Dateline: Middle of nowhere, Napo Province, Ecuador; Feb 12, 2008
I'm hiding under some palm thatched cabins, cowering from a torrent of tropical rain deep in the Amazon rainforest. Well not that deep, only forty-five minutes away from civilization. But it's the Amazon!!! When we run out of potable water I'll just step outside and quench my thirst on the tears of God. It ain't heavy...
A 20 year old Quechuan guide named Freulan (or Andy if you prefer) took our Quito group on a three hour trek through the primary rainforest. It's protected by law as a reserve, so nobody harvests plants, searches for gold, or harms the land. You get the picture.
Wearing knee-high rubber galoshes we hike upstream for over two kilometers. Freulan brought 100 feet of rope along to haul our asses up not one, but two torrential waterfalls. I had to find footholds at a 65 degree grade slope, all the while hundreds of gallons of water are bearing down upon me. Nearly losing my glasses in the climb, I made it too the top quite quickly. Too bad I couldn't bring my camera along. It was absolutely beautiful scenery.
Our first campsite is Amarongachi, a rustic cabin complex 15 minutes off the beaten path from the dirt road where we were dropped off. It is located on the banks of the Rio Atunyaku, Quechua for Rio Grande). They had running water, but by night I was eating dinner at a candle lit table, reflecting on how soft my life is in suburban America. I guess it just reminds me how human we are without machines.
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