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!

Listo (Ready)

Ready to write following a long absence. There is much to tell. The blog dropped off the face of Earth prior to an adventure filled weekend in Ecuador's outdoor thrill town, Banos. Knowing that the feriados (public holidays) are great weekends for travel, we had been patiently waiting for a three day'r to approach to allow for a trip to Banos. Finally, with one in our sites we booked our hostel for the first weekend of November. We left at first light on Saturday morning, so we could arrive as the sun switched directions, with time to set our bearings and go for a nearby hike. Spotting a cafe set into the ridge overlooking Banos, we quickly decided that that would be the ideal destination for the evening. A couple hours uphill and dripping from the afternoon showers, we sneaked, well out of place, into the Cafe del Cielo (Cafe of the Sky). The cafe, technically open to the public, is in actuality a main snacking destination for residents of the nearby Luna Runtun hotel, a pricey vacation spot for classy travelers. Without hesitation though, we took advantage of the open to public policy, took our seats, ordered our cappuccinos, and enjoyed a nice game of cards with Banos unraveling beneath us.

The next day called for an early start. Rented mountain bikes beneath us, we pedaled out of town and onto the 21 km Ruta de las Cascadas (Route of the Waterfalls). A common route taken by many travelers, this largely downhill ride was fabulous, aside from the one pitch black tunnel we were required to pass. We enjoyed coasting down several hills and stopping intermittently to hike waterfalls that caught our eye. Baked from the heat we finally arrived at the prize waterfall of the route, the Pailon del Diablo, a twisting waterfall that comes crashing down into a rocky basin.

While this day was a day of views, the next gave way to a entirely new experience... cascading. Surprisingly able to fit into a size too small wetsuit with a happily purple front face and stylish over the shoulder buttons, I harnessed myself in on the misty Monday morning. (Thankfully, the yellow flack jacket covered my humorous suit, leaving only my shoelace tied glasses to laugh it). We made our way to the first of four waterfalls, the baby eight meter practice one and I quickly fell on my way down. That led to the rise of subconscious concerns regarding the upcoming 40 meter decent. Climbing to the next cascada, however, quickly sent the intermittent thoughts back into the subconscious as I regained a feel for the footing. The subsequent parallel walks went uneventfully and we proudly returned to Banos with a strong desire for nothing but hot chocolate and a return to our favorite restaurant, Cafe Hood, for the third time. One of three hoods and goods (Cafe Hood, Casa Hood, Cafe Good) in Banos, this quickly emerged as a keeper. With a variety of tasty twists such as Indian Chola, Chicken Curry Sandwiches, Ginger-Lemon Tea, and Chocolate Cake, we were more than satisfied.

Post Banos adventures, the body was due for a break and adventure travelling was shelved for the following weekend. Instead, Priyanka and I took a trip to Otavalo in search of indigenous family friends of a Professor couple from UNC-Chapel Hill. Priyanka was provided a highly interesting set of directions, but we somehow trusted they would lead us to the end point. Following the cobble stone roads that went right, left, and u-turned before merging with bigger cobble stone roads that crossed bridges and Coca-Cola signs, we fortunately found are way into the store front of the family we were searching for. Gloriously gobbling vanilla wafers, chocolate biscuits, and coca-colas purchased from their store, we happily took our seats amongs the pigs, chickens, and dogs to share a moment with our new friends hanging on the thread of a 1,000 mile plus connection. It was fascinating to imagine that that same house was where a twenty year old college student, now a professor at UNC, had once spent his summer pursuing his anthropological calling.

Refreshed from a worldly visit, a week of subjunctive tense studies in Spanish School quickly passed marking time for insertion into the Amazon...

Random Tidbits:

1. My second cousin arrived in Quito to work on her doctoral research!

2. I received a crisp one dollar bill in change for potentially the first time in three months!

3. Endured a new style of torture personally deemed, "absurdly inappropriate public display of affection." Highly perturbed by the couple in front of me on the public bus, I began to count the number of times they kissed in 15 minutes. The result of my empirical study showed that with 74 kisses in 15 minutes, it was probable that I was forced to endure the sound and sight of approximately 222 kisses in my painful 45 minute ride home from Salsa Class...WHY?!?

P.S. Due to my long absence from blog world I will be making an effort to double up this week and provide you all with a second blog post by this coming weekend. By way of the mere fact that I am typing this blog, you at least know that I survived a week in the Amazon, but the rest will be shared soon! (Pictures are already up though, with captions included!)