Hola Amigos y Familia:
Our adventure in Ecuador ends with this dispatch. On our return from the Galapagos, we stayed overnight in Quito, awaiting a 5:00 a.m. pick up to be driven to a put-in spot on the Napo River, headwaters of the Amazon flowing into the Atlantic Ocean, for an all-day white water river rafting trip toward our next stay at Yachana Lodge, 2 hours east of the town of Coca in eastern Ecuador.
Due to circumstances, we had to abandon the river rafting and were driven for 5.5 hours to the lodge. The emissary from Yachana, Alonzo, and a local driver, Santiago, would safely take us through the Andes, rising to heights of 13, 300 feet, starting from the 9,400 feet elevation of Quito, through the constantly curving roadways, Alonzo pointing out the ‘paper forest’, made up of the Polylepis trees, a rare and protected species. As we drove, Alonzo and Santiago were in deep conversation, while we relaxed and noted the mist in these majestic, high Andean environs. On our descent, we passed a bad wreck, weather-related most likely since there was now some heavy fog and rain with the mist.
The road was a winding 2 laner, with horses, dogs and cascading waterfalls alongside, when we came across yet a second wreck where we were stopped for 15 minutes. Passing through a town near Baeza, we noticed a plaque hosting a caricature of a well-muscled, seemingly Gringo male, on a rock face, a sign of climbing notoriety in this area. By now, we were paralleling the high and muddy Rio Quijos, hearing about Colonial Baeza which had been destroyed in an earthquake and rebuilt as Nueva Baeza a short distance away. Soon, we passed into the Cloud Forest which is competing with Mindo (4 hours to the west, an hour NW of Quito) for attracting birders, enticing them with greater varieties and numbers of birds. After 3 hours, we officially passed the “Entrance to the Amazon”, wet and foggy and still 2.5 hours away from the lodge. We would eventually turn off the paved roadway, onto a 9 mile, 1.5 lane gravel road, arriving at Yachana (a native Kichwa word meaning Place of Learning) 45 minutes later (slow going on this road). A mid-afternoon respite in the hammock on the porch of our bungalow was in order, admiring the mighty Napo River, listening to cicadas making their courtship calls, marveling at what looked like the slow movement of the river, only to learn later how fast it was flowing when we were navigating it on some of our later forays into the region.
At dinner we met a smaller group than we had on the SAMBA, 7 hardy souls, 5 of whom had been in the Peace Corps in Bolivia during the mid-60’s and had some amazing stories to tell. Two of them had born witness to the corpse of the slain revolutionary, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara! Our dinners here continued to be very natural and vegetarian in nature, much as those on the SAMBA. Weight loss upon arriving in Seattle was well-received, contrary to how much we were consuming volume-wise.
After a much-needed 9 hour sleep we arose at 6:30 a.m. sans breakfast, for a birding expedition, sitting in the open air back of the Ranchera, with benches for 11. Alonzo who had squired us from Quito, was our guide, riding in the back, pointing out flora and fauna, the 1st of which would be a White-Throated Toucan. Even with our binoculars, we were hard put to pinpoint where Alonzo was pointing. The back and forth with him was pretty humorous, finally ending with our zeroing in on the target. He espied an Oropendula, which we had been introduced to during our 2015 Peru adventure. We were familiar with its call, the ‘plopping’ sound of water dropping into a bucket of water. Other birds seen were the Bright-Rumped (yellow) Attila, Chachalaca (sporting a rufous-reddish brown- head and neck) and the Yellow-Rumped Cacique, who have their nests co-located for symbiotic reasons with those of the Oropendulas (which are up to 6 feet long and tear-shaped, hanging from tree limbs). Displayable photos of avians in trees (except for chickens, attached) are non-existent due to the early morning darkness and lack of sunlight. As a result, Alonzo’s references to ‘colors’ of birds used “dark-colored’ in identifying what we should be looking for in the direction that Alonzo was pointing! The sounds of woodpeckers echoed throughout our slow movement down the gravel road, next spotting some Guans, which are a dull grey colored small turkey-like bird, then some Honey Drippers, Blue Mot Mots and Flycatchers with their yellow bellies, and finally, the Squirrel Cuckoo, which was orange-ish in color, the dawning of the day now allowing colors to be more readily seen. Easily seen and photographed Guinea Hens were the best we could do.
