The rest of the first full day
After lunch we had a bit more free time before we headed off to the local village around 3 p.m. At the village we met with the shaman, and he explained (with the help of interpreters) the process through which he became a shaman, the difference between black and white shamans (he was a white one), and showed us his medicines before leaving us each with a blessing that will last 6 months.
His father was a shaman, so he learned the arts originally from him, then continued his studies under his wife's grandfather after his father had passed away. The process of becoming a shaman is intense and strenuous. It requires studies, but also a full 6 months of isolation in the jungle with a teacher to learn the ways of the plants. During this time, the student can only eat what his instructor tells him to, and the two of them will also undergo several periods of influence under ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic that creates a gateway with the spiritual world. The drug strains the body, and induces vomiting and diarrhea, but it is also said to cure all illnesses one may have had before taking it and leaves him or her with a fresh body. Our guide also said that it helps people to find their purpose and to unleash their hidden talents. The shaman takes the concoction every time he has a new patient in order to gain insight into the diagnosis and the treatment, if a treatment is possible. The trip will also show him which plants to use as medicines.
The medicines that he showed us were really cool. They were all bottled in old water bottles or wine bottles, and many of the roots or plants were kept in sugar can rum to keep them fresh. With each plant our translators told us what they would cure, and the list included cold, diabetes, ovarian cancer, birth control, fertility and more. It was quite impressive.
The blessings were really special as well. The shaman blessed Vicky, our friend, with the spirit of the wind. He then blessed me with the spirit of the plant, and Witt with the strength of the black anaconda. The plant has medicinal powers, but it is also flexible, sympathetic, and patient. The anaconda has great strength and determination.
After visiting the shaman we did a tour of the village and watched as the locals played soccer and volleyball. There skill level was really high - I was impressed! The town is laid out so that all of the buildings surround the soccer field, which I thought was pretty awesome. We also saw a typical oven, garden, and home layout.
By the time we returned to the lodge it was almost time for dinner. The sun had set and the moon was high in the sky and almost full. Our day had been rather full, so we opted out of the evening activity and called it an early night.
We woke up the next morning for a 6:30 breakfast, but I got up extra early to wash some of my clothes, as I had packed dangerously few short sleeved items. After breakfast we got onto the boat and went out for our first fishing excursion! I caught a catfish early on, then ran out of luck. The others in the boat caught some small red and white piranhas and some little trout.
After our first bout of fishing we returned to the lodge for some free time before lunch. In the afternoon, we headed off into the jungle again to scout the pygmy marmoset monkey, which is the world's smallest monkey. It took us a while to find one, but when we finally did it was very much worth it - it was tiny! Witt joked that the squirrels on the UT campus are bigger than this monkey. We learned about their living style, their diet, and their polygamous mating from our guide Llyako. On our way back to the lodge we saw a momma and baby owl monkey, and a fertile lance, one of the most venomous snakes in the world. After my black mamba encounter in Africa I'm starting to gain a collection of encounters with the world's most frightening creatures.
We were pretty sweaty when we for back to the lodge, so we went back out on the river to try our hands again at fishing. The wind from the moving boat is the perfect antidote to the jungle sauna. My fishing luck was awful, and I didn't catch a single thing. Witt was a bit better off, but most of his catches were baby piranhas that had to be thrown back because they weren't big enough to eat.
Dinner last night was fantastic. There were about 20 guest at the lodge, so we all had a ton of different dishes to choose from. It was great. After dinner I decided to go on the night hike, and ventured into the jungle with some other travelers and a new guide. We saw tree frogs, spiders, giant ants, and a HUGE Amazon Bull Frog. It was an entertaining trip, and I enjoyed the goosebumps I had from tromping along the wet forest floor in the dark.
This morning we woke up extra early for a 6 am fishing trip, and our luck turned! I caught a barracuda and two piranhas, and Witt caught lots of piranhas as well. At the end of the trip we had 8 fish that were big enough to cook for lunch.
We had breakfast with everyone else at 8, then packed our bags for the next stage of our journey. As I type this out we are currently taking a boat 2 more hours up the Tahuanyo River to the research center, where we will spend 2 nights. Because of the humidity my washing from yesterday morning didn't dry, which put me in a bit of a fowl mood. I'm also starting to get a little frustrated with the bugs and smells, so the time is ripe for change. This truly is a once in a lifetime experience, in that I don't think I'll ever make the journey back, but I am so pleased to have the adventure now.
