Day 4: La Selva-The Jungle

Today we arose at 6:00 am to be greeted by a beautiful sunrise. Soon after the sun was up we headed off for a bird watching excursion. We attempted to make our way through the trees to a lake but the motorboat got stuck between two trees and we had some fun trying to get out. We ended up heading up a tributary instead. We saw an amazing selection of birds. A variety of parrots and parakeets, flycatchers, Amazon kingfishers, herons, hawks, wattled jacanas, yellow-headed caracaras, weavers, turns, macaws, and many, many more. Twice we had glimpses of three-toed sloths and our first close look at some of the trees, flowers and life of the rain forest.

After our excursion it was back to the Arca for breakfast. Next we headed up the Ampayacu River to visit the native village of the Yagua tribe. The Yaguas had lived there on the Ampayacu for about 50 years. There were around forty families, each with eight to ten children. They were quite friendly and spoke some Spanish as well as their own language. They were dressed up for guests in palm leave skirts and painted faces. The skirts, as well as their faces were painted a bright red with berries from “lipstick trees”. The theme of the face paint was that of their ancestors- the monkeys. Yomedes, the chief showed us how to drink Masato, the local drink. The women of the tribe make the drink from Yucca roots. They cook the roots, mash it to a pulp and start chewing it. They then spit it out, collect the paste in a large pot and let it sit for three to four days to ferment. Water is added and it becomes the drink for parties and celebrations. We were able to smell the Masato but were warned not try it because it was made with the local water. It was white in color and smelled very sour. David was the only one who was crazy enough to try it. We then watched the tribe dance for us. They performed the Lazy Man dance, the Tapier dance and finally the Welcome dance. After the dancing we had a chance to buy and trade for their beautiful hand made goods. American dollars are welcome but they needed to be in very good condition (not torn or heavily creased) to use them. It was explained that the bank would not accept them unless they were clean and "new" looking After some pictures we said good bye and headed over to the town of Pevas to visit Francisco Grippa.

Grippa is a famous artist who was born in the Peru but moved to the US as a young man to work. After a few years of restaurant work Grippa opened his own restaurant but soon gave it up to study art. He spent some time in Europe and then came to study in Los Angeles. His fascination for the Amazon continued so he decided to return home to Peru. Grippa now lives in “La Casa del Arte” in Pevas where much of his work is related to saving the rain forest. He is know internationally and does shows in Los Angeles. He is an incredibly warm and congenial fellow who welcomed us into his home with open arms. We had the pleasure of meeting his family, looking at his studio and admiring his art. We then toured a bit more of Pevas, where the local children would surround us and hold our hands as we walked along.

In the afternoon we took our first jungle hike. Segundo pointed out an incredible variety of medicinal trees and plants and it was amazing to be surrounded by a forest so alive. A few of the things we saw included Bombonahe and Yarina palm trees, which is used to make thatched roofs, a tree the sap of which is used to kill parasites, Uña de Gato or Cat Claw plants used in cancer research, millipedes, butterflies, and much more. We all took a turn at being Tarzan by swinging on one of the long Philodendron vines that grow from the very tops of the trees all the way down and plant their roots in the ground. About halfway through our hike it began to rain. It was not cold, in fact the rain was a welcome escape from the sticky humidity of the jungle, and even in the shelter of the trees we were completely soaked from head to toe. When we emerged from the forest there was water dripping off of our noses but we were all smiling and amazingly no one had fallen in the mud. When we climbed back onto the boat the crew took our shoes and washed them for us. That evening we took another boat ride up a tributary. Upon returning, quickly this time, because rain threatened again we had a chance to relax on the deck and watch an amazing lightening show.

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