An Indigenous Encounter

Saturday, June 27 - An Indigenous Encounter


Mornings start early at La Selva with a soft "good morning," wake up call at 5:30 A.M. Breakfast is at 6:00 A.M. and we are in the canoes and on the lake before 7:00 A.M. Our intention is to go to the national park to see the parrots flocking at the clay licks, but the clouds overhead are dark and ominous and when our canoe docks at the entrance to the national park, we are told that the parrots have not come today. Our plans were to visit a indigenous Kichua house after our excursion to see the parrots, but we change the schedule and head directly to the indigenous house. It's raining quite heavily when we dock in front of two Kichua homes and we huddle in the shelter of some palms waiting for the rain to lessen. We are much earlier than expected and we imagine that the young couple with a 6-month-old baby would have preferred a quiet morning to themselves, but we are welcomed into their parents traditional thatched home and our group sits together on a long wooden bench against one wall. The parents are away in Coca so the responsibility of the visit falls on this young couple. Except for two benches across opposite walls and one shelf, there is no furniture. A fire burns in a traditional open kitchen. The separate sleeping room is closed from our view, but we are told that the parents sleep on a mattress on the floor. The young couple wears western dress and the baby is impeccably clean in a white one-piece sleeper. I can see the bottom bulge of a diaper and wonder if it is cloth or disposable. I regret that I did not ask. The young man is 23 and extremely handsome with chiseled features. His young wife is lovely and wears a short jean skirt and a skimpy tank top. They sit together on the opposite bench and she unabashedly nurses her baby. We ask many questions, all of which are translated by Paulo. One of the questions asked of the young man is "are you happy?" He looks at his wife and child, smiles and answers "of course." We are served Chicha from a community bowl, perhaps half of a coconut shell. Five years ago, we drank Chicha at an Aschawar village, the traditional kind, chewed and spit into a community pot, fermented and shared by all. Paulo tells us that the Kichua do not chew the root to prepare the Chicha, but use a piece of sweet potato to begin the fermentation process. Nevertheless, the thick white, slightly sour mixture is not very palatable but we pass the bowl and take polite sips. This tasting experience is followed by a distilled sugar cane and herb liquor. A smaller bowl is passes around and we all take sips, hoping that the liqueur will counteract any bacteria we might have previously ingested in the Chicha. A traditional blowgun leans against the wall and Paulo explains the painstaking method that these are made. Five years ago, at the Aschawar village, John purchased one and over the years, he has practiced shooting the quills into our backyard bamboo. A papaya is hung low outside of the Kichua house and we are all given a chance to try the blowgun and hit the papaya target. John hits the target on the first try; Art and I each score on the second try. .As the visit ends we are given the opportunity to purchase a beaded bracelet or necklace, a dozen of which are arranged on the dimly lit shelf. John and I choose two and we pay the young couple the $10.

We return to the lodge in time for lunch and a afternoon siesta. John changes into his swim trunks and heads down to the dock to swim with the three girls, Art rests and I continue to type this blog.


At 3:30 P.M., we meet Paulo and Aldolpho for an afternoon hike in the rainforest. Aldolpho lead the way, scouting with his trained eye and with binoculars. Paulo is next, his eyes darting high and low for any movement in the forest. Art, John and I lumber behind, doing our best not to trip on the roots crisscrossing the trail, slip in the mud or get snagged by a hanging vine. When we arrived, we were all given knee high rubber boots and there are places in the trail that are inches deep in sticky clay mud. I grow to enjoy the slurpey suction of my boots sinking into the muck. At one point, the mud is so deep and I find it difficult to free my boots and flash on the jungle movies I watched as a kid, where the great white hunter, usually the bad guy, sinks slowly into a mire of quicksand and disappears from sight. The sounds surrounding us are amazing, but my untrained ear can't tell the difference between the myriad of bird calls, the monkey chatter or the territorial calls of the various frogs. Every few minutes, Paulo and Aldolpho stop dead still, listen and point to a movement in the canopy above. Passing the binoculars back, they direct us to focus on a troop of howler monkeys in the distance or a woodpecker high in the canopy pounding out a rhythm. The mushrooms and fungi fascinate me and are easy to spot. There are turkey tail, tabletop fungi of all sorts, bright poisons orange mushroom cups, and fuzzy grey and white fingerling fungi growing on decaying logs. These particular mushrooms contain a liquid that the Kichua squeeze into the ear to cure infections. Our walk takes us in a large circle and we return to the lodge several hours later, in time to shower, rest and join the other pampered adventure travelers in the lounge for a before dinner drink. Everyone exchanges stories of who they are, where they have traveled and their future travel plans. I explain to other the other guests that I have traded jewelry for our 4 nights at La Selva and offer up several of my accordion folded business cards picturing the tree frog, rhinoceros beetle as well as other pieces. The women from Florida ask if I have any jewelry with me, and I show them many of my rainforest and jungle charms. The Florida women buy a tree frog charm and a rhinoceros beetle charm and a toucan charm finds a home with the Danish mother of a precocious 14-year-old bird watcher. I am delighted since this helps to confirm my belief that my jewelry would sell well in many of the eco tourist lodges around the world. La Selva lodge needs a small wall display of Marty Magic rainforest charms hung right beside their four T shirt designs advertising La Selva Lodge.