By Pippa Robson, Pantiacolla Tours

Cusco Airport, Peru: I boarded the 12-seater plane that would fly over the Andes to the landing strip in Boca Manu. It was strange to leave the beautiful city of Cusco, nestled in the mountains at 3,500 meters (11,500 feet) above sea level, and watch as the scenery changed from rocky peaks to lush lowland tropical rainforest in 45 minutes. When I stepped off the plane, a heat wave engulfed me as I walked towards the Yine Restaurant. Inside it was cooler, and my companion and I took in our surroundings while waiting for lunch. The Yine Lodge and Restaurant were built with the jungle in mind. The buildings are almost absorbed into the rainforest, and yet the architecture makes them stand out. Made with traditional materials and techniques, the lodge’s cabins have palm-thatched roofs that complement their hexagonal design and interweaving pathways.

The Boca Manu airstrip and Yine Lodge are situated just outside the Reserved Zone of Manu National Park in Peru. Built on Yine territorial land, the lodge is about five hours’ walk from Diamante, one of the villages inhabited by the Yine tribe. Members of this ancient rainforest community can also be found in the Urubamba region of Peru and in Brazil. One factor that makes the Diamante settlement unique is the surrounding area – despite not being situated within the Manu National Park boundaries, much of their land is still covered by virgin tropical rainforest. 

We ate locally caught fish with vegetables for lunch while our English-speaking guide, American biologist Ryan Burtoft, explained our forthcoming itinerary. Ryan is an integral part of the Yine Project – a joint ecotourism venture between himself and my company, Pantiacolla. We settled into our rooms and prepared for our first hike, to Cocha Mapchiri. Cocha is the Quechuan (language of the Incas) word for lake, and Mapchiri is the Yine word for anaconda – the lake is so called because it is said to be home to a giant snake. 

When the heat of the day had subsided we began. The jungle around the lodge is still largely untouched, although Manu in its history has seen rubber-tappers, oil-drillers and, of course, loggers. These explotive industries aren’t completely gone – there is goldmining in an adjacent area and efforts are always having to be made to prevent further damaging activities from being carried out. One reason for starting the Yine Project was to provide an income for the Yine Indians through eco-tourism so that they wouldn’t need to overkill animal populations or sell logging rights – things they have only recently started doing due to an increase in their population and the influence of the Western world. This means they can afford the things they need – healthcare, education and high-protein food – without having a negative effect on the surrounding area. For the rainforest to remain pristine, many different factions, from ecotourism agencies and local peoples to governments and non-governmental organisations, need to work together. 

The Yine guide, Antonio, carried a machete with him and certainly needed to use it. Soft vegetation, such as vines and leaves, grow at an alarming rate. And yet life is difficult for many species in Manu. Food is scarce and all plants and animals have evolved some form of self-protection. Antonio pointed out different types of trees, fungi and plants, many of which are part of the Yine way of life,  either as food or medicine. We saw the beautiful “Naked Tree,” so-called because its bark constantly peels away (a preventative measure to stop vines from attaching) to reveal a stunning red trunk. The tree is believed to be sacred and none of the local people will fell one. Another special species is the “Holy Tree.” It’s not recommended to stand closer than two meters (6 feet) to the thin, ordinary-looking trunk – each one is home to a colony of small but ferocious fire ants. 

Suddenly we heard screeching in the treetops, and looked up to see two scarlet macaws fighting noisily. Macaws fly in pairs – it is unusual to see one by itself. They certainly announce their presence, and even if you can’t see them, you can definitely hear them. During our hike we saw a pair of yellow and blue macaws and many other birds, as well as a troupe of black spider monkeys swinging through the trees. At the height of the dry season, the lake was almost gone, a reminder of how the rainforest never stops changing and that anything living within it needs to be able to adapt in order to survive. Had the giant anaconda found another home? The almost non-existent water line revealed another interesting facet of jungle life: walking trees. These species have roots that begin about a meter or so from the ground, and move according to the supply of nutrients and water. 

