After waiting for quite a long while, we finally got word from German that we could go to El Tiink, the little Shuar village in the rainforest. Chelsea had hoped to get down there within a few weeks of our arrival in Ecuador, but the illness that swept through the whole community made that impossible. I had also been hoping to continue the public health and primary care work that we started back in November. Oh well, better late than never of course.
Tiink is no more than 150 miles from Cuenca, but the state of the road makes the trip into a 6 hour endeavor. After the initial hour and 20 minutes, the road changes from a nice, smooth highway to rocks and dirt carved out of the side of the mountain. Even with our SUV and all terrain tires, it’s a really bumpy ride. The scenery, however, is pretty incredible. The road climbs high up into the cold paramo just before reaching the eastern slopes of the Andes. The view is usually obscured by thick fog, but we have gotten a bit of a glimpse down the road as it drops about 7,000 feet in elevation. Continuing down the road as it enters the cloud forest, the mountainsides are dotted with waterfalls (some of which are probably 2,000 feet high). Chelsea also noticed orchids in bloom along the road, so we stopped to take a few pictures.
We met German, our local field technician and host, in the town of Gualaquiza. We hadn’t stopped for lunch in order to be somewhat punctual, so he recommended that we try the restaurant inside the bus station. The soup was way too salty and my beef was sketchy, but Chelsea’s chicken was quite tasty. We also thought it would be prudent not to drink the Kool-Aid-like juice due to concerns over the cleanliness of the water. German then helped us buy some chicken for meals in El Tiink. We had a fun time getting change when we used a $5 bill for $1.50 worth of chicken, walking around the corner to a few different places until we found a store that was stocked with a bit of cash. Then we hopped in the car for the 45 minute drive to the bridge that leads to the village. Surprisingly, this road is about 50 times better than the supposed highway connecting Gualaquiza to the biggest city in the southern half of the country. We left our car with a family that knows German, and then we prepared to carry our two large backpacks, two small backpacks, and three shopping bags of health care supplies and food up to Tiink. It’s about a 30 minute uphill walk, so we were planning for a slightly uncomfortable experience. German told us not to worry, though, because his kids would come down from the village to help us. We weren’t really sure how they would know when to show up, but, sure enough, they came walking across the bridge within five minutes.
As usual, the family was very hospitable and accommodating to our needs. One thing that always makes me laugh is that after we eat a meal, they thank us for eating. Shouldn’t we be thanking them for preparing the meal, doing the dishes, and giving us a place to sleep? We do thank them, of course, but we can’t help but laugh that they are also thanking us.
German arranged for Brad to visit the schools and give the toothpaste/ toothbrushes and vitamins that your donations helped us bring to the community. With the young children we did a little demonstration, and had the entire class around the sink next to the school with mouthfuls of toothpaste! The teacher was really helpful in directing the kids where to spit and in making sure that all of them cleaned their teeth appropriately. Then she helped give a quick lesson on taking the vitamins. We gave each kid a supply for 2 months, and she instructed them to take one each day. The children took the baggies of vitamins home to their parents and as far as we know the parents, by word of mouth, got the message about one-a-day. One little girl was quite upset when she woke up the next morning to find her vitamins gone. Apparently the bugs liked the sweet taste. We replaced her vitamins, and it seems that the entire community learned to safeguard them!
Brad also ran a clinic in the evening during which the community health director offered his office. They made an announcement, and a number of people showed up to get advice on their health problems. Brad saw a tiny baby, several children, men, women, and the elderly. It was a successful clinic, and Brad was able to provide advice and/or medicine to help the people. When the health director asked about vitamins specific for pregnant women, Brad was able to provide them with a multi-vitamin but unfortunately we did not have specific vitamins to help them. This is definitely something to consider for next time.
We spent a day and a half in the field doing frog research. One of my goals was to see that German was collecting all of the data properly, the other was to take photos. We visited two different locations and found a total of 7 frogs! The wampukrum are doing quite well, and German is doing an excellent job with the data collection. He is incredibly meticulous, and I’m very glad to have his help with the project. Brad and I took turns with the camera, and are pleased with the images that we got of this beautiful frog! It is so nice to have our nice camera again!
Brad was stung by a fuzzy-looking caterpillar. It was actually quite painful, and German recognized the species and knew what to do. He sliced it open with his machete, spread the green-colored goo on Brad’s knee where it was inflamed, and asked Brad if it hurt in his groin or armpits. Brad didn’t have too much trouble, but German told us at times it hurts so bad that men can’t even walk!
While in the field, we found two males not too far from one another. These are territorial animals, and I was curious about what would happen if we put them together, so we did. We put them about 12 inches apart, and watched. One moved away immediately, and the other followed. We tried it again. This time one male fought the other. In the end, we returned them each to their respective location. How interesting!
While we stay with German and Targelia, we are also able to learn about Shuar culture. Targelia prepared a dinner for us called “allanpako” which is chopped leaves (like spinach), heart of palm, and chicken all wrapped in a big leaf a steamed over the fire. Delicious! Then German told us about his blow gun. It is made from chonta (the same plant that heart of palm is from) and is very valuable. His son is learning how to use it. They make the darts then use a poison from a combination of plants to coat the tip and a piece of “cotton” to weight the end. Now he also has a gun for hunting, which is easier to carry because the blow gun is over 2 meters long!
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