25 years ago, at the age where the heart and soul are vibrant and full of illusions and stories to live, I was leading a good project in the big city, a phone call was enough to understand that it was time for that meeting that I had always longed for. The one I dreamed of since I was a child. An event that you have always known it would positively change your life and give you the opportunity to transcend. That’s how on April 24, 1997 from the window of a plane, that was taking me to my destination. I looked for the first time at the majestic, imposing and at the same time, intimidating green carpet of the Amazon Rainforest. My emotions did not wait, I remember that the first thing I thought was; I immediately gave thanks to nature, to the planet, to my ancestors for the marvel that my eyes could see, that in the depths of my being I felt as part of me and of my future history.
Around midday, upon landing in Leticia, I discovered a vibrant population, a lot of commercial activity, a warm climate. Too much for my taste and my city style, but at the same time, this confirmed that I was already in the most biodiverse place on the planet, the Amazon Rainforest.
At the airport I met with Linder Pizco, a young indigenous Tikuna whose age was around 22 years, with a natural shyness and at the same time a big smile and a look that transmitted the essence of his culture. The innocence of the inhabitants of the jungle and of course his eagerness to cooperate in everything that was required.
No more than two hours had passed since my arrival and I’d already have lunch at the local market square. An exotic piranha broth accompanied by fariña which is a derivative of the yucca brava, which resembles a cereal and is used by all locals to accompany all meals. The typical chili that can not miss, fried green plantain “patacones” and copuazu juice, an Amazonian fruit of the cocoa family with an acidic and very aromatic flavor.
Linder, in a diligently way, accompanied me to the river port. A five minutes walk from the market square, I boarded a boat with outboard motors where all the locals are transported. Many people and very hot weather, but above all a deep emotion. My encounter with the great Amazon River was very close, so close that I could feel it in the breeze as the boat moved forward to meet the golden water giant.
Navigating for the first time on the largest river in the world, made me confirm something I had always thought, we are nothing before the imposing nature, mother earth has had and will always have the last word. Excited, almost on the verge of tears, I sailed for almost two hours, witnessing how the riverside communities coexist between the river and the jungle, in a harmonious, respectful, carefree encounter. With the sole premise of living each day fully and happily, for them each day brings its own zeal.
Finally, in the late afternoon I arrived at the Amacayacu National Park, which would become my home for the next 8 years, and as if what I had experienced during the day was not enough, a sunset of reddish, orange and grey tones found me sitting in front of the great river, with a cup of coffee, with a smile that truly came from my soul and with the certainty that I had made the best decision of my life, to accept the Call of the Jungle.
Jhony Ochoa Cubillos
