Day 4 – I woke up at 6:30 today by the chickens and the dogs living under our little hut, and got ready to go to the kitchen and make food, we prepare onions, hot dogs, tomatoes and bananas for our breakfast and cooked this hot dog tomato onion dish with soy sauce which consisted of our breakfast
After breakfast we met with the group ready to go on our tour of the day through the jungle and the many waterfalls that lie within it, but before we were about to go we were treated to a face painting representing a symbol that is important to the people of the region (the kichoa people)
Mine was “man’s Knowledge” we also got crowns made out of leaves!
On our trip through the jungle we walked through so many different environments and had to climb trees and rocks to get to where we were going, a set of 3 waterfalls. The first one, the highest we had to stand underneath to feel its wrath and depending on the froth created in the pool below it signified that our soul was clean or not, and the waterfall would purify it. The second one a 10 m high waterfall we had to climb with only a rope, and got to swim in a 15 min deep hole at the bottom of that waterfall. Finally the last one had a gentle pool so we could all swim in it, and led us to the jungle on our way back to the home we are staying in, a jungle where I got to swing on a Vine!
After lunch we went on a walk around the jungle, with the owner of the home we are staying in (an old shaman, who has retired) and he taught us how to make rope but also about the medicinal effects of the plants you can find everywhere here and of the customs associated with the different plants. We then were shown how to find cold in the river that lies next to our accommodation. After the trip we went back and ate dinner before playing cards and going to bed.