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Limerence Update #44
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Our five-day trip to the Amazon River was full of discovery for us. Led by our enthusiastic guide, we slogged through a jungle so thick there was no trail to follow and met an authentic Huitotos Indian Chief. We were guided by dugout canoe up mighty Amazon tributaries to a Yagua Indian reserve, got our faces painted in tribal fashion, and learned how to handle a blowgun. We listened to stories from Amazonians about life in an ecosystem of jungle and river, and learned how the Amazon water level varies in the rainy season flooding a huge fertile plain. We had snacks at a riverbank cafe in Peru, lunch in a Brazilian village, and dinner in Leticia, Colombia. We were introduced to the largest species of snake in the world, the Anaconda. At sunset, we watched thousands of bats fill the sky to swoop down on insects, and at dawn were awakened by hundreds of chattering parrots in flight. The Amazon River is a wild place with very unique people |
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We were curious about the Amazon region because the Amacayacu National Park of
Colombia sits on a tiny point at 4 degrees south of the Equator, bordering Peru and
Brazil. The mighty Amazon River dissects the countries. The Colombian town of Leticia
would give us the chance to see a bit of the ecosystem of the Amazon River, and an
opportunity to set foot in several countries. We learned that the Amazon is over four
thousand miles long, starting high in the Peruvian Andes Mountains, gathering thousands
of streams together and draining an area larger than the continental United States. The
people of Colombia, Peru, and Brazil, are "Amazonians" and live from richness of
the
river and the surrounding jungle. Looking down from the airplane, the jungle looked like
hundreds of miles of dense broccoli with a vast, muddy river snaking through it.
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Leticia is a frontier Colombian town perched between Brazil and Peru. It is a wild-west
sort of place with hundreds of motorbikes carrying two or three people each, roaring up
and down the dusty streets. An eclectic assortment of small shops, novelty stores, and
cafes line the crumbling sidewalks. Despite the fact that August is the "dry"
season, it
rained almost daily and everyone wore gumboots and rugged clothing. We stayed at the
Anaconda Hotel . . . not fancy, but the best place in town! Packs of dogs roamed the
streets foraging for food, and groups of people socialized around carts selling arepas,
meats, and fried foods. Several blocks from the hotel and down the muddy sloping streets
were the banks of the tributary rivers leading to the Amazon River. That was the reason
we came to this place. In our brief visit we found the people friendly and generous, with
a
reverence for the riches of the Amazon River.
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Our package tour included a jungle hike, visits with several indigenous Indian tribes, and
two river trips including a stop in the Amacayacu National Park. Our guide was a rugged
Brazilian named Luis Valera - "Lucho" - who had the most energetic and
optimistic
personality. He has quite a reputation having worked with Jacques Cousteau and the
National Geographic Magazine. We were lucky to be in such capable company! There
were between three and six people in our group.
The first morning, a Japanese tourist joined us, and Lucho escorted the three of us to a
small rehabilitation zoo. Several tapirs surrounded us as we picked leaves from the low
hanging trees for them to eat. They were free to roam the grounds and are very friendly
animals. We reached into a small pool and petted a manatee munching happily on lettuce
leaves floating on the surface. There were two cream colored Curusha Owls that were so
beautiful we couldn't take our eyes off of them. Several monkeys, a caiman pond, birds
and eagles, filled out the zoo, as well as two huge Anaconda snakes. All the animals are
eventually released back into the jungle.
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Our next stop was to meet a Huitotos Indian Chief. The three of us were seated on logs in
the center of his tribal maloca, which is a large thatched hut. The structure is sacred
and
the focal point of important functions in the community. Chief Hitoma entered and
quietly smoked a pipe while he gathered his thoughts. He was a tall, lean Indian with a
chiseled face. He wore dark shorts, a feather headdress, and a necklace of boar's teeth.
He spoke in perfect Spanish for fifteen minutes about the virtues of natural cocaine. He
explained that it is healthful and necessary for the native people to ingest it to provide
the
endurance to walk for many days in the jungle. He reverently explained that it cures a
myriad of diseases. Western civilization has ruined cocaine by adding chemicals and
creating an addictive monster. He wished for us to take this lesson back to our friends.
