Pastaza, Ecuador (The Amazon) - Day 3

Saturday, January 29

Today was our third day spent in the Amazon Rainforest about 30 minutes outside Puyo, Ecuador & we’re becoming more and more comfortable with our surroundings each passing day. It always takes the first day or two in a new place to get acclimated.

This morning, the indigenous Kichwa family we’re staying with this week served fresh fruit, yogurt, fry bread, fried eggs and yucca tostadas stuffed with cheese for breakfast (another feast!) + hot chocolate and juice. It all tasted wonderful, but I think the four of us were still full from all the food we ate yesterday. Definitely not starving on this trip in the Amazon!

Visiting the Amazon is everything we dreamed it to be & more. There are just enough creature comforts (like beds and delicious foods) to make our experience comfortable, but the lack of other luxuries like internet access, unlimited access to toilet paper or having running water make it feel more like camping. I also wish we spoke Spanish. We’re staying in the home of a lovely family whom we can barely communicate with. I desperately wish we could converse with them more than through the basic Spanish we know and understand. All the more reason to continue studying.

Today, we spent the day in another indigenous community about 30 minutes away. We took the community bus to get there. Henry’s parents, Geronimo and Marcelina, came along as well as Henry’s nephew, Jack. I’m guessing Jack is about 5 or 6 years old. We had to take two canoe trips across the Puyo River because there were so many of us, then together we walked the jungle trail that leads to the main roadway.

The community bus is actually a small school bus that was just big enough for the eight of us. There were more people out and about this morning — presumably since it’s Saturday. Small tiendas (convenience stores that sell snacks, ice cream, drinking water and soda) were busy with people sitting at tables conversing with one another.

Aden and Jack on the bus…

The bus made a quick stop by the local sugar cane factory. Henry purchased two liters of Coca-Cola and water & delivered them as payment for us getting to take a look around the factory. Here, the workers strip the sugar cane and then boil it down for about an hour to make sugar. We didn’t get an official tour, just wandered through to see them working and got a sample of the sugar to taste.

The four of us popped the piece of sugar cane candy into our mouths without a second thought while I watched Jack slowly lick his for the next 20 minutes. It made me realize how fortunate we are to have all the experiences we do — I’m not sure if he get treats very often, but he sure savored this one.

Back on the bus, we drove for another 15 minutes to the next Kichwa community. Two men happily greeted us at the bus. Henry told us one of them is his uncle — his mother’s brother. We shook hands hello, then followed them over a bridge and down a path to the local watering hole. Inside the treehouse bar overlooking the Puyo River, the men passed around homemade moonshine kept in plastic water bottles while Tory, Aden and Jack played outside on a hammock swing. As we were leaving, Andi whispered, “I don’t know what that was but I have a buzz now.” It was 10:30am. Ha ha.

The eight of us (our family + Henry’s family + his uncle and cousin) left the bar and continued walking down the path to Pakcha Takina. From what we gathered, Henry’s uncle created this elaborate waterfall swimming hole as pandemic project in hopes to bring the community and tourists together. Music played from the restaurant on the hilltop.

Andi, Tory, Aden and I changed into our swimming suits and took a dip in the lake. The water was very clean and felt refreshing in the hot, humid weather. Somewhere, Jack scrounged up shorts to swim in as well, and the kids bounced around between the deeper lake and shallow swimming hole more suitable for kids. I don’t think Jack could swim very well because when Tory and Aden were playing in the big lake, he sat next to me on a rock and watched. He patted my leg and touched my wedding ring & was going on and on about “perros” until I figured out that he was telling me about Paw Patrol.

Around 1:00pm, we changed out of our swimming suits and headed to the restaurant for lunch. Henry took the liberty of ordering us two fish entrees and two chicken entrees + a pitcher of iced tea. The fish and the chicken were steamed in banana leaves over an open fire. This is a very typical way of cooking any meat in Ecuador. Each plate was served with pantacones, steamed yucca, limes, and a cilantro salsa.

Andi asked Henry if the restaurant had forks and Henry responded with a puzzled look. I’m not sure if he didn’t understand the English translation of the word, or if he didn’t know why we’d want silverware in the first place. Finally, he told us to use our hands to eat. I’d be fine with that if we regularly washed our hands here (there isn’t running water in most places, let alone soap). Additionally, we harp on Aden at nearly every meal about using silverware instead of his hands & now we were telling him it was OK to use his fingers. Andi and I had to laugh — talk about mixed messages!

After lunch, the kids entertained themselves by throwing a net into the tilapia pond. On one of their attempts, Tory accidentally let the net go and it ended up in the middle of the pond. “I can’t just leave it there,” Andi said, so he decided to wade in after it. He must’ve sunk at least knee deep into the mud. The look on his face told us it wasn’t a very pleasant experience.

