Cuyabeno Part 2
- Peter Stromberg
- Aug 15, 2022
- 12 min read
Updated: Jun 26
By Peter Stromberg
The following morning we were moving a little slower, as people naturally do in the rain. Packing all of our earthly belongings out of the wounded truck and into the taxi. The deluge continued. We made a quick detour to “Home Depot” to buy some black plastic to try and keep our already damp backpacks from being soaked while in transit in the bed of the truck; we formed a luggage burrito. We had missed one day of the actual “vacation” part of our vacation due to our transportation issues. The pace of the crew quickened once we were moving in the right direction. We needed to be at the bridge by 2:00 PM for our rendezvous with the canoe and team. Our guide’s name was Chino, a local from the Siona tribe that calls this region of the flooded Amazon home.
The Siona language is called Tucanoan, and it has a very unique sound and cadence. Although most Siona people now speak Spanish, when they talk amongst themselves it’s usually in their native tongue. I’m not sure why it is so pleasing to the ear, even without understanding the language. It was the sound of adventure and far-off places. According to Wikipedia, “Today, Ecuadorian Siona is spoken by less than 250 people and is critically endangered.” It’s a sound and a rhythm that won’t be around much longer. Replaced by a language that fits better into a smartphone.
