Serena Sharma

Trip to Limón Indanza

This past week, we all got the opportunity to visit current volunteers to see their day-to-day lives, communities, and work. Zander, Brandon, and I went to visit Ainsley, a volunteer currently serving in Limón Indanza. Limón Indanza is located in the southern part of Ecuador in the Amazonian Rainforest region.

First, we had to deal with the problem of getting there. Our bus left from the northern part of Quito at 8:15am. With rush hour traffic, it took an hour and a half just to get out of Quito. And that was just the beginning. We took the bus south through the mountainous region until reaching Ambato and then veered east to head into the rainforest. Around 3:00pm, we were starving. Zander, Brandon, and I were all describing the type of food we were dreaming of eating. Top choices were a big bucket of fried chicken or a greasy sandwich. Right when we all agreed a burger would be delicious, like magic, a street vendor came onto the bus selling hamburguesas. We all looked at each other with immeasurable joy. My language and culture facilitator would be so disappointed we didn’t even try to haggle the price, but we were just too excited. The burger had cucumbers in it and barely any meat, but I have never been so happy to eat something. The bus made its way to Puyo and finally to Macas. We got to Macas at 6:30pm, grabbed a quick bite at the bus terminal, and then hopped on the last local bus to Limón Indanza at 7:00pm. At last, we made it to our destination just before 10:00pm, excited and exhausted. Ainsley met us at the station, and we walked over to the hotel to drop our stuff off just before they locked the doors. But there was one more stop we wanted to make before bed. We walked over to a local bar (with only three tables in it) and got maracuyá mojitos while getting to know Ainsley and our itinerary. But we were all exhausted by 11:00pm and promptly hit the hay.

The next morning, we had breakfast with Ainsley’s host family. Her host dad happens to be the mayor of the town, and her host parents were both so sweet to us. After eating, we drove to a senior community center in Chiviaza, about 20 minutes away, to do an activity with them and cook ayampacos. On the way there, we stopped at a gorgeous waterfall. If I end up in the rainforest for service (which I’m pretty positive is the case), I’m so excited to see all the beautiful waterfalls. We arrived at the senior community and greeted everyone. They were shocked at how tall Zander is. He’s 6’6″, and I’m sure they’d never seen someone that tall before. One woman was cute to ask for a picture with him. They fed us empanadas and guayusa tea, a plant native to the Amazon that’s naturally caffeinated and has medicinal properties. Ainsley said if someone gives you guayusa tea, it’s a sign they like you. By the end of the trip, I felt like we’d been given plenty.

Afterwards, I helped the women make ayampacos. An ayampaco is a traditional Amazonian dish that originates from the indigenous Shuar culture, primarily found in Ecuador’s Morona Santiago province, where we were. It consists of meat or fish and vegetables seasoned with local spices, wrapped tightly in a bijao (banana) leaf, and cooked over hot coals. Ours were made with chicken. I helped mix in the spices and wrap the leaves. Meanwhile, Zander and Brandon helped build a compost bin for the center’s garden to enrich the soil and cut down on food waste. Once the food was ready, we all ate lunch together and got to know each other a bit better. Afterwards, we played a game with them where they had to keep balloons in the air; if one dropped, they had to pop it and complete an activity written inside. Some of them got surprisingly competitive, which was cute. I think the elderly population is slowly becoming my favorite population to work with because they’re always so warm and welcoming. Below is a picture of us with all of them.

We said our goodbyes and headed to a friend’s farm to hike the property and see the petroglyphs there. These rocks date back to 300 B.C.E. and were made by ancient cultures living in the Amazon. They have carvings that resemble humans, animals, geometric shapes, and astral imagery. One rock had 28 carvings, thought to reflect the lunar calendar. The coolest part, to me, was the rocks with a circular divot carved into them, used as reflecting pools, either as mirrors or to see the stars. Throughout the walk, Giovanni, the farm’s owner, told us about the different plants. One tree produces sap called sangre de drago, or blood of the dragon, believed to have healing properties. You rub it into your skin, and it turns into a white paste that acts as a liquid bandage, protecting and healing wounds. We also tried lemons from a lemon tree we passed. These trees are prevalent in the area, and that’s what gives Limón Indanza its name. Giovanni also presses and distills his own sugar cane liquor, known as aguardiente, which we tried and which was impressively smooth. I also made the mistake of eating an aji pepper, which was incredibly spicy. Ainsley said she made the same mistake the first time she came there too. But all in all, I loved the rainforest snacks that came with exploring the petroglyphs.

We headed back, got dinner, and called it a night. The next day, we went to a campsite area and swam in the river. At first, it was freezing cold with a strong current, but we all jumped in and eventually got used to it. There was a rope swing to jump into the river. Zander was the only one brave enough to swing from a platform high in a tree, rather than just from the ground like the rest of us. We skipped rocks along the river. It felt like we were all kids again. After swimming, we got lunch and met up with a group of high schoolers to do a project with them. They’re part of a public speaking club, so they practiced talking to us and asking about cultural differences between the U.S. and Ecuador, while we got to practice our Spanish. At the end, we got roped into a TikTok dance with them, which had to be practiced to perfection. But it was a fun time. I hadn’t worked with that age group yet, and it was nice to see how things could be adapted to their interests.

We showered, relaxed for a bit, and then met up with Ainsley and her host parents again for dinner at an Amazonian restaurant, where I had some of the best shrimp I’ve ever eaten. Along with our food, we tried liquor infused with larvae. Two dead larvae were floating in the bottle, which apparently gave the liquor a sweet taste. After getting over the initial shock, it was actually quite good. It’s also a custom to grill the larvae and eat them whole; Ainsley and her family told us they’re chewy and sometimes pop in your mouth. Her dad loves them. Not particularly my cup of tea, but interesting to see. We spent the rest of the night chatting with Ainsley about her experiences. She was previously a Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda, and she had crazy stories from that time. We finished our night by preparing for our journey back to Quito the next morning.

I was a little nervous going into the Amazon, but this trip showed me just how beautiful it is there. I was constantly in awe of all the nature. And the sound of the river at night was so soothing. I’m still anxiously waiting to see where I get placed. I’ve gotten hints that I’m headed to the Amazon, but I have no idea where. I don’t find out until July 31st, but I’ll keep you all updated!