14
Location: The Amazon
We woke up early and ready to scour Hector’s mythical island. As we arrived at his island his playful dog, Alpha, greeted us. Then we made our way to the communal greeting room in which the roof was enveloped in smoke from a tiny flame. In this excellent room, Hector told us his stories about his life as the ultimate Amazonian man. After the talk, we went on a hike through the jungle to look for monkeys, as Hector uses his island to rehabilitate monkeys. Next, we had the ultimate blow dart and spear throwing competition to slay the dreaded orange. Only Marina was successful in slaying the orange with a blow-dart. After lunch, we helped Hector build a new roof for a hut on his island. This roof is constructed of woven palm leaves, rope, nails, and wood to support the structure. He told us that our hut could last up to ten years before they would need a new one. Braiding the palms was difficult but rewarding, and the demolition team from the first hut had a lot of fun ninja-kicking the support structure. Before dinner, we started an interesting forum consisting of honorable stories of community service by others where we were able to reflect on the service work we have been doing on this trip. It’s crazy how eye-opening a short three-week trip can be, but we all can agree that we’ve become much more aware of the purpose and benefits of serving others. Finally, after dinner, the other half of the group went on a night hike with Hector on which they saw a Pikachu (a raccoon). It was a full day, but a rewarding one, and we all went to be exhausted and excited for what lay ahead.