Yarina Lodge ~ Tuesday, July 15, 2014

After a breakfast of a cheese omelet, chicken sausage, and hot chocolate, we pulled on our borrowed mud boots. We traveled via our motorized canoe down the river then disembarked to start walking. Delphin pointed out the plants and many birds. We trudged through squishy mud, and I was really glad that I was wearing the boots provided by the lodge.

Soon we came to the one-room elementary school we would visit. The male teacher and his wife were helping the kids individually when we walked into the building. He answered any questions that we asked. A first year teacher’s salary is under $400 per month. We then split into two groups and took turns drawing pictures on the white board then writing the English word for it. The kids would write the Spanish word.

Then we all got in a circle and sang the Hokey Pokey. Cha-Cha-Cha sang “Me llamo Cha-Cha-Cha” in Spanish then English. Next we presented the picture book, THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND, and sang the chorus in Spanish. Everyone on the tour sang the chorus with us in English. Then the whole group gave their gifts of school supplies and games to the teacher.

We continued to slosh through the muddy path as Delphin and a local guide pointed out birds, trees, and other plants. They demonstrated how they put the leaves together to make a thatched roof. We stopped at a private home on stilts. We had a cooking lesson. She demonstrate how to wrap a fresh tilapia fish in a giant leaf, then four members of our groups each wrapped a fish the same way.

Then another one of these tied leaves was passed around. We were told to listen to the bundle. I heard some clicking sounds, and I guessed that it was filled with millipedes. As it turned out, about ten fat weaver big larvae (about two inches long and half inch diameter) were wriggling around. Delphin popped one into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed it. I volunteered to smash the head with my thumb then skewered three of them on a bamboo stick to grill.

For lunch, we each placed half a fish, some plantain, and yuca on our leaf plate. Of course, I ate one of the roasted weaver larva too. We ate with our fingers, and I even ate the fish cheeks and one of the eyes. For dessert we had sliced fresh watermelon. I bought a bracelet made of local berries and reeds and Paul bought a carved ironwood knife. We then thanked our hosts.

Out front of the house Delphin demonstrated how to make darts for a long straight blowgun with a reed with kapok wrapped around it. He blew a dart through his long straight blowgun and hit the center. We each got a chance to shoot. Both Paul and I hit the target! 

Then we walked a short distance to the river where out canoe was waiting for us. On the way back they stopped the boat so we could see the caiman lizard on a tree leaf. When we arrived back in camp, we rested for two hours.

We next went for a two-hour walk in the jungle near the camp with three guides. One gave us explanations of the plants in Spanish, then Delphin gave us the information in English. When we were almost at the end of the loop trail, we had to turn around and retrace our steps because water on the trail was waist deep. One of the ladies accidentally slipped and fell into the water. Luckily, she had put her camera in the case, so it didn’t get wet!

Just before dinner showed a PowerPoint presentation about the Amazon Basin. After dinner we walked back to our cabana under a clear starry sky.

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I gave the teacher the picture book with all of the words, so Cha-Cha-Cha sang “This Land Is Your Land” in English and Spanish into the teacher’s phone to get the tune right.

. Delphin showed us a millipede

Our sleeping cabanas