The Chief then prepared a small bowl of coca and crushed burned leaves. Doug quickly
gave me a nervous "I'm not eating this stuff" look. Within a minute the Chief
approached
him and ordered him to open his mouth and stick out his tongue. Doug obeyed. The Chief
spooned a large helping of the ashes on his tongue. We each held the mixture in our
mouths as instructed. The concoction tasted like burned leaves, but numbed our tongue
and gums, so it must have been the real stuff. We were now prepared for our jungle hike.
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Lucho provided us with tall rubber boots and yellow ponchos for our hike into the forest.
It had just rained for an hour, and he apologized for the condition of the jungle. Lucho
reminded us that it is "just muddy water" as we slogged through the knee deep
sticky
mud calculating the placement of each step on the oozing jungle floor. The primary forest
was thick and dense and we lost our balance several times falling into the thorny brush.
There was no path to follow and we felt vaguely claustrophobic. The towering trees and
huge ferns gave us the feeling of being in the land of giants. We have never seen such a
wild place. The jungle closed over the footprints behind us. Without Lucho, we would be
hopelessly lost. I set my jaw and wondered why the heck we are doing this? This eco-
hike was NOT fun, as we were all a wet muddy mess. Lucho maintained his cheery
personality and bounded forward coaching us through the three-hour ordeal. We had a
feeling of satisfaction as we poured the muddy water out of our boots at the end of the
hike. However, no one was anxious to do it again.
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It was a relief the next morning to have a boat tour of the Amazon River. We cautiously
tiptoed on wood planks down the steep muddy riverbank and boarded a narrow plank
canoe with a motor. Our driver had a warm smile, huge mustache, and looked like Wyatt
Earp. I definitely had confidence in this person. He and Lucho guided us up the swirling
yellow river to Peru, where we had snacks in an open-air café, and marveled at our
location in the midst of three countries. During the ride, we stopped at a small island
and
fed bananas to the Capuchin monkeys. Later, over lunch in Brazil, Lucho lovingly
explained the techniques of family head shrinking. We tried not to look too amazed. It is
still a common practice among traditional Indians to shrink the heads of dead relatives
and keep them in a special place in the house. The bark of the Invira tree is used for the
simple process. After that story, we were happy to go back to the hotel in mid-afternoon
and collapse for a siesta.
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We gathered early the next morning for a marathon ride up the Amazon River to the
village of Punto Narino. Lucho promised we would see the famous delfines rosados, or
pink dolphins, living in the river. The dolphins never made an appearance even though
we spent the whole day on the river and kept a sharp lookout as we toured.
In mid-morning we approached a small Yagua Indian village, and the children raced
down the muddy riverbank to greet us! The kids curiously trailed behind us as we
trudged up the steep hill to the village. Several Yaguas wore the traditional neckpiece
and
skirt of stiff leaf fibers, while most men and children wore shorts and t-shirts. The
women
always wear a dress. We exchanged introductions and one of the Yagua men opened an
orange seedpod and began painting our faces. Next they produced a six-foot blowgun and
showed us the toothpick slim darts they had made with black poison tips. A makeshift
target was drawn in the mud on the side of the hill, and one of the men demonstrated his
skill by hitting the face of the target with a dart. He motioned to Doug to step over.
Doug
took the blowgun, aimed, and hit the target dead center!! Everyone cheered as Doug
bowed to the audience! After buying a monkey skull and a few trinkets, we bid our
goodbyes and returned to our wood plank canoe.
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A short visit to the Amacayacu National Natural Park and Colombian village of Punto
Narino took until late afternoon. Dark clouds were gathering and it began to rain. We had
a three-hour return trip to make upriver. By six o'clock we were motoring at high speed
in the dark nervously clutching the sides of the boat with Lucho perched on the bow
holding a spotlight. The twinkling lights of Leticia were in the distance and lightening
cracked overhead. To our relief we made it safely to the dock, and climbed up the steep
muddy hill back to town.
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The Amazon River is a special place, endowed with the most varied natural and cultural
resources in South America. Hearing about the river life and piranhas, meeting groups of
indigenous Indians, seeing the huge lotus blossoms in the lakes and thick jungle canopy
was intriguing for us. Our brief visit was enhanced because of what we learned from our
wonderful guide, Lucho. The Colombian portion of the Amazon River isn't a five-star
vacation, but a fascinating paradise with plenty of adventure!
Fair winds friends,
Doug and Judy
Note: Our trip with Anaconda Tours Leticia, was organized from Cartagena by Convi
Travel, Patricia Perdomo manager 664-9701.
