Sacharuna, Man of the Jungle

Dateline: Tibetan Paradise, Napo, Ecuador; February 14, 2008

Last night we left Amarongachi. Since it's winter it rains pretty much every day in Ecuador. Especially here in the rainforest. Nothing dries out. The clothing I wore climbing the waterfalls Tuesday is still soaked. Even my notebooks are damp. It's a perpetual sticky climate. I'm getting used to it though, and plus, it beats the Midwest this time of year (sorry guys). As much as I loved horror stories of the jungle (as told by Enrique, our resident Quechua apprentice shaman) told by candlelight, it's a good time to move on.

If you didn't know, there is a Tibetan paradise (known as Shangri La), to be found in the Amazon. It looks a lot like something out of Swiss Family Robinson. The amenities here far outstrip those at the previous campsite: hot water, a fully stocked bar, electricity, and a 100 meter overlook of the Napo region. It's sitting on the edge of a cliff people! The entire complex is a giant treehouse, an open air dining room of Sybarism.

Jose (or Usi in Quechua) was awaiting our arrival. Our guide at Shangri La, he began lessons in his native language. He gave us Quechua names as well. My new name: Sacharuna, Man of the jungle. He has been making me earn it since.

He took our group through a series of canyons, carved for centuries by streams meandering towards the Río Napo. Before then, We snacked on ants, tasting strongly of lime. Good protein.

Then canyons: squeezing between rocks, wading through streams, climbing vines that reach the canopy. I did it all. Oh yeah, and I crawled through bat shit. Lots of it. Besides reeking, these pesky critters kept flying into my face while I was trying to negotiate the caves, and jimmy myself up a six meter cliff. All in a days work.



This area is absolutely stunning. Everything around me was green. Palm fronds bending down in a haphazard manner. Hummingbirds build nests underneath several fronds, stealing cobwebs from nearby spiders as building material. My general feeling of the area is green. Obvious, yes, but the colors are so vibrant. Never in my life have I seen so many different kinds of plants in one place We were shuffling between cliffs, careful not to scrape against its jagged edges.

It can't be imagined. It can't be recreated. The Amazon is incredible.