Welp. (That was Tim.)
Today was a wild day that shall be written in history books across the American and Ecuadorian nations. This fine group of wild Caucasian Americans (and Guille) took a trek through the wild jungle nestled in the midst of wild Ecuador, some without pants on. More on that later.
To start off, we took a wild ride through Puyo into the Kichwa tribe sector. Our amigo clan pulled up next to a wild, raging river that made the hair on our necks stand on end when we were told we would be canoeing through this monster-of-a-freshet (look it up). After the lifejackets were fastened, we were assigned our steeds of water travel. Each pirogue was manned by a tour guide who fearlessly directed us through the wild rapids and pointy rocks. Everyone in each pirogue had close encounters with death. All four boats made it out alive, which began our wild jungle extravaganza.
We broke up into two groups and followed our machete-carrying-guides into the thick of the unknown. Equipped with our sturdy rain boots and the clothes on our backs (PS there were also clothes on the other appropriate parts of our bodies), we charged through mud just like animals!!!!!!!!! (Tim hates tons of exclamation points.) Then we ate animals. Some of us got the wild opportunity to eat ants and swing like monkeys on the vines. After continuing on through the rest of the trail, we finally arrived at our destination, Cascada Hola Vida (Hello Life Waterfall). This wild waterfall had a medium-sized catch pool with perfectly clear water. Our tour guide said that if you stood directly under this monster, the force of this wild thing could break your neck. After some fun play time in the pool, we took some pictures and got out to dry off with the one towel that was brought. The girls decided that rather than getting our jeans wet, we would wear our rain boots and ponchos/rain jackets over our suits. So on the trek back to the busses, the girls wore suits, rain boots, and ponchos while carrying our jeans and t-shirts.
(This is where Tim and Sydney abruptly fell asleep while writing this blog post and stellar heroes Julie and Zach took over control--the next morning-- of this important informational message)
We took some time to dry off and change in some wasp infested bathrooms where the doors didn’t stay shut. We were really roughing it. We all piled into vans and were driven to the Kichwa tribe sector again, but this time we actually went over the rickety bridge into the settlement. Lunch was in a large grass hut and consisted of big banana leaves as plates and no silverware. We were given the choice between a whole fish or chicken. But some of us were forced to eat fish because there was not enough chicken... And when we say fish, we mean the whole fish wrapped in leaves including the head, eyes, gills, fins, tail, and all the bones. There was also yuca, cucumber, rice, a tomato and onion mixture, and lemonade to drink. To say the least, we were really enjoying the messiness of eating rice with our fingers. Josh made a friend during lunch, a lovely parrot by the name of Johnny that tried to eat him. He literally would not leave Josh alone.
After eating, our guide did a little bit of an informational session about the Kichwa tribe and other tribes in Ecuador, like those that cut off people’s heads and make the famous shrunken heads. Then he introduced some adorable children that proceeded to dance a traditional dance for us. The guide explained that the tribe was trying to revive old customs by teaching them to their children. They were totes cutsies. We were then encouraged to go into another hut to shop for homemade souvenirs like jewelry, weapons, and bowls. They also offered free tribal face painting. Each design meant a different thing. Sadly, it was then time to be done with our wild jungle extravaganza. So we headed back to Shell and the compound, returned our fashionable boots (Tim was pretty beat up about it), and then walked back to the hostería.
Today was a wild day that shall be written in history books across the American and Ecuadorian nations. This fine group of wild Caucasian Americans (and Guille) took a trek through the wild jungle nestled in the midst of wild Ecuador, some without pants on. More on that later.
To start off, we took a wild ride through Puyo into the Kichwa tribe sector. Our amigo clan pulled up next to a wild, raging river that made the hair on our necks stand on end when we were told we would be canoeing through this monster-of-a-freshet (look it up). After the lifejackets were fastened, we were assigned our steeds of water travel. Each pirogue was manned by a tour guide who fearlessly directed us through the wild rapids and pointy rocks. Everyone in each pirogue had close encounters with death. All four boats made it out alive, which began our wild jungle extravaganza.
