Amazon- Day 4

We had a beautiful sunrise this morning . With a full day ahead of us, after breakfast, we will set off to the Sua Community again.

First we stopped by the parrot clay lick and saw blue and green macaws and parakeets; it was a great experience.  We traveled up river a bit further to our next stop. Dressed in our rubber boots (provided by the lodge), we then disembark our canoe for a nature hike to learn about the different plants, how one can survive in the woods, and how they have for years.

It was about a 3-hours hike; the trails were good, not a lot of hills to climb.  We saw many different animals, fresh jaguar paw prints chasing a deer, leaf cutter ants, and learned how the different plants can help shelter and feed you.

We later rested a bit at a small waterfall, which is larger during the rainy season. We learned about how the Achuar people lived and then returned to our canoe to finish our journey to the Sua community.

We had lunch and again went over the rules for the visit to the leaders’ home:  No photographs are to be taken; avoid any physical contact with the members of the community; do not enter an Achuar house without an invitation.  The Achuar are very jealous, if you are a man you are not to look directly at a woman’s face, Nijiamanch (chicha) the manioc beer is always offered; refusing might be considered an insult.  If you do not like this drink, just hold the bowl on your hands.

There were three things we needed to remember to say:  “Wina jai”, which means Good Morning or Good Afternoon; “Wea jai” meaning Goodbye and “Maketai” which is thank you.  Good manners are important for us all.

Our guide Simone spoke to the master of the house and he invited us in. We entered all saying Wina jai and he responded the same.

The house has two areas, the “tankamash” and the “ekent”.  The tankamash is primarily the living area where the master sits on a wood carved seat as he receives his guests.  The women serve chicha to the guests.  In the ekent you will find beds for the women and children.  A fireplace is also located in the ekent, and all the meals are made there, including the chicha.

We sat a few minutes as the master was weaving a basket, and he and Simone chatted.  We were served the chicha and, yes, I just held the bowl, as one sniff of was enough for me. We then introduced ourselves, what we did, and why we were there.  After this we could ask any questions.   We asked about the community and the culture, as this was part of the reason for our visit.  He played his flute for us and told us about his family.  Later, women of the community came to visit us with their handicrafts.  They placed their hard work on large banana leaves, and the money goes to candles, batteries and school supplies for the children.  Kapawi also assist with the studies of the children in all the surrounding communities.

We soon left as we had to set up our tents for camping before nightfall, but the master of the house reminded us that he would see us at 4 a.m. for our Guayusa ceremony.

We got to our campsites and the guides began putting up the tents as we went for a swim in a small swimming hole.  Guess it had been a while since they visited this community, as the swimming hole was just a bit of water.  It did not look very inviting.  The guides visit several different communities, they are on a rotation, so no community gets much tourist interaction.

We then asked if we could swim in the river, so that is exactly what we did.  The current was very strong and the water was very cold, which felt great.  Since I am not much of a swimmer, I slowly got in and enjoyed the cold water, a great contrast from the heat of the Amazon.

We had another beautiful sunset as we were enjoying the water and soon I was ready to get out of the river and dry off.  We had a wonderful dinner by candlelight, and as it was dark , we were off to bed in our tents.  I want to add here  that the last time I camped was about 33 years ago.