Feb.27 Day 12
Since we made it to the lost city the previous day, we were allowed to sleep in. Unfortunately, the group that came in late had to get up at 5 am and they were as rude and loud as they were the night before, with their guide remaining the worst of the bunch. The requests for them to be quiet started out polite but were no more effective when they became "Shut the #$%% up!". Once they left we had some time to sleep but Meg and I were awake and she went for a walk by the river and came to breakfast in good spirits.
After a filling, starchy breakfast we retraced our steps back to Wiwa camp for another night. This would be our shortest hiking day with a long descent that was harder on your mind and knees but didn't make you sweat as much. In spite of it being only a 4 hour hike, we all agreed that the last hour was a long one, probably because of the toll the previous two days had taken on us. The scenery was as beautiful as ever but we were glad to be hiking just in time for lunch.
After eating we had a 15 minute walk to a waterfall for a swim. I was expecting just some water going over a rock but it was beautiful and we swam in our sweaty clothes tp rinse them out. Several members of the group climbed up the falls and sat in the spray but those injury-minded amongst us stayed down in the pool below, admiring the view and letting the cool water soothe our complaining muscles.
We walked back to camp, showered, changed into our clean clothes and slept or lounged about for a few hours. Most showers were still fine but one had a sleeping dog in it and another had a bare wire hanging down in the middle of the stall, not something you'd like to have with you in the shower. Before dinner, Raphael had us gather in a firehouse to learn about Wiwa culture. He and Felix had their tamburus which were given to them at adulthood. They consisted of a calabash filled with powdered seashell and a stick coming out. When they had time they would chew coca leaves, take a bit of the powder into their mouths via the stick and think about removing negative thought and replacing them with positive ones. They then spit out the coca/shell mixture and rubbed it around the rim of the calabash, gradually forming a large ring. The tamburua were made and given to people by their mamu and they could read how people were thinking by the state of their tamburu. When the ring got too large, they would keep it in one place to be used to perform certain rituals and get a new, more portable one.
We also heard that when boys came of age they had to live with a spinster or widow for several months to learn how to live with a woman. They would fix the woman's house or tend their crops in return for this service. Felix was asked how he would react if his children wanted to join unban society and he said that he would be happy for them if they chose that life but they had to learn Wiwa ways and respect for nature first. Both of our Wiwa guides were very open to whatever questions we had and served us coca tea and popcorn while they spoke.
There were many groups there that night and so we couldn't even fit our bunch at one table. It was the weakest meal of the trip - canned tuna sauce on pasta. Everyone was clos to collapsing by the end of dinner and we returned to our bunks, with Wendy's bedbug bunk empty but almost all of the others full. I had another good sleep at Wiwa camp.
Since we made it to the lost city the previous day, we were allowed to sleep in. Unfortunately, the group that came in late had to get up at 5 am and they were as rude and loud as they were the night before, with their guide remaining the worst of the bunch. The requests for them to be quiet started out polite but were no more effective when they became "Shut the #$%% up!". Once they left we had some time to sleep but Meg and I were awake and she went for a walk by the river and came to breakfast in good spirits.
After a filling, starchy breakfast we retraced our steps back to Wiwa camp for another night. This would be our shortest hiking day with a long descent that was harder on your mind and knees but didn't make you sweat as much. In spite of it being only a 4 hour hike, we all agreed that the last hour was a long one, probably because of the toll the previous two days had taken on us. The scenery was as beautiful as ever but we were glad to be hiking just in time for lunch.
After eating we had a 15 minute walk to a waterfall for a swim. I was expecting just some water going over a rock but it was beautiful and we swam in our sweaty clothes tp rinse them out. Several members of the group climbed up the falls and sat in the spray but those injury-minded amongst us stayed down in the pool below, admiring the view and letting the cool water soothe our complaining muscles.
We walked back to camp, showered, changed into our clean clothes and slept or lounged about for a few hours. Most showers were still fine but one had a sleeping dog in it and another had a bare wire hanging down in the middle of the stall, not something you'd like to have with you in the shower. Before dinner, Raphael had us gather in a firehouse to learn about Wiwa culture. He and Felix had their tamburus which were given to them at adulthood. They consisted of a calabash filled with powdered seashell and a stick coming out. When they had time they would chew coca leaves, take a bit of the powder into their mouths via the stick and think about removing negative thought and replacing them with positive ones. They then spit out the coca/shell mixture and rubbed it around the rim of the calabash, gradually forming a large ring. The tamburua were made and given to people by their mamu and they could read how people were thinking by the state of their tamburu. When the ring got too large, they would keep it in one place to be used to perform certain rituals and get a new, more portable one.
We also heard that when boys came of age they had to live with a spinster or widow for several months to learn how to live with a woman. They would fix the woman's house or tend their crops in return for this service. Felix was asked how he would react if his children wanted to join unban society and he said that he would be happy for them if they chose that life but they had to learn Wiwa ways and respect for nature first. Both of our Wiwa guides were very open to whatever questions we had and served us coca tea and popcorn while they spoke.
There were many groups there that night and so we couldn't even fit our bunch at one table. It was the weakest meal of the trip - canned tuna sauce on pasta. Everyone was clos to collapsing by the end of dinner and we returned to our bunks, with Wendy's bedbug bunk empty but almost all of the others full. I had another good sleep at Wiwa camp.
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| This hut has a solar panel if you look closely. |
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| Our post-hike waterfall. |
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| Felix and Raphael give a talk in the fire hut. |
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