Yasuni Kichwa Ecolodge - May 17, 2017

Our little home place. Actually it is one fourth of this hut on the back in the opposite corner. It does have a bed for each of us, a bathroom and electric 24 hours a day. The Hilton it is not, but for us and where we are it is grand.



Our spider had already repair its web and was waiting for its next meal. And yes, that is a zinnia he has built his web on.



Oh dear! Where has all the water gone, gone to the Amazon, drop by drop. The Napo River depends on rainfall. A few days before we arrived it had rained upstream. Since then, no rain. What was river was now mud flat. The things we learn.



Morning coffee to start this long day. And not only was it a long jam packed day, between Linda and I we took 998 photos. Plus I don’t know how much video as I haven’t the time to find out. Suffice it to say things we did are going to be left out big time from today’s blog.



I have taken so many photos of people taking off and putting on shoes that I could…. Forget it Bob, don’t go there.



Coming back from breakfast look what we saw. Mr. Spider had caught another butterfly.



And on a nearby plant was this, a baby spider hatch.



There are so many plants here that we know. Of course they don’t have to go to the store and buy bulbs, they just dig them in the jungle and plant them where they want them.



Next up was our visit to the local school.









Two classrooms. Students and a teacher. We are all the same, no matter what our circumstances. It is one world, one people.



Snack time.



Cleanup time. They left it exactly like they found it. No need for a janitor to cleanup after them.



This says it all.



The ladies dancing.



Constructing a new house.

Next up was a home visit. This man and his wife were among the first settlers to this location some 40 years ago when it was only jungle along the river.



Cocao. When the seeds are dried and processed it can be transformed into one of Linda’s favorite things. For now we just ate the pulp around the seeds. It was sweet and it was good, but according to She Who Knows, not as good as chocolate.



Makes you wonder how they ever discovered you could process these beans as they call them, into chocolate.



Pod on the tree, They grow directly from the trunk and branches. When they are yellow they are ripe and it is cash crop for the people of the area.



Don’t look like much, do they?


Want to dye something red? Want to paint your body? Just take a piece of a branch laying on the ground, split the husk open, use the stick as a brush and draw. Now those who are curious, it is the achiote tree and the seeds are made into annatto.



Happy Linda.

Weeding, Napo River style.



“A little old beer maker” mashing the yuca. They use yuca as food, but also as a base for their beer. This tub was the beginnings of a beer batch.



When there are honored guests in the house, the family serves only the best. That meant cutting down a palm tree and collecting the grubs that live in it to serve to the guests. There are two ways to prepare the grubs, saute with seasonings, and grill them on skewers. What follows is not for everyone, feel free to skip over it if you are so inclined.

Preparing grubs.



Grilling.











Now I can say, “Been there, done that.” We were told the grilled grubs tasted like bacon, and darned if they didn’t. The sautéed ones I could have skipped as the taste and texture are something else. The biggest problem with eating them is getting your mind in the right place. In the end I ate four of the grilled ones, but one sautéed one was 7/8ths too many.



Next up was target practice. In the end it turned into look for the dart. First, never suck in. Second one hard puff is all that is needed to send the dart out in a hurry.



This little boy was finding the darts. His posture tells the story as to just how accurate our shots were.



Found it.



Look, up in the trees.



It is a three toed sloth.



Kapok trees are beyond huge.



And thus ends another day in the Amazon.