Bob and Ann in Peru and Equador in 2008

Grey Capped Flycatcher

October 15 - Rain Forest - Up at 5AM so we would not miss the early morning bird walk, we met Carlos at 5:45 and headed for the lagoon as the dawn cracked. Many birds were still hard to see, but the large oropendulas were identifiable by their call and by their unique hanging nests. Flycatchers, woodpeckers, humming birds, yellow rumped ciques and orioles were sighted. The early morning also brought out several tapirs that moseyed beside the walkway to the lodge nosing in the grass for their breakfast as we climbed the steps to get ours. Good fruit, rolls, eggs, sausage and fried sweet potatoes were served to us along with instant Nescafe.

At 8 we boarded our outboard motor canoes to ride to a small elementary school across the Napo. After we checked out the bodega/kitchen where parents were preparing lunch, we all filed into the one room schoolhouse where one male teacher taught about 30 children aged 3 to 12 years. Some warm-up of questions for the teacher were followed by shy children reciting their names and then singing a boisterous rendition of the Ecuadorian national anthem in their native Quechua tongue. There were about an equal number of boys and girls, all cute and most responsive enough to eventually join us doing the hokey pokey after we warmed up with Farmer in the Dell. With Pato's coaxing the children demonstrated a native cat and mouse type game. Pato and Carlos took cat and mouse roles when we adults took our turn playing our raucous version of the game. This very nice experience ended with a group photo of children and adults together.

Indigenous family house

From there we took the canoe to a spot on the bank where we could walk to a typical Quechua home with a medicinal native plant garden. Carlos and Marcello harvested specimens and explained the uses of about a dozen plants in the garden, from lemon grass to cocoa beans, including some grown for their hallucinatory properties and used by shamans. Then we entered the home and visited with the couple living there. Some of us bought some beadwork jewelry on display made from colored seeds, and we tasted food being cooked, yucca, and armadillo meat and toasted cocoa beans - interesting. A competition with blowguns and darts featured some awesome shots by our folks.

Dave and his dogfish

We returned to Yarina for lunch after which many in our group left in the canoes for a fishing expedition. Bob brought back a picture of David's dogfish but the rest of the fishermen had to be content with bites.

At four most of us followed Carlos and Marcello up a hill above the lodge where from a one hundred foot+ viewing tower we saw the top of the rainforest canopy - a breathtaking view, especially after climbing all 126 steps!

As we returned to the lodge at 6PM, dusk was closing in and we enjoyed a happy hour before a tasty dinner. First a platter of spinach quiche slices was brought to each table, then a salad of cucumber, avocado, green pepper, tomato and onion followed by rice with stewed beans. Our next course was fish fillets with fried yucca. Dessert was coconut custard. Yum! As we finished eating the Yarina staff lined up to be introduced to our applause. Our cook and servers were especially heartily appreciated.

We sat around our tables after they had been cleared and played card tricks. Terry performed a masterful card/story trick and he was still teaching this one to Carlos when we left at around 8:30.