We went to Tena, which is little over a five hour bus trip from Quito (and I would have to say that buses are worse than flights, but they are such a super cheap way to travel that you just have to suck it up - it was only $6). The jungle was amazing. We had two guides that were so nice - Nixon/Monster (jungle monster) and Fausto/Rafting (because he's a rafting guide??). They only spoke Kichwa and Spanish, but spoke so clearly that we could understand everything. Every time we spoke english in front of them we felt awkward, so it was good practice for us to talk in spanish as much as we could. To get to our cabins we took a half hour ride further into the jungle and then walked about twenty minutes (they had hammocks!!). The two footbridges were slightly scary. They were very similar to the cheap bunk beds that just have a metal frame and wood slats - there were just loose wood slats and there were gaps (apparently there were a lot more gaps before but these were the improved version) and they would sway a lot. But they were better than trying to cross the river in canoes which is what they did before the bridges were built - when the river gets high crossing would be really difficult. As soon as we got to our cabin area we went swimming. The area was really pretty and the water was clear and cold. A nice change after a warm and humid hike.
After lunch we walked a loop and learned about the medicinal uses for a lot of the plants in the jungle. There were plants that contained penicillin, natural anesthetics (we bit into it and our tongues went numb - crazy), natural bandages and so many more. I have no idea how the guides knew so much, but I guess they grew up here (we had native Kichwa guides - they reject the Quechua spelling) and their grandparents and parents passed down their knowledge. Afterwards it was time for another swim, this time with natural shampoo. We crushed and rubbed leaves between our hands and it developed a lather and foam. Crazy! Although afterwards we smelled slightly like leaves, but it was better than gross sweat. After dinner we went to a bar that Nixon's sister's (we were debating about changing out of our baggy sweatpants, but it was barely big enough for all of us to sit) and it was basically under the stars. Without any light pollution, the night sky was gorgeous. We just sat that for over an hour and asked Nixon questions about his culture, the differences between peruvian kichwa and ecuadorian kichwa along with random questions. One of his parents is a shaman and he would have the option to be a shaman in the future (it passes hereditarily) but he has no interest. It was really nice to just hear him talk.
Day two. We woke up to rain. It was soothing to hear while you were sleeping (it rained most of the night and morning) but not so much fun to hike in. We were all prepared to deal, but the insects and animals also hide during the rainy periods. Instead we made bracelets out of a fiber that comes from a leaf and beads that came from plants (either as seeds or something similar). We saw how they put holes through the beads (a drill bite-like hand held crank machine). In the afternoon we took a hike and saw so many plants and trees. Just the landscape is gorgeous. We saw a banana tree, pineapple plant, the tree that they make maracas from and a billion more. The jungle is full of useful materials. And predictably, we took a swim after our hike. The river was too high to cross (there was a rock that we would swim to) due to all of the rain. Some people tried, but the current carried them a lot farther than the day before.
That night we were building up a bonfire for the shaman ritual when a couple people discovered a tarantula. The lighting was really poor as they were using candles for light (fyi not that effective at all outside) and one of the candles was within a foot of the spider. They got Nixon and the rest of us, but not after taking a lot of pictures of it and because it was night that meant that there were intense flashes. It was poisonous and slow until threatened when it could jump. He shooed it away with a stick and then held it down so we could touch the back half of it (after checking to see if it had the fangs to be able to bite - oh yep). It was so fuzzy and soft, not at all what I had expected. The shaman was a ninety year old woman, one of the strongest shamans in the area and the only woman (most Kichwa communities have three shamans). She went through a cleansing ceremony where she hit you all over with this bundle of leaves and blew smoke in your hair and hands in order to rid you of bad spirits and such. I swear she must have smoked at least ten cigarettes while she was there, but it was interesting to participate. That night I was so scared to sleep. Before going to Tena someone had mentioned to me that you would routinely wake up with spiders on your mosquito net and this time we had seen a tarantula on a porch of one of the cabins. One thing to touch a spider while it is being held immobile and another thing to have one right above you. Eeks!
No spiders thankfully, but we woke up to more rain (shocking when we're in the rainforest right?). Wasn't looking very good for our white water rafting trip. We packed up and headed out anyways - if rafting wasn't possible (because the river was too high) we would do a different activity. Rafting was a go and we got on the water. The water was sooo cold - it was a shock every time you would get splashed. And we pretty much had goosebumps for a majority of the time. We got out on a beach at one point solely in order to run around and warm up. They had this game where we split into three groups of five and stood behind lines. We were each numbered and one person from each group woudl run around, slide beneath their group's legs and try to touch the helmet in the middle first. Our team def won with five wins, but this also meant that you were covered head to toe in sand on your front side. Sam had a sand beard. But there were big waves and the scenery was really pretty. Since it was raining there was a lot of mist in the distance so the jungle would slowly fade into white. And the waterfalls cascading into the river were really pretty too. We gave one of the kayakers (who were there to save us if we fell out and got too far from the boat) a waterproof camera to capture our adventure. Along with that he took a lot of pictures and a video of Nixon - they love taking pictures of each of other. The only sad thing was that there were cables to run electrical cords over the river so that they could search for oil. In the middle of the beautiful, untouched rainforest.
We got out of the water, got hot coffee (instant as always) and got into dry clothes. We had a warm meal and then headed home on a bus. Five and a half hours later we were home in Quito. It was nice and comforting to see the city lights of Quito when we got close. Homeee with nice beds and a warm shower.
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