Exploring the Amazon

September 4 Wednesday Explore the Amazon

Accommodations: CEIBA TOPS LODGE

This morning we were all ready to go at 6 am to do some bird watching from our boat and to see the sunrise. Our guide Caesar is amazing and was pointing out birds all over the place…from up in the air to those hidden in the foliage. Some you could barely see because they blended in so well with the scenery. Others were bright and vivid. We cruised to a few different places along the Amazon and each area had different avian life. Caesar can recognize the birds just by listening to their songs.

We went back to the lodge and had breakfast and then put insect repellent and sunscreen on, filled our water bottles with water and electrolyte powder, and off we went to visit a family who live on the Amazon.

The family didn’t know we were coming to visit. Caesar says the people in these villages along the Amazon are very welcoming and gracious and will be happy to share their home even if you just pop in. The people in the villages do not speak English and they lead a very simple life. They eat the fish from the Amazon, they grow vegetables, they have chickens, and they build their own one room homes on stilts. The homes must be on stilts because in the rainy season, the water will be up to their front door and they must get around in canoes.

We arrived and I almost had heart failure. This is not a tourist attraction, so there were no cement steps leading up from the banks of the river, over the hardened mud to get to the home.
I definitely needed help climbing up since it was very steep. Caesar and Santos our boat driver helped us all and before we knew it we were being greeted by the family.

The house is one room and everything takes place there. They have a little girl and all the bedding for nighttime was along the wall to be taken out each night. They sleep on mats with no pillows and they put mosquito netting over them while they sleep. Having the house on stilts not only keeps the water out during the rainy season, but also prevents snakes from coming into their home.

They have a little platform extending out from the home where they do the cooking. They had just a few pots and pans. There was a solar panel that provided electricity to the one light in the middle of the room. They do not have a refrigerator, but rather salt the fish they catch to preserve it.

The mother and father spend their days working hard to collect the bananas and vegetables that grow nearby their home or to help the others in the village when needed. The villagers must collect the bananas, fruit, corn, etc before the rainy season, otherwise they will lose all of the produce. After the banana tree yields its fruit, it is cut down with chain saws and machetes to make room for new trees.

After our visit to the home, we bid adios and walked along the path to the elementary school. The children were out for recess and they and the teachers didn’t know we were coming. Again, we were greeted with warmth and hospitality. The kindergarten kids were playing and they came up to us and were very curious. One little girl was curious about the reading glasses I have around my neck so I put them on to show her. I took her picture and showed her and she was thrilled. When I left, the teacher came over and hugged me. It was a special moment.

We walked over to the older grades classrooms…1,2,3, and 4 grades are all in one room with a teacher. Next door is a one room classroom for 5 and 6 grades. The younger kids sang for us and they asked where we were from. Caesar translated for them (and for us as well) since they don’t speak English… only Spanish.

It was amazing seeing how the kids were being taught. The government mandates that each child attend school and the government also built a water purifying plant so they have clean water which all the villagers can help themselves to. That being said, the people bathe everyday in the Amazon since the water provided is really just for drinking. Books and educational items are also supplied by the government and private organizations.

When it was time to leave, thankfully we didn’t have to go down the treacherous path. The villagers had built make-shift steps down to the river in the mud, since the parents from the village bring and pick up their children in canoes, so those steps were much easier to navigate.

The sun is extremely hot since we are so near the equator and the humidity makes it rather uncomfortable. We were all dripping wet by the time we returned to our boat… and I mean soaked!!! It’s imperative that we stay hydrated.
Riding back in the boat was a welcome relief from the heat and we cooled off a bit while we motored along.

On the way back to our lodge, our boat got stuck in the sand and Santos has to get out to push until we were free. At least he was able to cool off in the water.

We had a delicious lunch, but we told Caesar to please give us half plates of food from now on. They give us too much and it’s wasted.
I said to Caesar that I wished we would have known we were visiting a school. We know we will be visiting one in the next segment if our trip going to Machu Picchu and we purchased gifts for them, but we would have loved to give the kids we met today something. Caesar said if we’d like, he will purchase a soccer ball on our behalf. We can all chip in for the gift. Perfect!!! I was very happy. The soccer ball is a great gift since the school has two soccer fields with wooden planks for the goals. The kids love playing on the field and when we had arrived, they were playing soccer in their bare feet!

After lunch we met at 3 pm to go piranha fishing. Caesar had a few choice spots to try. First… he gave us all fishing poles with beef on the hook. Then he told us to take the tip of the pole and swish it around in the water and then drop the hook in. There were constant nibbles on all our hooks but the fish were adept at getting the bait and not getting hooked. Caesar caught a red belly piranha, a small catfish, as well as a white sardine and one of the guys in our group was successful in catching a white piranha and another type of piranha, but the second catch was too small so it had to be thrown back. Despite everyone else’s best fishing efforts, we only succeeded in feeding the piranhas our bait.

Caesar spotted pink dolphins and we were able to catch a quick glimpse of them as well as some blue gray dolphins as they went by.

We were very hot and dripping again, and every time we do a boat excursion, which has been twice a day, we get out of the boat and have to trek up a long ramp till we get to a staircase and then we climb 27 steps!!! Geez! When you’re hot and dripping wet, it’s not fun. But I figure it’s getting me in shape for Machu Picchu. Since dealing with a broken foot and wearing a boot for 6 weeks and then having Covid, I haven’t been doing much walking, so this is great exercise even though I grit my teeth every time!

We met our friends for a pre-dinner drink and then it was off to eat. Allan and I had the spaghetti with meat sauce that was very good. We also had a chicken noodle soup. They gave us a sample of fried dorado fish which is a delicious white fish caught right here in the Amazon. And…Santos our boat driver fried up the piranhas that were caught today and we each had a sample. Of course…I got a bone and that was that, but at least I can say I tried it.

Caesar told us about a local beer that’s for sale called Moscato. Apparently it is made from yucca. Women boil the yucca for about 45 minutes and then put it in a wooden crate. Many women sit around the crate and pound the yucca with sticks. When most of the yucca has been flattened, they take a huge handful and put it in their mouths and chew it for a number of minutes. They spit it out, add it back to the crate, and continue that process until all of the yucca has been chewed. Then they mix it up and put it all in a stone pot with a plant leaf on top, and let it rest. After 1 week, it can be given to children as milk. After two weeks it becomes beer and is bottled and sold. They believe the saliva is what makes the fermentation process happen.

Caesar also told us that back in 2016, he was asked by Cornell University to fly to the school to give a lecture on the Amazon. He didn’t know if he should go. He had never been away from his village except to live for a short time with his family in Iquito when he was 12. They only stayed a short time because he missed his friends and didn’t like the busy city life.

. His family said it’s a great adventure and opportunity for you…so go! He flew for the first time in his life, and landed in JFK. He said the 7 hour flight was the longest thing he ever endured. He stayed in NYC for a few days, and he said he went out one night at 3 am in the city and people were walking around everywhere. He couldn’t believe it. I said to him… that’s because… “the city never sleeps”!! He then flew to Boston, and then to Cornell to give his lecture. He had a slide presentation and the students were fascinated with what he had to say. And now, many students and teachers from Cornell and all over the US come to the Amazon and he is their guide. It’s so amazing that this man, who never left his village, was brave enough to travel all by himself, to a country he really didn’t know much about, and give a lecture to college students.

It’s not an early wake up tomorrow, but it will be a busy day. We are looking forward to the agenda.

Buenos noches.