A blue butterfly flutters out of the green thicket, pauses for a few seconds before disappearing in the trees.
”Whenever one of these butterflies flies, then the soul of a dead one flies,” our guide Kistupa Peas, an Achuar Indian, deep in the jungle of Equador tells us.
The next town is 12 days away by foot. There is only pristine rainforest where the Kapawi river flows into the Pastaza, one of the arteries leading to the Amazon.
Here we find the Kapawi Lodge, an example of gentle tourism. All the houses and huts were built by Achuar Indians in the traditional style with timber. Not a single nail was used. But the lodge is still equipped with modern technology.
Solar panels supply the lodge with electricity. The water is filtered through three levels. The refuse is used as compost or taken back to the city.
The Kapawi Lodge was one of the first such installations built in partnership with the Indian communities. In the year 2011, ownership passes entirely to the Indians.
The journey from the Equadorian capital Quito takes half a day, using two aircraft, a helicopter and finally a canoe with an onboard motor. Temperatures in the jungle are around 38°C with 90% humidity. The skin gets damp and sticky, and hair and clothing become wet with sweat after walking only a few steps.
Two guides accompany us on the jungle tour — an Equadorian who speaks fluent English and an Achuar Indian who understands some Spanish.
Normally, the Achuar Indian walks ahead because he knows the jungle best, sees all the insects, birds, frogs and spiders. He would also be the first one to see a poisonous snake. All senses are on alert duing the walk through the forest with all its shades of green.
Parrots scream above and insects swirl around us. The forest smells of decay, of wet wood and damp earth.
For the Achuans, who only three decades ago shrunk the heads of their dead enemies, the lodge is an important source of income.
They need the money for medicine, clothing and such things as batteries and pencils because the children go to school.
The Achuans live in the jungle but are not primitive. Some villages have transistor radios where they can hear programmes produced in the Achuar language.
Kistupa Peas, who is also known as Cristobal, cannot imagine a life without the forest. ”We will not allow the forest to be destroyed,” he says.
The danger is not unreal because an oil company has done a survey and located some oil in the region.
Oil extraction might bring income, but bad things as well. The oil fields in northeastern Equador near the city of Coca are an example. First the workers came, then came crime, environmental degradation and prostitution.
”We want to live in peace in our forest,” Cristobal says. ”We don’t want any bulldozers and oil wells. We would rather have bird watchers and eco-tourists”. — Sapa