Just then, Henry called us all over toward the restaurant and said everyone was hiking up to the 3rd waterfall about 15 minutes into the jungle. There were no switchbacks up this mountain — the trail climbed straight up a dirt path through switchgrass, mud and jungle. The air was hot & sticky. I could sense Tory starting to have a meltdown — she does not like being hot, or for that matter, hiking very much. It was muddy and her rain boots were slipping as she climbed. Meanwhile, both of Henry’s parents, his uncle, cousin, Jack, and a few other teenage boys were climbing up the trail without a problem. Poor Jack was wearing soccer cleats for shoes, one of the teenagers was wearing flip flops and another one was barefoot, so Tory didn’t have much room to complain.

Nevertheless, I could feel an outburst coming. Hey — I get it, we all have those moments sometimes. Just before the waterfall, Tory slipped on a wet rock and began to cry. I told the group to go ahead & I’d wait with Tory.

Andi and Aden climbed on with Henry & the rest of the group. Andi said the waterfall was amazing. Huge boulders were placed there by the Incas over 500 years ago & this area was used for ceremonial rituals and healing.

Everyone climbed back down the muddy trail toward the restaurant. I was amazed by Geronimo and Marcelina’s energy & ability to do all this walking, let alone climb up a slippery waterfall trail. Henry said his dad is 74 years old and his mom is 65 years old. Pretty impressive!

Together, our group left Pakcha Takina and started walking on a gravel trail toward home. About 30 minutes into our walk, Henry stopped at another lake with various outdoor activities. This place was called Gringo Yaku. Who knew there were so many waterpark-type places in the Amazon Rainforest?

A man greeted our group as we walked up the path & invited us to entertain ourselves with any of the equipment we saw around the lake. There were canoes, rafts, tubes and a big rope swing. We changed back into our swimming suits and jumped into the water. Once again, it felt great to cool off after a hot afternoon walk.

Andi took a quick dip in the water and then sat at a table on the side of the lake devouring the establishment’s wifi. It was the first time we’d had a lick of internet service in three days. I continued to play with Tory, Aden and Jack in the water. The kids paddled me around on the raft and we rescued Jack multiple times after he kept throwing his canoe paddles in the water.

Later, the kids and I joined Andi, Henry, Geronimo and Marcelina in the restaurant for snacks and drinks.

After an hour or so, our group started the long walk back home. We walked for what seemed like forever through farm fields, jungle forests, and muddy paths. No one talked; we were all hot, sweaty and tired. Marcelina helped Jack across some of the muddiest spots by giving him a piggy-back ride. Once again, I was in awe of her physical ability. Somehow, my rain boots were covered in mud, but her bare feet in sandals were clean.

Our group walked two miles in an hour, but somehow it felt like 10. My legs hurt and I was dripping in sweat. Henry said if we hurried, we could catch the bus to ride the rest of the way home. That lit a fire under all of us and we pushed the rest of the way toward civilization.

We arrived at a tienda (convenience store) by the bus stop. Henry offered to buy us some bottled water. Tory and Aden begged for a popsicle, and Andi obliged. The kids did such a great job walking all that way without complaining. He also bought one for Geronimo, Marcelina and Jack. We sat on the street curb and ate our treats while we waited for the bus to arrive.

Finally, the bus pulled up and we rode to the bus station closest to Henry’s family property. From there, we walked the half-mile path from the road to the Puyo River and then canoed across to home. Phew! What a busy, fun day.

Back at our cabin, Andi, Tory, Aden, and I did our best to wipe ourselves off and cool down. Had I known, I wish I would have brought a pack of baby wipes to clean ourselves off with (or to use when going the bathroom). We relaxed, read books and played cards in our cabin until dinnertime.

Just before dinner, Henry asked Andi if we’d like to take showers. Andi said yes, so Henry heated up a metal pan of water over the open fire to make hot water. He provided our family with a 5-gallon bucket of boiling water and another bucket of cold rainwater collected in a barrel. There is no running water. Using a plastic pitcher, Andi demonstrated how to scoop up hot water and then mix it with cold water to get the desired temperature. Then after soaping up, you dump the pitcher of water onto yourself to wash. Andi and Aden showered first, and then it was Tory and I’d turn. I didn’t even attempt to wash our hair because we definitely didn’t have enough water or patience to do so.

Dinner was served at 7:00pm. I’m sure cooking dinner was the last thing Marcelina felt like doing after a day of adventuring. I hope her daughters helped prepare the meal for her. The four of us ran to the kitchen area ducked under our raincoats. We ate chicken, rice, steamed vegetables, and French fries, plus lemongrass hot tea.

As we ate, a small group of Henry’s family gathered at the table. I love their emphasis on family time and togetherness. One baby was asleep in the hammock and a few other kids were resting on their parent’s laps. Poor Jack looked exhausted with his eyes glazed and his mouth agape.

We said good-night to everyone and retired to our cabin. It was raining as we fell asleep which was relaxing to listen to the rain pound on the metal roof. Tomorrow is our last full day in the Amazon jungle. I wonder what adventure is in store.