Dawn broke with the sound of shrieks in the jungle. Waking up in the rainforest was definitely louder than expected. Through the thin floorboards of our hut a stampede of footsteps were heard. Shona's sweet sleep was quickly forgotten when she spotted a 15cm tarantula on her bed. No corners would be cut with the boot shaking and bug spray from this day onwards. Despite the initial commotion the day continued with a tasty breakfast of scrambled egg, plantain and cheese.
Straight after breakfast we began a short but tiring walk to the only school in the community. Estella, Delfin's wife, was the only teacher in the school and she introduced us to some of the children. Then it was our turn to introduce ourselves and teach some games and songs. Steph managed to work out the translation of "Heads,shoulders, knees and toes" into Spanish which was great as we were able to teach the kids in Spanish as well as English and this was soon followed by a competitive football match. To tie everything off, everyone was treated to lollipops as we said our goodbyes.
Following the school we made our way to Lagoona Azul, a popular lake in the area. We were warned in advance about the first lagoon, aka the death trap, which has been known in the community to sweep its users in its heavy currents towards a large cascada (waterfall). Several locals recounted stories of broken collarbones, limbs and other bits. So despite our strong guiding motto of "we discover, we grow" we decided not to take the risk and only discover the second lagoon. We travelled to both lagoons in the back of a truck, it was a painful journey with 9 girls cramped at the back but it saved us from an over an hour walk. We stretched our legs by finally enjoying the blue waters of the lagoon and returned back to our Amazon home (hut) afterwards. When we arrived back we had a well deserved lunch and a long break. However the break wasn't all R&R when Ellie spotted a scorpion on *her* bed. Another member of the group had been hit. We did not take this lightly, it was 2-0 to the jungle critters. Our next activity came just in time when Delfin's & Matildo, the heads of the household took us on a plant walk to teach us how to survive in the jungle. One particular nugget of information was how to climb trees, with their help we all now know the only effective way to escape from the critters.
In the evening we were treated to a nice dinner of chicken and rice and a drink that tasted like apple pie filling to wash it down. However it seemed that the over 18's wanted to let loose and decided to order a beer with their dinner. Later on in the evening we had a Shaman ceremony where we watched an example of an arranged marriage in their culture where Carlitos and a German traveller were the bride and groom. For the most part of the ceremony it seemed the participants needed to be held down to stop them running away. After Delfin carried out a healing ceremony on Emily and taught us more about his beliefs which was quickly interrupted by yet another tarantula.
Melissa and Ria
Straight after breakfast we began a short but tiring walk to the only school in the community. Estella, Delfin's wife, was the only teacher in the school and she introduced us to some of the children. Then it was our turn to introduce ourselves and teach some games and songs. Steph managed to work out the translation of "Heads,shoulders, knees and toes" into Spanish which was great as we were able to teach the kids in Spanish as well as English and this was soon followed by a competitive football match. To tie everything off, everyone was treated to lollipops as we said our goodbyes.
Following the school we made our way to Lagoona Azul, a popular lake in the area. We were warned in advance about the first lagoon, aka the death trap, which has been known in the community to sweep its users in its heavy currents towards a large cascada (waterfall). Several locals recounted stories of broken collarbones, limbs and other bits. So despite our strong guiding motto of "we discover, we grow" we decided not to take the risk and only discover the second lagoon. We travelled to both lagoons in the back of a truck, it was a painful journey with 9 girls cramped at the back but it saved us from an over an hour walk. We stretched our legs by finally enjoying the blue waters of the lagoon and returned back to our Amazon home (hut) afterwards. When we arrived back we had a well deserved lunch and a long break. However the break wasn't all R&R when Ellie spotted a scorpion on *her* bed. Another member of the group had been hit. We did not take this lightly, it was 2-0 to the jungle critters. Our next activity came just in time when Delfin's & Matildo, the heads of the household took us on a plant walk to teach us how to survive in the jungle. One particular nugget of information was how to climb trees, with their help we all now know the only effective way to escape from the critters.
In the evening we were treated to a nice dinner of chicken and rice and a drink that tasted like apple pie filling to wash it down. However it seemed that the over 18's wanted to let loose and decided to order a beer with their dinner. Later on in the evening we had a Shaman ceremony where we watched an example of an arranged marriage in their culture where Carlitos and a German traveller were the bride and groom. For the most part of the ceremony it seemed the participants needed to be held down to stop them running away. After Delfin carried out a healing ceremony on Emily and taught us more about his beliefs which was quickly interrupted by yet another tarantula.
Melissa and Ria
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| Shona's tarantula |
Great to read about your adventures
ReplyDeleteLinda
Fun times in the jungle eh? But those critters didn't beat you - no cries of "I'm a Girl Guide get me out of here!"......well done girls!
ReplyDelete