13/06/2019 – Day 2, Sacha Lodge, Ecuador

We woke up to the 05:30 knock again. Once one is up and out, it really is nice to be up at that time. I have never understood it before, but now I am 30 and all that maybe things are changing! We went down to breakfast before meeting at the canoes. We got rowed across the lake, down a creek and over to a little canoe shelter. Then we strolled along the boardwalk, where we were showed the plant that is used to make Panama hats, and some mushrooms that are used for burn dressings by the local people. They were very similar in texture to the burns dressing we use at work, how effective I bet they are, it is so clever! We walked down to the a little building and picked up lifejackets before getting into the motorised canoe. Then we were whizzed along the river and up another little creek until we disembarked and were greeted by some local Quichua people. Sacha lodge works in partnership with this local group of people. Some ladies from their tribe had approached the lodge four years ago in order to arrange the agreement, what great businesswoman minds! The guests get to visit and learn how the local people live, and in return the Quichua women receive donations and have a little gift shop where they sell homemade bowls, spoons and bracelets. We were taken into a house they had built with a log fire smoking away in the middle. It was made of bamboo and had a roof made from woven palm leaves. Our guides translated for us as two of the women, Feliciana and Sonja, who are mother and daughter, told us a bit about their way of life, touching on their clothes, their food, their culture and beliefs. They showed us how they carried their heavy baskets with a strap around their head, so they have their hands free to look after the children.

The loacal cummunity members.

Mum and I had a go at carrying it, it was quite a strain on the neck! Then they showed us how to make chicha tea, we all had a go at mashing up the yucca in a huge carved wooden vat and then they grated some sweet potato using a spiky root from a palm tree. It tasted similar to kumbucha, I guess because they both have a slightly sour fermented taste. All the guests had a go at using a blowpipe with a homemade arrow to shoot a pretend monkey, a demonstration of how the men hunt in the rainforest.

Blowpipe target

Blow dart carry case.

Then the ladies put some banana leaves on the floor as a table cloth and laid out a snack of some traditional food they had cooked us on their fire. We had plaintain, yucca, roasted white coca beans and fish and heart of palm. We also tried a roasted grub, cooked on a kebab stick! It was scary to look at but tasted a bit like bacon, surprisingly probably the best tasting snack of the lot! After the food we visited the gift shop. Each item had a price labelled as well as a note of the name of the person who had made it. We bought some wooden spoons and a little bowl. Then we made the journey back to the lodge (spotting a sloth on a tree on the way, as you do) and got ourselves sorted for a buffet lunch with a view. Afterwards I fell asleep on the comfy chairs on the decking whilst mum dad and Josh had a dip in the pool. We met our groups at 16:00 near the canoes and were rowed over the lake, then went for a short walk and climbed up a big tower to a very high tree house, higher than the canopy walk had been yesterday. Dad still managed it, what a trouper! We saw toucans and parrots and monkeys. There was a playful little bird quite close to us, mimicking and interacting with our sounds, which was very amusing! There is also a bird in the forest that is yellow and black and makes a hilarious sound, like a loud cartoon water droplet, whilst it bends over and shows its tail, like a bend and snap.

Jimmy, our captin.

Looking up at the platform.

View from the top.

Howler monkey far off in the distance.

After a little while of looking around with the binoculars and telescope, we made our way back to base. We had half an hour to chill before dinner. We ate baked camembert, chicken, and a chocolate brownie dessert, it is great food here and excellent service, the kind where your glass of water is topped up before you even realise it’s nearly run out. We met our group again at about 20:15 for a night walk. Just in the meeting place we saw a huge furry tarantula, a large brown moth that looked a bit like a bat, a hammerhead praying mantis that looked like a large leaf with legs, and a decent sized lizard! We went for a little stroll with our torches and saw a huge frog the size of two fists, and really colourful orange and blue leaf legged insect (one of my favourite bugs!). The bugs are such beautiful colours up close, but so camouflaged until you manage to spot them! We saw a little scorpion too. The spider webs were beautiful and cartoon like. Josh enjoyed seeing some wandering spiders. We got back, washed our boots and got into bed and fell asleep quickly after another busy day.