The trip to the Napo Valley began today floating down the river. The Napo River is a tributary of the Amazon River with thick forests creating beautiful scenery. My parents bought a trip to the Yachana Lodge at a church auction so we get to spend Christmas like the natives (though not roughing it quite so much, we have toilets. There might be a few bugs too many for my roommate, however.)
Before floating down the river we took VIP airlines on a 30-minute flight to the town of Capo. The waiting area for this small airline is unlike any other that I’ve seen. You get your “in flight” snacks before you board the plane and with such accommodations, you can get cappuccino, fruit, cakes, and sandwiches all while sitting on comfy couches. As I said, the flight was short: the 45 people riding in a plane the size of commuter airlines, we were up and down without hassle. There wasn’t even a seat belt demonstration. If you don’t know it by now, ask your seat partner.
We packed very lightly as we didn’t know how big of a boat we would ride in down the river. Sorry, Kareen, I left most of my shoes at home. The fiberglass boat was quite comfortable for our 2.5-hour trek, 2 people wide and long enough for 10 people to lie end to end (do the math). We wore life jackets and held onto our hats as the motorized boat cruised upstream. The river is quite low right now so the driver/captain was very careful to navigate the rocky bed strewn with logs. Spider monkeys and fishermen waved to us along the way until we finally arrived at the lodge.
I will direct you to the website (yachana.com- very impressive) for the full picture of this place but essentially Yachana Lodge is a place dedicated to ecotourism and learning. In fact Yachana means “a place to learn” in the Quichua (a native) language. They have established a high school for technical training in ecotourism, sustainable agriculture, and environmentally friendly entrepreneurship. They have really connected with the community to establish sustainable living while maintaining a high quality atmosphere for others to come and visit and learn from the jungle.
Upon arrival we got a short briefing about the days ahead (breakfast between 6 and 7am!) and the keys to our room. I read just long enough to take a siesta. The rest served me well as our guide, Abel, took us to the butterfly lodge and then to the community. All is well when taking pictures is the main enterprise, but Abel invited me to play in the community soccer game. How could I say no? All my training with my ACC kids and uncles came in handy as I had a few decent crosses and almost a headed-in goal. I need work especially when running through mud, but all and all, it was a great time. Unfortunately our team lost 3-2 so we had to buy the other team 2 Cokes to share. Since they had about 17 people to our 10, I only hope the Cokes were shared equally. I was so wet from the humidity and muddy (again memories of ACC in NC flooded back), a shower was is order before dinner. Three courses later with an Amazon chocolate cake as the finale, I am ready for bed. The 10pm lights out won’t have to be enforced this week (10pm is when the generator shuts off). Even witha siesta in the daily schedule, rest is sure to come easy.
No comments:
Post a Comment