Tag 149: Life in the Jungle

8 o'clock, same game as yesterday. We meet with the others for breakfast. But there is one difference: today is my birthday! And because it always rains on my birthday, it is raining today too, and how. Today's agenda includes visiting a village in the jungle. Equipped with rain jackets, we get into the canoe. The rain is relentless. Initially motivated by the thought of showing and explaining animals to us, our guide quickly gives up, and we speed through the whipping rain to the village. The ride is anything but pleasant. We sit motionless in our seats, dressed in black rain jackets, looking down and with our eyes closed. The journey takes about an hour. Wet and cold, we arrive at a straw hut without walls. The mood is not the best. While we wait for the local woman who will cook something traditional with us, our guide shows us a blowgun that the natives use for hunting, and how to use it. It turns into a sort of competition. After everyone has tried their hand at the huge tube, the woman arrives. She has some cassava roots with her and will show us how to traditionally make 'casave'. We work together as a group, follow the woman's instructions, and struggle through the interesting process. Somewhere in the middle of the Ecuadorian jungle, protected from the rain under a straw roof. While we are busy preparing our lunch, a man joins our group. He is wearing a long blue robe, his neck adorned with several chains of leopard teeth and nutshell, and on his head is a crown of colorful feathers. He turns out to be the woman's husband and the shaman of the village. He is introduced to us, our guide has great respect for him. While we are still busy eating, we sit opposite him and ask him questions. He explains to us the existence of a shaman and where his healing powers come from. Basically, everything revolves around 'ayahuasca', a psychedelic plant brew. Our shaman decided at the age of 8 to follow in his grandfather's footsteps. His training consisted of taking the liquid hallucinogen daily, and the 'great shaman' would then speak to him in a trance and explain everything to him. We ask him all our questions, he answers them all, and shows us an example of how a traditional healing ceremony looks like with two young girls. Using a medium, in this case a handful of dried leaves, he strokes the diseases and negative energies out of the patient and transfers them to the medium while speaking incomprehensible words. If one does not believe in the shaman and his healing powers, one sees only a man in his mid-forties who has been taking strong drugs daily since the age of eight and earns his living by putting on an unconvincing show for foreign tourists. But as I said: only if one does not believe in him. We pay the shaman and his wife for their time and thank them respectfully. Our guide leads us through cocoa, banana, and coffee fields to the next village, where we meet very friendly locals. Our canoe is waiting for us on the riverbank. We head back to the lodge, but before we arrive, our guide has a surprise for us. Although fishing for piranhas is now illegal, the locals still do it. Our guide shows us how. We go to a quiet spot between the branches on the riverbank. He makes a fishing rod from a stick and a string. He uses a piece of fish as bait. He throws it into the murky water and hits the surface with the stick. 16 tourists eagerly watch the scene. It takes about 2 minutes, and our guide pulls out a rather large specimen from the water. He shows us the incredible biting force of the fish using a small stick as an example. Everyone can take a photo and he throws it back into the water. We head back to the lodge. After everyone has showered and recovered from the exciting day, we meet for dinner. As beautiful as the day was, it didn't feel like a birthday. Too many important people were missing. However, there is a little birthday celebration after all. After dinner, the lights suddenly go out, everyone starts singing, and a large chocolate cake with candles is brought in. A very special moment. So I celebrate with my new friends, we eat cake, listen to music, drink some very cheap rum, and play cards.