We broke up into two groups and followed our machete-carrying-guides into the thick of the unknown. Equipped with our sturdy rain boots and the clothes on our backs (PS there were also clothes on the other appropriate parts of our bodies), we charged through mud just like animals!!!!!!!!! (Tim hates tons of exclamation points.) Then we ate animals. Some of us got the wild opportunity to eat ants and swing like monkeys on the vines. After continuing on through the rest of the trail, we finally arrived at our destination, Cascada Hola Vida (Hello Life Waterfall). This wild waterfall had a medium-sized catch pool with perfectly clear water. Our tour guide said that if you stood directly under this monster, the force of this wild thing could break your neck. After some fun play time in the pool, we took some pictures and got out to dry off with the one towel that was brought. The girls decided that rather than getting our jeans wet, we would wear our rain boots and ponchos/rain jackets over our suits. So on the trek back to the busses, the girls wore suits, rain boots, and ponchos while carrying our jeans and t-shirts.
(This is where Tim and Sydney abruptly fell asleep while writing this blog post and stellar heroes Julie and Zach took over control--the next morning-- of this important informational message)
We took some time to dry off and change in some wasp infested bathrooms where the doors didn’t stay shut. We were really roughing it. We all piled into vans and were driven to the Kichwa tribe sector again, but this time we actually went over the rickety bridge into the settlement. Lunch was in a large grass hut and consisted of big banana leaves as plates and no silverware. We were given the choice between a whole fish or chicken. But some of us were forced to eat fish because there was not enough chicken... And when we say fish, we mean the whole fish wrapped in leaves including the head, eyes, gills, fins, tail, and all the bones. There was also yuca, cucumber, rice, a tomato and onion mixture, and lemonade to drink. To say the least, we were really enjoying the messiness of eating rice with our fingers. Josh made a friend during lunch, a lovely parrot by the name of Johnny that tried to eat him. He literally would not leave Josh alone.
After eating, our guide did a little bit of an informational session about the Kichwa tribe and other tribes in Ecuador, like those that cut off people’s heads and make the famous shrunken heads. Then he introduced some adorable children that proceeded to dance a traditional dance for us. The guide explained that the tribe was trying to revive old customs by teaching them to their children. They were totes cutsies. We were then encouraged to go into another hut to shop for homemade souvenirs like jewelry, weapons, and bowls. They also offered free tribal face painting. Each design meant a different thing. Sadly, it was then time to be done with our wild jungle extravaganza. So we headed back to Shell and the compound, returned our fashionable boots (Tim was pretty beat up about it), and then walked back to the hostería.
We had a little bit of downtime before Renee Fogg came over with our supper. We had tamale type things, chips, rolls, fruit, chocolate cake, and blackberry Tang for a drink. Soon it was time for us chicos to head off to an Ecuadorian Young Life meeting. The Foggs introduced us, but then had to leave, leaving us gringos to fend for ourselves. There wasn’t a ton of people at first, and it was a little awkward, but after the first hour people trickled in and we began to get to know Ecuadorians our age. We got a nice frisbee game going during the free time. At about 8 the meeting started and we had fun games, a couple singing times, a conga line, and a short lesson. All in all, it was a pretty great experience and a lot of us made new friends that we will be Facebook friending soon.
We made it back to the hostería about 9:30 and then had devotions. During our reflections of the day, it was hard for us to decide on a favorite part because it was all so fricken awesome and magical. Our devotional time consisted of the sharing of Brad, Josh, and Sydney’s testimonies. It was pretty neat to see where each person was in their faith walk.
We were all REALLY tired by the time things wrapped up, so we put on our jammies, brushed our teefers, and hopped into bed.
That’s all for our awesome Friday! Things are cool here, but are definitely wrapping up.
So we guess that’s it. Over and out, Zach and Julie.
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