Adventuring into the Amazon: What I didn’t expect from Ecuador

Over spring break, I turned off my laptop and put my phone on airplane mode to travel to South America. I spent my week deep in the Amazonian region of Ecuador. I expected to be completely lost without social media and terrified of the creatures lurking in the shadows, but I was pleasantly surprised at my experience.

Yes, the bugs are a nuisance. They are about three times larger in the Amazon than in North America or Europe, but that is to be expected. What I did not expect was to find so many tarantulas. My friends Alexa and Larissa had about five enter their room during the week, and we also found one in the dining hall and one in our makeshift classroom.

Yet the biggest surprise of all was that on the final night of our stay, we were almost completely unbothered by the large, hairy spider than crawled through our feet as we sat around the campfire. It helped me completely conquer my fear of bugs and made for a great story to tell.

I expected that, if anything, I would be moved by how poor and unfortunate the people were. How naïve their lives are with a lack of strong Wi-Fi. I was surprised, yet again, by their culture. I actually envy it. They are very close to the nature. Every leaf, tree, and insect has a meaning and purpose to the Quechua people. It’s true for them.

One of the trees’ sap is even used as female shampoo because to them, having hair that is as beautiful as that tree is truly being attractive. While we were geared up in long pants, long sleeve shirts and rain boots, one of the Quechua women even walked with us through the rainforest barefoot, not even flinching at the flying insects surrounding her. That is how in touch and at one with nature they are – they blend in and the animals and insects of the forest see them as equals, not as guests in their territory.

In addition, the people are totally welcoming. We played a pickup game of soccer with some locals and though most of us (not including myself *wink*) did not speak Spanish, we were able to play because knowledge of the sport connected us. We just had to establish teams and go. The ability to work through a language barrier and simply enjoy a sport was absolutely incredible.

I had one very interesting experience with being at one with nature. One of my fellow explorers, Max, was trying to catch fish in the Napo River with a fishing pole. He was failing, so I went into the river without any special equipment to try to help. Within seconds, a catfish swam into my feet and I swiftly kicked it onto the sand. I caught a fish with just my feet while another person couldn’t do it with a modern, fully functional fishing rod. That, my friends, is being at one with nature. When you forget about modern technology and just live in the moment with nothing but the Earth’s creations around you, amazing things can happen. A fish can swim directly to you and allow you to catch it.

While in Ecuador, I made and painted my own pottery, harvested cacao and made chocolate (the good kind, not the 70% sugar, 20% cocoa butter, 10% cacao European bullshit), got over my fear of tarantulas, explored the unimaginable beauty of the Amazon rainforest, made lifelong friends both in Ecuador and at Pitt, and refreshed my body, soul, and mind.

My advice to every North American, European, or anyone who feels like they are way too addicted to the Internet and their phone, or simply feels that they need a break from the heartless progressive world, go to Ecuador.

The people are kind, the nature is beautiful, and the culture is refreshing. This one-week trip changed my life for the better. It reconnected me with nature and allowed me to experience the life that people had no choice but to live before we had iPhones and factories. Refresh yourself and become reconnected to the world.

We only have one Earth, one home, and we need to remember that and protect it. Visit Ecuador.