Campo Cocha and Arajuno Jungle Lodge, Ecuador

12 days living in the middle of the Ecuadorian jungle.... Who thought I´d ever do that, huh? We spent the first week living with host families in Campo Cocha, a VERY small native community that farms communally and lives with only the basic modern anemities. Most families in Campo Cocha have at least five children(or six, seven, eight, all very common), but my family consisted of only my father, my mother, and one daughter, a spunky six year old named Lisa. Our home was on stilts and though it had a small amount of electricity, there was no plumbing or other power source, so all cooking was done by fire and the bathroom was a small shack on the back of the property. Every morning I woke up early (my homestay partner, Danielle, was sick with an ameoba all week, so I spent most of the time alone with my family) to help with breakfast and the chores of the day. The chores ranged from sweeping and washing dishes and laundry in the nearby creek, to more exausting tasks like chopping firewood, pulling yuka (a yummy potato-ish food), and working in the plantain fields. My family spoke only spanish and quichwa, so I ended up speaking spanish for all but two hours every day, when I met up with my group member for the camp we were running for local kids. I taught english class with two other girls, Karly and Emma, during the camp, which was challenging, but hilarious.
Though I was extremely uncomfortable in the beginning of this homestay (our house had a number of tarantulas that would wander the walls at night plus my spanish is ok, but definitely not good...) I was the most sad to leave this place out of all of our stops so far. It was an amazing experience to see how people live their lives so differently than I do, and yet watch the interaction of a family of three, so similar to my own upbringing. Leaving my Campo Cocha family was really hard, and I hope to send them mail and keep in touch with them somehow as Lisa grows up...
This week we stayed at the Arajuno Jungle Lodge, just a couple minutes up river from Campo Cocha, and worked for Tom Larson, a former Peace Corps volunteer who moved to Ecuador in 2000 and built his eco-tourism lodge for travellers soon after. He also runs a non-profit that works on projects around the community related to breeding and protecting native species. We worked on his yellow-spotted-turtle ponds (Cecil´s long lost relatives), which included many, many hours of manual labor in the mud, bugs, and hot, hot sun, but it felt great to be involved in such an amazing project. Tom has a pretty good life going for himself- his lodge is right on the river, his wife is the most amazing cook ever, and they have a 3 year old woolly monkey named Mona who keeps them occupied. She is a character, that´s for sure!
Today we just arrived in Otavollo, Ecuador for a day of shopping, and then we head to Quito for the last big event of our trip- 5 days in the Galapagos Islands! I´ll update again soon, and then be home on May 5th! Can´t wait to see everyone back in the PNW and be able to contact those of you who aren´t!
Love and miss you all,
Burns