Working with a Shuar community in the rainforest in ecuador where absolutely everything is done using machetes- from chopping down trees to opening warm beers.
Here is Enrique, our affable host and the Shuar´s version of the Fonz, doing the daily machete sharpening.
Sophie also tried her best to teach english in the local school, to children whose sex wasn´t all that easy to determine- maybe thats just what happens when a village of 40 people all have the same father. A little like Burnley.
Dont let this photo fool you, they were this quiet for precisely 10 minutes a day, then the normal behaviour of shouting ´boobs´and farting in each others lunchboxes would resume.
Look at all the respect I command...
Most of the rest of the time was spent with the other volunteers, who were all great. It was much easier than Ambue Ari due to the lack of mosquitoes, intense heat and fungus and the presence of beer. And Australians in lilac vest tops.
We also had the pleasure to meet Fadzai, who is there slogging away for 3 months, beating everyone at Monopoly and saving the local wildlife. With mouth to mouth, if needs be.
We went to a little spa town on our weekend off and floated about in lukewarm water for a whole day. It was best if you didnt think about how many children were there and the distance to the nearest toilets!
A power Shuar
On the way back to the jungle it was necessary to stock up on protein as every meal there was either white or yellow, and always involved bananas (apart from one meal of roast monkey). Luckily one can purchase the finest unidentified-meat kebabs in Puyo. Can´t believe I only got two.
We went on a jungle trek to visit the waterfall that the community worship, and boy did we have a hoot! From swinging in trees,
to finding plants that look like massive penises,
and learning how to make blow pipes- which may actually come in useful in manchester!
Enrique feeling vine.
A vine old trip through the undergrowth.
And to top it all off, a dance! This was a little strange- Enrique refused to admit that they did this for the volunteers/tourists and pointedly called it a ´community integration evening´. He dressed up in traditional clothes and danced about a bit before forcing us to drink Chicha, the local homebrew made from yucca. All of his many many brothers would sit around the side of the hut looking sheepish and not ´integrating´, thats when they weren´t in the back room watching soap operas. This was followed by the disco, which involved Enrique sellotaping a flashing torch to the ceiling and playing europop, and making us dance. We had to do this on a weekly basis. very very odd.
But all good things must finally come to an end, so we said goodbye to the rainforest, all 40 family members and went to play on the beach for the last week.
Sitting still on a beach for a whole week however isn´t as easy as we thought and we just couldn´t resist the tempation to kidnap a child on a bike.
This was, in fact a favour to the local teacher, but we were accused by some passing locals of childnapping, and had to explain to a destraught mum that we´re really quite nice, really.
So we continued on our bike trip and had egg sandwiches,
met a ridulous cow,
and seeing as it was a whole 10 miles there and back, had a few drinks.
Just the 3 cocktails for Sophie.
So thats the end of it! It´s been a brilliant 4 months but we´re ready to come home now. Flying back on tuesday so will see you all very soon! xxxxx
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