The Journey Begins....Again: Jungle Trip

Have you ever been in a situation where at the time it doesn't seem too strange or unusual but once you remove yourself from the situation you think, what did I just do? That happened to me this past weekend. I had the opportunity to go to the jungle with friends of mine who are considering adopting their godson who is 9 years old. This part of the jungle is about a 7 hour bus ride to Quito. At one point the bus turns off onto a dirt road, drives through a river, and after passing some huts and soccer fields, we arrived to the town of Santana. If you wanted to go any further you'd have to cross the Pastaza River on a pulley car that brings you to the other side.

The shaman led us into the town where we were welcomed by many kids and our hosts for the weekend. We all slept in the same hut under mosquito nets with the "bathroom" out back. Throughout the weekend we were invited to dance with village leaders, drink chicha (this is a traditional drink that is yucca chewed up by people in the village, spit out, then left to ferment), swim in the river, catch and cook toads, and catch various insects. Shortly after arriving, a village boy led us up a REALLY tall water tower. It was an amazing view from the top, but not sure how structurally sound the tower was...

We walked about 45 minutes to get to the hut where the family who is taking care of this little boy lives. Picture this - we are all inside this hut, sucking on sugar cane, a man who looked to be about 90 is laying in a hammock, and their pet coati - similar to a raccoon type creature- is tied up on the floor. We had a great conversation with the family and my friends are praying about what lies ahead. It was a great weekend and a wonderful reminder of how many Ecuadorians live.