Casa del Suizo

This past weekend, me and 3 other ladies decided to go relax for our birthdays. We set out for Casa del Suizo, a resort in the jungle. This place is very well known among the missionaries as it is a great place to relax and there are fun activities if you choose to do them. There is a pool, every room has a patio with a hammock that overlooks the river, and there is plenty of food.
We borrowed a friend's car, and set out on Friday night. I was the driver as I am the only one with a driver license. The car was a stick shift. I have driven a stick, that is all they have here, so when I took driver's ed, that is what I drove, but have not driven one since then. So we were in for an adventure. All my passengers said I did a great job!
Of those who had been before, no one could really remember the road, except to say that it was a bad road. Well, we drove for about 40 minutes on a beautiful road, so we were thinking maybe they fixed the road. Well, they had fixed the road, but they were not finished yet. We got to the part that was all rocks and pot holes. This lasted just over 20 minutes, but it seemed like forever. But we got there without any problems.
After we got there, we relaxed for a while, then it was time to eat lunch. They had very normal food, very good food. But one thing that they had, that I had never tried before was cow tongue. So I decided to try it. It was smothered in mushrooms and sauce, so it actually tasted good. I was expecting it to be very tough, but it was tender, except for the very edge. It kind of had the consistency of canadian bacon. I tried a piece without mushrooms to see what it actually tasted like. It wasn't gross, but it didn't have a great flavor either, I can't really describe it for you though. You will just have to try it for yourself when you visit a place that serves tongue.
After lunch 4 of us set out on an adventure to a Quichua village. We were going to be in a canoe for a while, then have to walk through deep mud, then another canoe, then walk through the forest. So, we decided to wear our mud boots, of course we had on shorts (because it was very hot there) so we looked very stylish.
We arrived to the part where we had to take the small canoe. This was a canoe carved out of a log, it was barely wider than me. Everyone that crossed in the small canoe while we were watching was wobbling back and forth. I thought for sure we would tip over when it was our turn. I was not worried about getting wet, I was worried about my camera. The way you got to the other side in this canoe was, a little girl, not more than 4 feet tall, pushed the canoe all the way across the river and the water only came up to her waist. So I said I was going to walk across. Our guide wanted me to go in the boat for the experience, so he took our cameras. Our turn came, when I was getting in, I lost my balance and almost fell into the river. I should have taken that as a sign to walk. I got in and we headed across the river. We got almost to the other side and we hit a big rock on the botton, really hard. We rocked back and forth, I thought for sure we were going down. But we didn't. But, funny how the guide, with our cameras, shot a picture just as we almost fell out. He denies that was planned, I don't believe him.
When we got to the village, there was this Quichua house. We went behind the house and they showed us how to shoot a blow gun. I was not able to hit the target, but I was able to make the dart fly. It was a lot harder than it looks, the blow gun is heavy and you have to hold it up high.
Then we went in the house and they showed us how to make Chicha. Chicha is an alcoholic drink that traditionally was fermented with spit. The women would chew yuca and spit it out, it would then be left to ferment and the men would drink it about 3 days later. Now, at least in the Quichua culture, it is fermented with sweet potato. So they showed us how it is made, then we all tried some that was made 5 days ago. Traditionally, when you enter a Quichua house, they will pass the bowl of Chicha around for everyone to have a sip. So she gave us the bowl and we all took a sip. It was very fermented, and as yuca does not have much flavor, neither did this. It was not very good.
Then, right before we left this village, our guide, who was Quichua, pulled a seed from a nearby tree to show us what they would use to paint their faces. My friend Beth and I got or faces painted. She was painted like a bride and I was painted like a warrior.
The last thing we did on our tour was go to a place where they make pottery. The pottery is all hand made and hand painted. It is painted beautifully and intricately with many lines and 2 colors, all natural, black, white, and red.
Over all, we had a very relaxing and adventurous time on our trip. The ride home in the car was just as bumpy and rocky, but again, we made it with the car in one piece. And let me tell you, I am much better and more confident driving a stick shift now.