Each night before going to bed here at Yachana, I’ve been purposefully taking a cold shower. It’s the most refreshing part of the day and allows me to get going much faster in the morning. I woke up before the 6 a.m. sunrise again this morning (Wednesday), quickly got dressed and walked up to the dining and river overlook area to see birds. Jefferson and Guillermo were already there and invited me out on a short bird walk before breakfast. Actually it was more of a ride in the Yachana truck to a birding area a ways down the gravel road. Again we saw quite a few birds and some new ones for me. More than 400 species of birds have been seen in the Yachana area. Amazing!
We returned for a 7:30 breakfast, with Nathan passing time in the dining area by talking to Hilary, the American volunteer. At the end of breakfast, Robert described the day’s three activities: visiting a local farmer, seeing the health clinic being built by the Yachana Foundation, and then visiting a local Kichwa healer in the afternoon.
The Yachana truck took Robert, Nathan and I at about 9 a.m. to the farm, where the farmer, Fabian, told us about the native stingless bees he has that pollinate and make special medicinal honey. He also showed and talked about the cacao and other fruit he grows and we were able to sample them all. Native Ecuadorian oranges have green peels, which is interesting.
About 10:30 we were driven to the Yachana health clinic that is still being built, and Douglas McMeekin was there to explain the funding, staff and volunteers they’re looking for to get it running. We also saw the Foundation’s permaculture projects. Douglas has invested 30 years of his life to this endeavor and it’s impressive.
We returned to the lodge for a lunch of tilapia fish, a staple of their diet because it’s easy to raise in ponds. Before lunch was served Nathan helped Robert with some audio recording equipment that will be used to record Yachana’s bird songs. Then about 3:30 Robert, Hilary, Katty (an Ecuadorian staff member), Nathan and I were driven to the Napo River. There, a motorized boat awaited to take us to the Kichwa village that was about 10 minutes away down the river. So we climbed aboard.
In the village Jose, the 84-year-old healer, performed a cleansing ceremony for each of us, meant to restore a healthy balance. The ceremony involved smoke from a traditional Kichwa cigar and a small bunch of leaves brushed over us. Robert provided a description of the background before Jose started.
After the cleansing, we went up into the home of her and his wife, where Rosa, his wife, showed us how boiled yuca root was pounded into chicha, a fermented liquid that’s a staple of the Kichwa diet. As the last demonstration in the village, we were shown how to use a blow gun and spear, important tools the Kichwa use still to kill local wild animals for food.
Then we returned in the motorized boat, stopping to drift down the river a bit while watching a beautiful sunset at 6 p.m. Dinner was at 7:30 and was another delicious meal with tiramisu as dessert.
Although it was very hot and humid again today, it was easier to take because our activities were less strenuous. But it reached 94 degrees again. We’re just more used to sweating constantly.
It’s 9 p.m. now and the power just went out. I probably won’t be able to publish this until Thursday morning.
Thursday update: the power came back on at midnight but the internet never became available before we left Yachana Thursday morning, so that’s why this post was delayed.
Lori's Travels 