Wish You Were Here: Deep in the Ecuadorian rainforest at the headwaters of the Amazon
A San Jose reader goes deep into the rainforest to meet the women of the Achaur nation, arriving after a 26-hour trek that involved two commercial aircraft, a taxi, a bus, a small aircraft and a motorized canoe.
Montreal explorations, Kauai’s hikes, Kilimanjaro’s summit — our readers have embarked on some incredible adventures in recent months. Now they’re sharing those discoveries with us and offering travel tips, too, in case you want to venture forth.
Today, we’re headed to the Amazon and the Ecuadorian rainforest with an intrepid San Jose reader.
ECUADOR: Last year, San Jose resident Polly Ferguson was part of the first all-female group to visit Sharamentsa, venturing deep into the Ecuadorian rainforest, she says, “to meet with women of the Achaur nation who had started a midwifery, birth control and child and maternal health program for women of their community … I took two commercial flights, followed by a 2-hour taxi ride, an 8-hour bus ride, a 2-hour small aircraft flight and a 3-hour motorized canoe ride to arrive at the headwaters of the Amazon.
“We hiked, canoed, rafted, toured the rainforest and the Amazon, even swam with pink dolphins and immersed ourselves in some of the Achuar culture. We had our dreams interpreted in an early morning wayusa ceremony. We toured the women’s Chakras (gardens), learning about their crops and how they make chicha, the fermented drink, out of yucca. We showered under waterfalls, ate fish freshly caught from the Amazon every night and slept on thin, mosquito-netted mattresses in wall-less rooms. It wasn’t an easy trip, but I loved every minute of it. I don’t want to see any more cathedrals. I want to meet people who live different lives than I do.”
TRAVEL TIPS: A trip like this is “life changing,” she says. “But before you go, be sure this is the right thing for you and for those you’ll visit. Have an open mind: Be accepting of, curious about and nonjudgmental of other cultures. Be prepared for everything to go wrong. Understand there might be some discomfort at every turn and probably nothing much to be done about it. If the organizer says to pack a ‘light weight, full length, hooded, waterproof rain poncho,’ don’t for one minute think a fold-up umbrella will suffice.”
Join the fun! Send a photo of yourself on your latest adventures — local, domestic or international — to jburrell@bayareanewsgroup.com. Tell us where you are, who everyone is and where they’re from, and share a travel tip or two to help fellow readers do that awesome thing, too.