Hash-Packing the World

After lunch yesterday, we visited Palmera Village, home to the Yagua Tribe of about 85 families/450 people.

As we turned into the tributary to Palmera Village (which was next to the sugar cane farm), we passed a medical clinic used by locals and tourists to treat different ailments and to stabilize anyone needing transport to Iquitos for more substantial care.

Once we got off the boats, we were greeted by several children with animals:
- Three-toed sloths, adult over a year, infant about four months, both female because male has orange spot on back between shoulders. Adorable!
- Young aguti paca nocturnal rodent comparable to a guinea pig. Gets huge.
- Several small parakeets
- Turtle

We passed a huge tree, Ceiba, that is a protected species. One tree provides a habitat for dozens of species, from birds and snakes to ants and termites. In this one tree we were able to see:
- bee hive
- termites
- Leaf-cutter ants (still cool!)
- ant colony on side of tree

The seeds of the tree resemble cotton. The pod opens to allow the white, lightweight fiber to disperse the seeds into the wind. The tribe uses this cotton as wadding for their blow gun darts and to stuff mattresses.

After the tree, we made our way to a large bell-shaped palm house in which the tribe performed music with traditional instruments and a couple of dances in traditional garb. The men wore grass skirts made from palm fibers and the women red cloth waist wraps, which were originally made from long rolls of bark. They painted some red lines in our faces and pulled us up to dance with them.

Then, they demonstrated their blow guns, which were about eight-feet long, and even let some of us give it a go. One of the guys did pretty good, not just hitting the target but making the dart stuck in the wood.

After a few of us purchased a couple of souvenirs, we walked through the village to get back to the boat. It was strange to see a Dish TV hanging outside one of the stilted homes. Another had a cordless landline telephone sitting on the railing. And there was a concrete sidewalk running the length of the place, which had been donated by some organization several years ago.

We got back to the hotel for dinner, and yes, the post-dinner Combat Uno was a success. I also taught them a silly little game called Ding Dong. You sit in a circle and begin counting to 100, each person saying the next number. Every time you get to a multiple of or a number ending in 5, you say "ding" instead of the number. Likewise, every time you get to a multiple of or a number ending in 7, you say "dong." If someone messes up, you start over at 1. It doesn't sound that difficult, but it can be hysterically funny. I think we only got to about 50, and that was only by helping a couple of folks out. Lots of laughs.

Today, my stomach is not well. I am afraid I am coming down with something like a stomach virus that has been sweeping through our group. I skipped breakfast, but took my malaria pill since the mosquitoes are soooooo very bad. I got ready for our long daytime walk in the jungle near the hotel.

Unfortunately, not soon after we began, I realized my stomach was not going to settle, so I went back to the hotel before we got too far in (too far and we would have all had to come back together). Anyway, after getting rid of dinner and everything after that, I'm in bed. I think there were 5 of the 20 who did not go this morning. I hope this afternoon will work out for us. We're going fishing for Piranahs!

So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️En savoir plus