto nothing but a second rope above our heads. On the other side, several of us decided to plunge into the pool and cross again! Continuing along, we made it to a narrow hole in front of a waterfall that was constantly filling in with water. Naturally, we were each given the opportunity to dunk ourselves within but not before being warned of the risk of not resurfacing! Almost all of us took on the challenge! Kudos to Brian, Elliott, David, Samantha M, Nigel, Chelsea, Cristiana, Alicia, Sara A, Brandon, Sarah S, and myself. After we all successfully resurfaced, made our way up the rocky hill past the waterfall and emerged back into the light of day… but not before having a run in with a couple of bats!
Once we emerged, we walked down the path towards the bus, got on and headed back to the hotel in Tena to prepare for dinner. The restaurant had a nice pool but unfortunately everyone was exhausted from today’s full agenda, so my attempts at inciting a pool party ended up a bit short with only Brian, Elliott, Sara A, and Alicia being interested. After the failed pool party, we returned to the hotel and sat outside similar to the night before but instead of dancing along to 90s pop music, we just chatted for a couple hours and turned in for the night (at 2AM). Tomorrow we would be making our way towards Banos!
No Regrets: The Only Way To Live 