27.08.09 Amarongachi Lodge – Waterfall Climbing Trip, then Laguna Swim

Eduardo, our guide today, demonstrated his artistic skills painting our faces with Achiote (a hairy fruit with red seeds which, when pulmerised gently generate a strong yellow, red dye) to energise us for the trek ahead. He explained we are trekking through primary rainforest, untouched by man, to three waterfalls, which we’ll be conquering by climbing using ropes. Our gumboots were soon filled with water causing us to squelch through the riverbed pools, clambering over slippery rocks.

We all took our first ‘shower’ in a fresh water waterfall, the full force of it and the cold temperature causing me to scream out. My first injury was sustained when I lost my balance while clinging on to the rope to ascend the waterfall. I wobbled and my legs went from under me causing me to bash my elbow into the rock. The mistake I made was not to pull hard on the rope and keep my elbows in! We successfully bagged all three waterfalls with ‘shower’ breaks and the opportunity to immerse ourselves in a 1.5metre splash pool, if we weren’t wet enough already. Eduardo showed us a ‘toad-ladder’ tree, whose gigantic protruding trunk base provides shelter potential for jungle travellers and when hit with a club produces a loud hollow ‘call’ useful for communicating across miles of forest, in order to locate other people. The climb down was ‘fun’, by this I mean, Greg enjoyed bounding down like a monkey while I took my time negotiating trip roots and slippery clay soil. We ate at the lodge, which signifies the last civilization before virgin, primary forest.
After a short siesta we walked to an idyllic lagoon (splash pool in a rocky river) for a welcome swim. Eduardo invited us to take a slide down over the rocks as long as we kept our legs out front and let the force of the water take us. Another new method of travelling!
“Ashka paragachu” – Kichwa (Amazon jungle language) for Thank you.
“Managachu” – You’re Welcome.