Yasuni part II

Saturday, according to Harry, was the best day in the whole 5 weeks with GVI – starting off with massive portions of granola. Hector took the group on a walk in the area around the camp on the edge of the Rio Napo and they all learnt how to path find in the jungle, get excellent soap/shampoo from the bark of a tree, obtain strong twine from a palm, whistle like a toucan (using grass) and partake of some very lemony ants. To cap it all off everyone had a go at climbing a thin tree using a loop of vine through which feet are stuck and then they had to wrap their feet around the trunk (Huaorani styley). After a delicious lunch everyone went piranha fishing – a halcyon afternoon spent gliding down a sunlight river. Everyone had a great time despite not catching a single piranha – there were a few nibbles and a large amount of bait was lost – the volunteers obviously need to sharpen their fishing technique!

Just before sunset the group landed on a silt/mud beach in the middle of the Napo and played British bulldog. Everyone worked up a sweat and got very muddy before bathing in the river once again. Those who wanted a more relaxing time, enjoyed reading as the sun set -a fitting end to a fantastic day.

On Sunday morning, another early start was made enjoyable by more granola than anyone could humanly eat. After packing up camp the group loaded everything aboard the canoe and began to wind their way back upstream. It was a slightly less rainy journey back up to Coca, but still a little chilly. Once in Coca, everyone bade farewell to Hector and scuttled off for some last minute communications before the last leg of the journey back to GVI base camp in the Yachana Reserve. It seemed quite uneventful in comparison to the amazing memories accumulated over the past 3 days in Yasuní.

Yasuni part II