Wednesday, December 3, 2008

From Amarongachia to Shangri-la

This tale of a trip through the Amazon will take you on a journey from Amarongachia (Indigenous Quichua word meaning "hunting ground of the boa") to Shangri-la ("a remote paradise where life approaches perfection, ideal for relaxing and developing a connection with the natural world").

Quick timeframe:
Departure - November 15th, 7:00 AM
Stay at Cabanas Amarongachi - November 15th-16th
Stay at Cabanas Shangrila - November 17th-20th
Return - November 21st, 4:30 PM

Prestart: November 14th, 9:00 PM
Hiking pack sits in the corner of the room behind the Samsonite wheeler. A steady supporter that usually takes a back seat to the smaller bookbag, needs a dusting before being summoned back to the front ranks. Repellent 32% deet CHECK. Impenetrable rain shells CHECK. Arsenal of quick drying gear CHECK. Headlamp CHECK. Freezer size Ziploc back of medications - Epipen included - that the influenced son of two doctors would not enter the Amazon without CHECK.
It's go time.

November 15th, 6:00 Am
While I struggle to rouse myself from the horizontal to the vertical, Stan, the 63 year old adventurous student from Colorado, also going on the Amazon trip, frightens his Japanese compatriot, Shige, awake with his energetic outbursts of excitement. It's unknown how the profs, Fredy and Sylvana, or the fourth student, Kat, meet the morning light. Regardless, we, the crew manage to conform to appropriate time schedules, unite at the language school at 7:00 AM, and are aboard the Amazonas bus line at 8:00 AM. After six hours, we arrive in Tena, our outfit point for getting boots, eating lunch, and signing away our rights on the waiver forms. The evening ushers in a fitting rainstorm just as we begin our hike to our cabins, but, thanks to the impenetrable rain gear, everybody arrives safely and commences on the evening medicinal hike. Our first taste of the Amazon is quite literal. A plant that helps repel mosquitoes, another for blood circulation, and a third for headaches. Naturally medicated, we all drift to sleep ready for the beginning.

November 16th and 17th
The morning view is absolutely gorgeous. Banana leaf palms skirt the left while lush greenery gives way to the Rio Jatunyacu in front. Amarongachi, quite the place to sink into one of the many hammocks. Unfortunately, the hammock is not on schedule for the morning. Instead, we endure four hours of classes in the heat and humidity (started almost every morning of the week like this). The cascadas hike is our first test scheduled for this balmy Sunday. Surprised to hear that Stan is planning to attempt the climb, we exit the protection of the lodge in our rubber boots. The plan is to follow a creek up a nearby slope and ascend three waterfalls along the route. Unlike earlier, we are now thankful for the sunshine and the refreshing climb to come. The hike is gorgeous as expected, from the highly unnatural, but greatly appreciated tree ladder, to the occasional collection ponds that call for refreshing dips. Stan, remembering his college days in climbing club, manages to climb each of the waterfalls, obtain a battle scar while submersing himself in the water hole , and traverse the intertwined vegetation blanketing the entire descent to the cabins. Thankfully, the following morning calls for a relaxing float down the river while our professor, Sylvana, recovers from the hallucinogenic afterthoughts of a Shamanic Cleansing Ritual.

Necessary excerpt on Stan:
A true inspiration for anyone. Age 63. Height 5 foot 10. Of average build, slight gut, and sparse hair. The same individual that startled Shige awake with his triple-threat stance and enthusiastic bellow on day 1. A man from Colorado who can teach us all an important lesson about living. I was strongly impacted by Stan's presence and could not resist telling him how much I appreciated having him along. He exuded a positive and youthful glow, ripe for experiencing new adventures. I was naturally curious as to what would motivate a retired 63 year old to travel alone to Ecuador and enroll in a Spanish language school with no past knowledge of the language? His explanation..."I was in Wal-Mart one day with a good friend of mine shopping for some household supplies. Observing the bi-lingual signs written in Spanish and English, I casually joked about some of the Spanish words. I did not know what I was talking about, but thought there was some humor in the writing. My friend, however, who was well-versed in her Spanish ability, told me that prior to joking I should think about learning the language and understanding the culture...and so...here I am. A month in language school in Quito followed by a couple weeks in Peru, all interspersed with some travels. Ideas?" Fabulous. Truly living life knowing life can only be lived once!

November 18th-20th
Morning. Sun rises to lift the shadows from our new home, Shangrila. We arrived yesterday under the double-cover of night and a thick, leafy canopy that rendered our attempts at orientation useless. The face-lift at dawn, however, gives way to an unbelievable view below. Situated on a cliff overlooking the Rio Anzu, we can the see the "S" of a river carrying the browns of the jungle floor along its path through the lush greenery. Indescribable beauty yet to be explored. As quickly as we have absorbed our surroundings we are placed within them. An hour hike and we find a new creek to follow through the rainforest of my imagination. Terraces of spider webs, spade shaped leaves the size of my torso, lemon ants for a snack during pause, slippery black rocks, beady-eyed bats peppering the canyon walls, innumerable vines growing upon vines, the constant drip-drop of droplets, this is the Amazon.

The next day we stay at water's-edge to travel in tubes to the local indigenous community of Santa Monica. We meet Monica, the village's namesake herself, and share an afternoon sip of the traditional drink, chicha de yuca. Here, where the village elder is the doctor, the advice giver, the shaman, the store owner, the trader, and more, life slows down to a peaceful pace, kids invent games without electrical foundations, and animals pick at bananas growing on trees. Everything ticks to the clock of nature in harmonious melody. On return, dusk creeps in inviting the evening ecosystem of insects that builds itself around the lights near the outdoor sinks. The glow attracts a swarm of flying bugs that naturally cease flying and become food for the larger crawlers. These crawlers then attract the insects that had never before entered my imagination. Cockroaches best kept yards a way, grasshoppers with spikes on their legs, tarantulas with furry protrusions, ants the size of my thumb, butterflies that could pass as leaves, tree branches that walk the wall, this is the Amazon.

From Amarongachia to Shangrila we shared in many a card game of Capitalism, did not let a moment pass without laughter, enhanced an already strong appreciation for nature, and experienced a new world of life. This was the Amazon!

Note: Many more pictures in the slideshow below!