We awoke one morning to smoke rising up the Napo from where corn husks and other debris were being burned after the harvest. That day, after being fully caffeinated, we put on our rubber boots for tromping around ‘The Farm’, 125 acres where the owner, Nilo, raises crops that are consumed at our lodge. He went off to gather Ortiga (stinging nettles), while Alonzo took us around the Farm, introducing us to the various foods, some of which would be part of our lunch later on, and their uses:
First was a tree bearing cantaloupe-sized green gourds, growing on the trunks/branches, splitting one open with his razor sharp machete to show its sole use as a container; red and yellow oblong Cacao pods, one of which was used for us to pick out a bean and suck on. The hardwood Capirona tree was pointed out and discussed for its use in creating planks and beams due to its ability to create naturally straight slices of wood. Alonzo brought us to a Sangre de Dragon (Blood of the Dragon) tree, showing how its sap is collected, slicing a small niche, explaining its gastro-intestinal uses. Then came the Paja Toqui tree, whose leaves are used for weaving Panama hats, which are actually of Ecuadoran origin. These trees are only cut down during a full moon for optimum results in the process. We also had another tutorial, this time on the Heart of Palm process, using his machete to cut down a palm tree and shape and peel for our lunch. Next up was the Araza tree, the ‘velcro’ plant whose tiny spherical stickies were hanging onto our clothing…the idea for Velcro was born out of this particular plant’s characteristics.
Grapefruit and spices were picked and added to our lunch basket, while we marveled at the web spun by a Golden Salk Spider. After boarding we backed up to turn around and head back the way we came and inadvertently ended up mired in a hole, next to a Chuncho tree operation. Two men were using a chainsaw to make evenly planed lumber, with the grain, using a unique process. The vehicle recovery process was pretty comical, locals coming out of their rustic dwellings to watch, participating in all the solutions offered. Eventually, a local woman instructed the men in the simplest and most obvious one, using pieces of bark and wood under the right rear tire. With the vehicle launching forward, success was achieved and left everyone laughing and cheering. We even had time for Maggie to pose with her 12th Woman towel! Back at the Lodge, we enjoyed the fruits of our day’s labor. Our lunch was served on large leaves laden with Tilapia fish, Heart of Palm, fried Yucca, carrot salad, ½ grapefruit with homemade cane sugar, all supplied from our Farm efforts.
Our education continued, as we visited the heart of the Yachana mission, the Training Center & Foundation. We first studied an aquaphonic operation containing a huge cylinder for breeding carp, whose waste matter would become fertilizer and funneled into a closed system of 3 separate beds which produced vegetables, oxygenation facilitating the process. The whole area was rife with the Eliconeae plant with its bright yellow and red at leaves draped as inverted triangles, the fatter parts perpendicular to the center stem, each leaf narrowing to a yellow tip. We roamed through a sugar cane field, crossing a small creek in our waders since the suspension bridge was under repair. On this side of the creek grew corn and plantains side-by-side with fruit trees, a natural symbiotic process for killing weeds. We came across holes filled with decomposing banana leaves that naturally ‘dig’ the hole deeper, allowing for more ‘trash’ to be used effectively. Before we trekked to other parts of this area, we sat on benches in a forested amphitheater, meditating upon a huge Kapok tree, which prompted me to scurry down and stand next to the base for a photo op illustrating the perspective on size. Our host, Douglas, Founder and Executive Director of Yachana, commented that this newly forested area had not existed in 2000, but was merely pastureland, except for this magnificent tree, which is host to tiny frogs living in pools at the very top, something we would have to accept as gospel, given the extreme height to the tree’s apex.
Continuing on our tour of this property, we were shown the lodgings for eco-tourists, since the Napo river lodge property was recently sold (we were to be the last few guests to stay there) and the dormitories which would house students spending a month at a time as a part of improving the lives of the indigenous and mestizo populations in Ecuadorian Amazon through education and learning skills toward employment and self-sustainment. Douglas proudly displayed an amazing commissioned concrete and scientifically designed sundial. We reviewed the training area hosting machinery, including a sugar cane press and a hand-built corn husking machine. The wood working machinery here was also used for creating the materials for building Yachana Lodge at the Napo river location. Douglas explained that the educational process is built around the S.T.E.M. concept (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Our guide, Alonzo, was a shining example of the product of this program, well-educated, speaking excellent English, knowledgeable in agrarian, financial, tourism and administrative areas.
