A very unique experience today was a visit to Clay Lick by motorboat – a huge cliff of orange clay the birds and monkeys love to munch on because of the calcium and other minerals the clay contains. Hundreds of parrots (maybe thousands…too many to count🤪) have been coming here every morning for breakfast since the early 90s. The scientists say the minerals act as an anti-acid for them. Parrots are the most colorful bird in the rainforests. They are both a plant eater and a meat eater …You can see all 3 species of parrots at this one cliff… the Yellow Crown, the Blue Headed, and the Amazon Green (largest). In order to see them you must be there by 6:30 AM!!! Yelp, set your alarm for 5 AM because you have a 30 min boat ride to get there. Well worth the early morning wake up call.
After breakfast, we went to the ladies cultural center to learn about the Kichwa way of life in the rainforest.
The Ladies from the community showed us their traditional dances, cooked us multiple tasty treats, their standard tea, and lots of handicrafts. Here’s where I took a BIG step out of my comfort zone…. I actually tasted a delicacy….roasted Palm weavil larva!!!! Note…I said tasted ….not swallowed. 😬😩
The oldest textile on the planet was supposedly found here in the Amazon. They would peel off a layer of a specific tree’s bark…and pound & wash it until all the bark is off and all you have left is fiber.
They eat the Land Snail- nocturnal – very large…and then use the shell for communication…blow to make a loud noise for gatherings or emergencies.
I didn’t take the afternoon jungle hike….good choice because it didn’t JUST rain… it poured! Connie survived it with a walking stick but said it was very muddy and slippery…not my thing.
The final night dinner & wine with all our new friends was great. The best part of traveling is meeting new friends from all walks of life and sharing our adventures. Looks like this trip will produce a house swap with our new British friends ….my vacation cabin in Ruidoso in exchange for their villa in Kas, Turkey. 😊
Back to Quito for one night and then home. Missing my family and friends.
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