At 9 AM, we walked over to the ReNuPeru Ethnobotanical Garden, which is located just behind the guest rooms. Here, numerous local medicinal plants are grown and prepared for use by a practicing curandero or shaman, Antonio Montero. Once we had gathered around, Sr. Montero welcomed us and began to explain about his garden and his work; Roldan translated his Spanish. Now 54, he began training with his grandfather when he was 10; he is now passing on this knowledge to his two teenage sons, Allan and Hilmer. For most of the rural population in Amazonia, the local curandero provides routine medical care. Only in the case of severe illness or injury do people travel to a city for health care. For example, Sr. Montero contracted malaria the previous year and spent several months recovering in a hospital in Iquitos.
Though Sr. Montero mentioned the importance of "spirits" in healing, I didn't get the impression that he was speaking of discrete ectoplasmic entities, but rather of a more abstract concept. In any event, his approach to healing did seem quite pragmatic and materialistic, as opposed to the supernatural and superstitious approach one is led to expect by bad Hollywood movies. Trial and error had shown his predecessors that certain things worked most of the time, and that other things didn't.
He described a number of plants and how they were used medicinally. Some of the more generalized tonics were administered to the entire group. For example, we each were "shampooed" with a decoction of ginger root, lemongrass, and other aromatic herbs. This mixture was designed to increase energy, and I had to admit that it was quite refreshing, stimulating, and pleasingly fragrant. He also demonstrated how the red sap from the fruit of achiote (Bixa orellana, Bixaceae) was used by indigenous peoples to decorate the body for ritual purposes. Everyone in the group (including myself) had his or her face decorated in various ways with the brilliant red sap. This particular pigment washed off very easily. Not so the next demonstration, a black band painted onto the wrist to ward off snake bite; he warned that this plant-based pigment would not wear away for many weeks. Nonetheless, many of the students had themselves protected in this way. It must have worked, as none of the students thus banded was bitten by a snake while there.
When we returned from our visit with Sr. Montero, I took a shower, primarily to get the achiote sap off my face; perspiring like I was, it was smearing badly. After lunch, about 2:30 PM, we went out in the boats again. We travelled up the Río Napo a short distance to a tributary on the opposite bank. Following this for some distance, we finally came to a blackwater creek, which we ascended. High in trees lining the creek, we saw Brown-throated Sloths (Bradypus variegatus); not once, but in three different places. They truly are sluggish things, lazily hanging a branch and munching on foliage. The guide told us they only descend their tree once a week or so, to defecate, after which they climb back into the canopy. We also got a good look at a large Redheaded Chameleon that was basking on a log near the water. Of course, many birds were pointed out, and at one point, we scared a colony of bats roosting in a rotting tree trunk, who took off in a great fluttering hurry.
It was near sunset when we reached the mouth of the Sucusari. There, to our great delight, we had excellent views of three pink dolphins! They breached several times, not far from the boats. Apparently overcome with emotion and a love of nature, Jim, Jeremy, and Roldan dove into the water to swim with them.
We were back at the dock by 6:30 PM; dinner was served half an hour later. That evening, I sat up till 10 PM drinking cuba libres and playing Uno® (a card game) in the dining hall with Jeremy, Scott, and three girls from the Emory group (Amy, Birgitta, and Katherine). Feeling generous, I even put a couple rounds of drinks for the students on my bar tab.
It was on this occasion, and a couple others later, that I felt as though I made my greatest contribution to education on the trip. As we played cards, we chatted amiably about this or that - movies, music, home, etc. The kind of animated conversation you expect when folks are having a good time. But once in a while, the conversation touched on academic topics - classes, majors, opportunities, career strategies. Recalling well the uncertainties and worries that had plagued me when I had been their age, I naturally offered up insights and advice based on my own experiences. When this happened, every student in the group fell silent and gave me their complete attention. To my utter amazement, they were hanging on my every word. It was astonishing; I am not accustomed to having young people pay attention to me when I start to carry on about "when I was your age". It seemed as though they were hungry for practical career advice, for academic guidance that went beyond "work hard and get good grades". That, and reassurance that the people who seem to have it made today went through the same doubts and indecision that sometimes plagues them. Interacting with these bright young people in this way almost made me regret that my job title is "curator" instead of "professor".
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