where were we...? i remember just starting to tell you about our rafting excursion down the branch of the amazon river. it was comical to see 9 gringos and 1 ecuadorian floating on 9 black tire tubes tied together haphazardly. jenny, lo and and i were relaxing in the canoe, which drifted down the river behind the tubes, engine off. it was reminiscent of summers in oregon, when we would pile into inflatable rafts and tubes and make our way down the clackamas river, trying to stay cool in oregon's version of summer heat.
my seasons are all thrown off here. i see instagram posts of the snopocalypse that hit the east coast a while back, and hear stories from my family and pete of epic days skiing hood. but in the amazon it is always 70 something and so humid it feels like you're breathing underwater. the humidity is so intense i could easily be convinced the temp is pushing 100F. it cools slightly when it rains, but the air gets even heavier with moisture and i am not sure it is worth the trade off. overall, though, i like the weather - it is nice to be warm always and my skin never needs lotion like it does in oregon. and if you're really desperate to cool down you can always retreat to the icy showers - freezing 24/7 :)
after our "tubing" (or more accurately floating) excursion we headed back to the lodge. lo, anne, leah and i decided to hike back to the lookout in the jungle for the sunset. we set off covered in bugspray and sporting our muck boots (the only two essentials needed in this rainforest). we passed a futbal game on a cement block surrounded by swamp after the recent rains. when the ball went rolling off into a marsh near the trail we walked on, the closest player, sporting his converse futbal shoes, reluctantly stared at it, clearly contemplating if it was worth the sacrifice of his clean, dry shoes. i thought he might kiss me when i tromped over, mid calf deep in mud, picked up the ball, and tossed it to him. such is life in the rainforest.
we wandered through a small village on our way to the trail. chickens cleared the path as we passed. children gawked and some managed a tentative "hola", which we returned enthusiastically. the number of wipe out close calls was more than statistically should have been possible without someone actually falling - muck boots: great for keeping the mud off, terrible for traction.
we eventually made it to the lookout, sweating so profusely my clothes were drenched and i was dripping - this seems to be a trend of the amazon. it is so gorgeous here photos dont do it justice. we decided to head back before the actual sunset, dependent on the lingering daylight without our trusty leader, robert. we retreated back to the resort that used to be the eco lodge until it was recently sold. this place is beyond words.... let me try... a massive deck jutting out of the jungle and overlooking the river and rainforest. bats swoop around eating up insects (which makes me very happy) in the dusky hours of sunset and the clouds glow a spectrum of pinks, oranges and reds. as we stood there taking in the beauty we were approached by a man. we instinctively "hola"-ed him, and he responded in english... an american? no, obviously a canadian after a few minutes of speaking with him....
he is one of the coordinators for the program: free the children (apparently started by a 12 year old boy), that gives high schoolers the opportunity to travel to amazing places around the world and do volunteer work and experience areas in the world they might otherwise not have the luxury to travel to. he listed a handful of amazing places in africa and se asia where they also have program bases. they are the ones who bought the lodge from this guy, douglas, who was in some debt and looking to build a different lodge across the river - which is in process now. it is all a little confusing but this is what i gather of the situation. either way this guy talked to us some about his program and asked what we were doing here and it was fun to share and learn... boy do i wish i could have gone to a "camp" like that when i was in high school!!
he did say it is a ton of work to maintain a wood eco lodge in the jungle because the place is constantly trying to digest itself. that is the job of the jungle. maybe this is a well-known fact but the rainforest soil is super nutrient poor - and if you cut down the insane number of plants that are able to grow on every square foot here, you end up with soil so awful you cant grow crops - which is one of the reasons it makes no sense to destroy the jungle for farming. the reason the rainforest grows so wild despite nutrient poor soil is because it provides it's own nutrients. the leaves and biomatter that fall from the plants decomposes rapidly into detritus and that is the nutrient matter that the plants use to grow like they're on steroids. hence, the jungle's job is to digest, rapidly, even the eco lodge, and anything else built here. this poor guy said it feels like he is replacing boards and planks daily - a lot of work to keep up with the rainforest.
we said our goodbyes and continued home. the chickens we had passed on our way out where now half dead and laying in their own blood on the deck of a small shack, where a woman stood, blood-stained hands, ready to prepare dinner. the line between pets and dinner here is very foggy... the futbol game was still going on. the sunset kept getting better as we walked and i couldnt help but keep stopping to take photos. there are these nests here that are like 5 feet long and the shape of a baseball in a tube stock (?) so that the opening is at the very top and the nest with the eggs is at the very bottom - this serves great protection from animals. the tucan is really only animal with a beak long enough to get down in there but they are so narrow that the tucan's beak often will get stuck. robert says if we see one of these nests on the ground often you will find tucan bones stuck in the opening... i just thought of that because there were many of these nests on our walk home and they are so interesting.
after dinner we were entertained by the high school students with a show and dance. they were in traditional clothing and showed us how they prepared meals and then did this awesome dance where they create their music and beat with the beads dangling from everything they wear, just by swaying their bodies back and fourth. it was super cool. once they finished they went to change, the spanish r&b music came on, and the real dance party began. it was total chaos. a bunch of high school students and us. lo and i could only watch and clap along, we were exhausted and soon retreated to our room to fall asleep to the sound of that gangnam song - what must the jungle animals think about all of this?! :)
ok, gotta run, but i will blog about our trip back to quito and our last few days in the city when i can...
i head back to portland tomo!! wish me safe travels and give me a call sunday if you're bored, i'll have lots of layover time...
xo
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