That evening at dinner Professor Wentworth revealed the finer details of their expedition to his team. "The civilization we are seeking are the Conejos, which,hundreds of years before the Spanish arrived,used to inhabit what is now the Imbabura Province in the north west of Ecuador until they were attacked from the north by the hostile Coaques and reportedly wiped out. Following extensive research I believe many of the Conejos fled inland then south east to what is the Oriente or as we now know it the Amazon Rain Forest where, free of outside danger and interference, they built an advanced culture. That is our destination folks"....
"That sounds intriguing Professor. With all the gear we have to cart our three porters will be invaluable and I bought a machete like they carry themselves. For safety I also bought a revolver here in Coca in case of Panthers, bandits or whatever, and some more sundry items. Lots of insect repellant. With 6 of us and all the gear and supplies two bush bashing four wheel drives will be needed Professor. Maybe when on foot Pedro the Porter says perhaps we could hire some donkeys from one of the small Indian villages about. We could leave the vehicles there too for safe keeping. Maybe hire an Indian guide?
Can I volunteer to be a driver Professor? I have a four wheel drive Range Rover back in England which I use in our extreme winter months. I'd rather not let some poor donkey be loaded down with my gear too, I'm against using animals for work.
Dinner was delicious! I was very keen to impress the professor and his team but as a student I was not nearly as experienced as them, I'd learn though, I'm a quick learner and will take everything in. I've seen pictures and videos of the Amazon Rain Forest but to actually be heading there was amazing, my family and friends back in England will be so jealous.
A good idea Mr Eames. I have hired one guide but he is not indigenous to the Oriente so go head and hire your Indian guide. Miss Morgan you certainly may drive one of the Land Rovers. But only until we reach the rain forest where we will leave them as Mr Eames has said and resort to donkeys then by foot once it becomes too impenetrable.
"And I'm happy to drive the other Land Rover" said Terry. This Brown one has gps and a sat nav phone. Ah, so has the Green one. Brown or Green Jess?" Pedro the chief porter, who speaks English says to all: "There's a small native village on the way we're headed. There I know a big Indian man called 'Capo' who is an excellent guide, but he's not cheap. $US200 per day and he carries a rifle. He's even got his 'Guide credentials from the Caco Tourist Office. He's a Greenie type though and watches out for illegal mining and logging. He takes out tourists, Journalists and researchers like yourselves into the jungle. You should be all ok by him. He's hassled many a mining or logging operation and did some jail time for that. Now it seems, so the rumours go, a giant upright beaked Olwbear monster is scaring off the loggers and miners. We all reckon that's Capo in a costume. Capo the Indian Native Greenie! He sure knows all the paths many say, as well as the all the plants and creatures of the Jungle. Being a crazy Greenie he refuses to guide all hunters, loggers and miners like their Geologists. Some say Capo can speak to the Birds too. Myth stuff but he knows the jungle, like the back of his hand."
Capo will be great for us with his knowledge of Indian tribes, loggers and miners Mr Eames, all of whom proliferate in the Oriente. More south tho not so much in Ecuador, so hopefully they wont interfere in our expedition. For those wondering if we find any antiquities do we keep them. The short answer is no as they belong to the Ecuadoran govt. But the governor of this region has given us carte blanche to explore any part of the Oriente and that includes air space for our drone. Professor Valderas what are your views on how the expedition is proceeding. Anything you would like to add to its organization?
Great tracts of Ecuador, including almost all of the Oriente (Amazon rainforest), remain unknown to archaeologists, a fact that adds credence to the possibility of early human habitation. I read this some time back and it was what gave me the impetus to research the Ecuadorian Oriente. While I am certain the Canejos did flee this way, even if we dont find anything of their culture we may well find something of a yet unknown one. Below: A Ceramic vessel with a sitting human figure. Plus this monster- like figurine. Jama-Coaque Culture, of the Regional Development Period (500 BC–AD 500). These are the types of item we will be seeking. This,ceramic bowls and trinkets. We may even get lucky and locate small beads called chiquira which were used by ancient Ecuadoran Indians as currency.
I think we can dispense with the formalities, Richard. I am Victoria to my friends. And I hope we will all be friends. I have all my gear stored in my back pack. It consists mostly of a camera, a microscope, a small digging tool and containers to put specimens into. Capo sounds like an interesting character. I am eager to meet him. I suspect we will have much in common.
Victoria it is. I prefer Ritchie from my friends. You seem well prepared to help us with the dig as well as your own field of expertise Victoria. I am most grateful.
And I'm just Terry. Not even Terence. Mr Eames is a bit formal for an Irishman. Victoria, since you teach Biogeography, the study of how living things are distributed on Earth, can you see the signs of anomalous vegetation that might indicate signs of previous ancient settlements? I saw a documentary on that once finding old long buried Celtic ruins in England. They took aerial pictures flying a drone like Richie's. Tony Robinson (aka Baldrick) hosted the program, Time Team? Just a thought.
I haven’t seen anything unusual yet, Terry. But that is one of the things I will be looking for. If there is an area where anomalous plants are found, it would certainly indicate that they were brought here by a distant culture. Possibly by the Conejos. We departed from Coca at first light the next morning. The road was narrow and winding but we made good time. Just before darkness set in, we arrived at a small native village. Capo spoke to the chief and arranged for us to stay overnight.
Capo belonged to the Quechuas people, one of the largest indigenous races in Ecuador. That evening we were treated to an Ecuadorian feast of Onion and tomato curtido salsa/salad, Beef Empenadas, Cornbread Pudding and Chicha de Pina, a drink made with pineapple rinds in water with anise, allspice, cinnamon sticks and sugar to wash it down. Later we were entertained by a traditional Ecuadorian dance.
I love their costumes and Culture. It must be a challenge to keep the old customs and ways still alive in these modern times. I saw a young Indian boy taking pictures of the dancing with a phone! Although my Irish ancestors were subjugated by the English for about 900 years we still kept our Language and Culture. It's a different story now with all the electronic ways to instantly communicate. I bet there'll be highways running through this region in 50 years, and it'll be a hot dry savannah. We need to preserve the past, even if we have to dig it up with a shovel and pick, a skill innate to all Irishmen. Digging that is.
..and archaeologists Mr Eames. Ok team the fun is over as the hard work begins from tomorrow morning when we head off by donkey for the Oriente which is about 50kms south east of here. At dawn the team, Capo and his porters set off with Wentworth harboring a mixture of emotions. One of excitement another of trepidation at going up against the formidable Oriente. But he had to remain strong and resolute as these three were his responsibility and he was not going to let them down.