From Quito it’s a bumpy three and a half hour bus ride to the small village of Chontal in North-western Ecuador. I’d spent the previous couple of days enjoying the luxury of warm showers, the most comfortable beds in a hostel so far and panoramic roof-top views at Secret Garden in the Old Town. Once in Chontal, I was met by a smiling young lad upon whom I unleashed some rather garbled Spanish, eventually figuring out that he was actually going to take me up to Los Cedros, the biological reserve in the Cloud Forest where I would be spending the next month. Standing there in the baking midday sun with two French tourists who hardly spoke any English, he disappeared up a small lane, returning minutes later with four slightly tired-looking mules: our ride up.
Now this was my first ever mule ride experience and for the first hour I was all smiles, watching the scenery slowly change as we began to climb upwards. My valiant steed, Kensuki, was clearly the tired old workhorse of the bunch and I had to hang on tight as his front foot kept slipping in the mud. Five hours and a pretty sore behind later, having been up some truly crazy terrain and waded through a couple of streams, we emerged from the depths of the forest onto a flat ridge that overlooks two lush green valleys. Some wooden structures poke through the trees and the frenzied sound of a dog barking signalled our arrival. On a clear day you can see all the way down the valley to the blue haze of more mountains in the distance. It’s beautiful.
Los Cedros has been operational as a non-profit research station for the ongoing protection and conservation of some 6000ha of primary forest for over twenty years. Director and founder Jose De Coux, an outspoken American ex-pat, has been living up here permanently since it’s inception in 1994 and relies on volunteer help to keep everything running as it should. Naturally, that’s where I come in. Along with few fellow international helpers, I have spent my time here chopping, hauling, hiking, clearing, harvesting, feeding and cleaning my way round the reserve. That makes it sound a little like hard work but I must confess, its been pretty laid back.
Living up here, about as far away from civilisation as I’ve ever been has been paradoxically both relaxed and hard-working. Its been undeniably refreshing to be so far away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the world, hidden away up on a mountain with only the forest and its bounty of flora and fauna for company. I’ve swum in natural pools and felt the immense power of a waterfall beat down upon my back, come face to face with a variety of interesting creatures, baked no end of amazing cookies, played endless games of ‘Presidents and Arseholes’, completed many challenging hikes through the gorgeous unspoilt forests of the reserve. It’s been a great experience overall. Jose is certainly a fascinating character with a lifetime of tall stories and conservation experience to draw on and the place wouldn’t be the same without him, despite his sometimes ‘crotchety’ tendencies. Here´s some of the critters I met:
One fortuitous event I wasn’t expecting whilst up there was a chance to try the famed mescaline-containing San Pedro cactus (Hi again Mum!) that is indigenous to Andean regions from Ecuador down to Peru and Bolivia. Fernando, a fellow drummer and one of Jose’s friends from Quito arrived last week for one of his regular pilgrimages. His aim? To get back to nature in a very primal way. With excellent synchronicity, I was invited to join him and his friend Herrardo to drink the foul-tasting juice and spend a day wandering through the boulder-strewn riverbeds and ancient forest lost in a reverie of happiness and wonder. It was rather fantastic. Like a psychedelic Ray Mears, I scrambled up streams and floated down trails, by turns becoming fascinated by the actions of the most minute of creatures and relishing the deep feeling of connectedness to the abundance of buzzing energy all around. Far out.
A few photos taken during this experience happen to be some of my favourites so far, the mescaline definitely enhanced my aesthetic appreciation (or ‘photographer’s eye’), not to mention having a similarly dramatic effect on all my other senses. It was definitely strong, yet not particularly intense. I remained highly focused, yet wonderfully dreamy and time became very fluid. It all felt like a very natural state of being. I remember reading Aldous Huxleys infamous 1954 work, ‘The Doors of Perception’ (Yep, Uncle Jim Morrison was a fan) years ago and it kicked off an personal sense of intrigue about the plant that has finally been answered. And yes Kelvin I know you still have my copy you git!
Nine hour (yes, it lasts NINE hours!) dimensional adventures aside, it’s nice to get back on the road again. I’ve got less than half of my trip remaining now. The next two weeks or so will be my last in Ecuador and there are plenty of places I’m planning to check out. From the unspoilt beaches of Canoa and a spot of whale watching in Puerto Lopez, to the colonial city (and UNESCO world heritage site) of Cuenca, to the long-time hippy hangout of Vilcabamba, a village set in a lush valley famous for the reputed longevity of its inhabitants (and its abundance of… San Pedro). Right now though, I’m back in Quito for a day or so, getting used to civilisation again, stocking up on food and most importantly, good quality green tea! How about some more photos I hear you cry? Oh go on then. These are the mescaline pictures. See if you can see a difference… x
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