We were finally given a pass on early starts and commenced the next day with breakfast at 8:00 a.m., taking the Ranchera later for a hike in a Primary forest, with Alonzo hacking away overgrowth that was shielding a known path we would be taking deep into this weald. This came as a relief since we thought we were going to be blazing a new pathway for the rest of the morning! Next ahead, Stinging Bullet ants on tree trunks next to the pear-like Piton fruits, hanging by a short stem, which are eaten by several different animals, each partaking of a different aspect of the fruit. Moving further into the forest depths, spotting small darting Golden Crowned Manakin birds with their bright yellow heads, the prehistoric-looking Hoatzin we had also been introduced to in Peru, Strangler Fig trees, the Socratea (Walking) tree, Cinchona trees and more. Even though we could not see it, a foot-long Quetzel bird, with iridescent golden-green wing coverts, chest and head, and a red belly, returned an imitative call made by Alonzo a few seconds before. With his sharp eyes, Alonzo spotted on the ground, a three-fourth inch long toad with a white belly, cradled in a dark brown leaf, nicely camouflaged except for eagle-eyed guides like Alonzo.
Late afternoon we rode the Ranchera to a cacao plantation alongside the Napo River, taking in the aromatic smells of the cacao bean drying process as we approached our waiting fiberglass, canopied 30 foot long vessel, motoring upstream against a swift current to visit the pueblo of Agua Santa. After changing our landing site due to the high waters, we walked a short distance to meet at an octagonal, thatched roof, open air space with benches, a dirt floor with baby chicks strutting and peeping near a smoking fire. And there was the curandero (healer) we had come to visit: 75 year old Jose. We experienced 45 minutes of ‘healing’, 3 of us at a time, 5 minutes per individual. Jose, who learned his craft from his father-in-law, used Kichwa tradition in gathering Wayra Panga leaves in a bunch, using tobacco rolled up in a banana leaf, which lit end was put in his mouth, blowing through this ‘cigar’ directly over our bodies, dusting our heads, arms and legs with the leaves. It was pretty hard to be still and quietly respectful in the high temperature and humidity, yet we maintained. After each set of 3, Jose would walk over to the railing, shake out the bunch of leaves, blowing smoke, grunting and spitting.
Our next village experience was with using a 6 foot long, one-half inch diameter tube made from Iron Wood, gently blowing a toothpick thin, foot long dart through the tube, aiming at a papaya on a stick 10 feet away. Team Moffett was not successful in this endeavor…”close but no cigar”!! The dart itself is made from bamboo, with a cut/etch near the end so if it breaks off in the animal being hunted, the poisoned end of the dart will remain, ending its life. The follow up skill test was throwing an Iron Wood spear at a 6 inch-by-10 inch wide piece of wood staked in the ground, with the intent of penetrating it. We all failed miserably, not even hitting it let alone penetrating it! We ended our village experience with Rosa, Jose’s wife, in their home atop stilts, watching Yucca being prepared for making Chicha. The pounding and mashing taking place in an oblong wooden, 6 inch deep, tub, Rosa picking up handfuls, pushing it into her mouth, chewing, then spitting it out back into the tub, which adds enzymes to the process for fermentation. $5 USD of Yucca will yield 20 liters of Chicha, which, when boiled, creates an alcoholic quality which is highly desired. Maggie scored some homemade jewelry and pottery to bring back as gifts before leaving Rosa’s. Speeding back down the Napo as the sun was setting, we were treated to the specter of Sumaco Volcano in the distance, which sits separate from the Andean mountain chain.
One morning we spent time getting educated on micro financing, visiting the “Savings & Loan Forest Bank of Colonya Babahoyo”, meeting with the daughter-in-law of the organization’s Secretary, their focus being agricultural loans for growing corn and rice, raising pigs and chickens. A loan of $600 USD for planting corn can yield $1200 USD, a profit to the farmer of $600 USD. When paid off within the 6 months period, they can reapply for another loan. Other lesser ventures have been loaned money, e.g., furniture making. Our takeaway from this foray into the bowels of Ecuadorian Amazonia is one of admiration for the efforts of this visionary guy, Douglas, and what he has put together here in support of the local population to elevate their lives toward self-sufficiency and improved prosperity.
The last evening that we were all together was bittersweet where stories of Bolivia and Peace Corps work abounded. We topped off making chocolate from cacao beans which we brought with us from the Farm a day earlier, which now had been cracked open, shelled, and roasted, moving on to grinding it into a paste via a meat grinder with a unique attachment, sugar being added to sweeten, and then, the final process, CONSUMPTION!!!
Our 3 weeks away ended with Alonzo once more, this time being escorted to Coca, catching a flight to Quito, staying overnight near the airport before flying to Mexico City. We further broke up our return to Seattle via Dallas, being kind to our aging selves, by staying at the Marriott located inside the airport within a short walk to our gate.
Until the next adventure, Stan & Maggie