In the jungle, the mighty jungle...

Today we went to visit a Quichua tribe; which are the indigenous people in the area. Before leaving, we were fitted with rubber boots for the mud ahead. After learning our European sizes, most of us were given tall black boots. Of course Amy only fit into kids’ boots and, after finding a hole in his boot, Bob ended up sporting stylish white boots.

Equipped with machetes, our guides Nelson, from Alinauahi, and one of the indigenous Quichua men took us on a hike to see local agricultural crops around the village. These included bananas, coffee, cacao (chocolate), corn, and cassava. As Nelson hacked a path with the machete, the trail appeared to be more of a jungle than our idea of an agricultural area. We snacked along the way on wild fruits that Nelson picked for us. Our favorite was ripe cacao, which has a sweet white membrane around the seed that we are more familiar with. It seemed strange to spit out the seed!

We then visited the home of an indigenous Quichua family. They prepared their traditional drink. This drink, made from fermented cassava, was originally prepared by chewing the cassava, spiting it into a pot, and boiling. However, now bananas or sweet potato are added to start the fermentation process. This made us feel a little better about drinking it. Our trip to the indigenous village ended with a visit to a woman selling jewelry made from seeds that she collected in the forest strung on palm fibers. As we left the village, Grace made friends with the local children by giving them lollipops. Thanks for the tip, George!

After lunch, we visited Ishpingo Botanical Garden at the Jatun Sacha Biological Station. We learned that Jatun Sacha’s mission is the conservation of Amazon flora and also community outreach. Jatun Sacha is comprised of 4,500 acres, 15 of which are a botanical garden. We toured the garden with Ishpingo’s staff member, David, learning about the plants used by the indigenous people of the Amazon for food and medicinal purposes. David showed us everything from leaves that cure stomach ace, to a plant that gives you night vision, to jungle Viagra, to a hallucinogenic drink that also cures stomach cancer. We also painted ourselves with the lipstick plant, who’s bright orange seeds are more commonly used to color food. We learned that the garden was named after the endangered Amazonian cinnamon tree. The fragrant leaves of this tree are made into a tea to treat stomach problems. The staff at Jatun Sacha is working with Missouri Botanic Garden to propagate species like this for Amazon reforestation efforts. We then saw the nursery and learned that the garden runs with 3 full time staff members, and up to 50 volunteers. We were surprised to find that the garden receives only 30-40 tourists per month, many of which are native Ecuadorians. The staff and volunteers produce seeds at the garden which they distribute to local villages. They also educate the people in the indigenous villages to plant sustainable crops that will help rebuild the soil.

After returning to the cabins, Grace and Tee Jay took a dip in the Napo river, which feeds the Amazon river. Then we all had a dinner of plantain soup, a whole, and we mean whole, Tilapia fish cooked in a banana leaf, with cassava, an avocado salad, and fruit for dessert. This was much better than the chicken soup that we had for lunch, since Amy didn’t find any chicken claws in her food this time. After a couple rounds of cerveza and marathon rounds of Uno, we turned in to rest up for tomorrow’s hike in primary and secondary forests.

** Tune in tomorrow, when we will tackle the slow internet again to catch you up on our last couple adventures! **