The Stunningly Starry Night 

Evening had begun to set in as we reached the lodge. After a shower and change, I stepped out of my cabin and caught my breath. I had forgotten how stunning the night sky is in Manu. I was brought up on an isolated English farm, but the stars there don’t come close to the display you see in the rainforest. Each pinpoint of light is brighter than any star you see above a city skyline. 

We ate a delicious meal of quinua soup (an Andean grain hailed as a wonder food), followed by chicken with fried banana grown nearby. Bananas, maize and grain are all staple food of the Yine. Afterwards I headed back to my cabin for an early night. I needed a good night’s sleep for the hike to Diamante. The cabins are furnished with a double bed and mosquito net, plus a desk, chair and table. Each has a mosquito-screened “verandah” where you can sit and enjoy the scenery, thanks to the 360-degree view enabled by the windows on all six sides. I was lulled to sleep by the croaks, chirrups and songs made by frogs and cicadas. 

The next day I awoke at 5 a.m. to the gentle morning sounds of the rainforest. I lit my candle as it was still dark, although as we sat down to breakfast the sun was already climbing into the sky and lighting our path to Diamante. We set off as soon as we had finished eating, with Ryan and two Yine guides. 

Along the way, the guides showed us plants and trees with special meanings and uses for the Yine. We even tried some, including a strange, anise-flavored stem with a subtle anesthetic effect. Along the path to Diamante, which is between a three and five-hour hike from the lodge, we could see how the local people make their boats from the catahua tree, cutting specific parts of the trunk and using them for their strength and shape. Wood from these trees is durable and resilient, making it the ideal material. We could also see a wide variety of birdlife and some of the 13 species of monkey that live in Manu. I saw a pair of huge red squirrels as they ran nimbly up a tree, avoiding the spikes that were there to prevent parts of the tree being eaten. 

The rainforest is a vital part of the Yine lifestyle, and an integral element in many of their folkloric tales. One story tells how many years ago, when there were many more jaguars than there are today, a young girl was taken by one from the village and carried off into the depths of the jungle. Her distraught mother searched high and low for her lost child, and the years passed by as she looked in vain. Many years later, the girl walked back into the village, unharmed and unchanged by the passing of time – although she had eaten well and was a little fatter. Upon seeing her mother, she barely recognised her, thinking that only a few days had gone by. Instead of a happy homecoming however, the girl decided to return to her life with the jaguars in the forest, and after that day she was never seen again.   

One of the Yine beliefs is in reincarnation, though many think a human spirit can only come back in the form of a jaguar, deer or tapir. Animals are interwoven with their culture, although shamanism and contact with “the other world” has been weakened by the influence of missionaries, who changed their ancient culture forever. They worship two religions – Catholicism and Evangelism. According to Diamante native Berta Laureano however, Evangelism is preferred because the minister speaks Yine, whereas the Catholic priest speaks only Spanish and therefore not everybody in the village can understand him. 

Reaching the Yine 

After a five-hour walk, I heard the barking of a dog and realized we were nearing the village. We emerged from the forest into a small plantation of bananas, yucca and maize. In the past, the community was sustainable and it was possible for it to grow and hunt enough food for its population. Now, increasing numbers have led to a shortage of protein in their diet and this is one of the reasons that the Yine need an income. We stopped to rest in convenient nearby hammocks, before beginning the short climb to the village itself, which is perched on a hill overlooking the Alto Madre de Dios River (Upper Mother of God). Home to about 460 people, Diamante has a small school, church and football field. Upon arrival, we drank the traditional masato, a drink made from fermented yucca. It has a refreshing, slightly tangy taste – not unlike yogurt. We wandered through the village, looking down to the river below where a group of boys had found the perfect jutting log to hurl themselves off, plunging into the water with shrieks of joy. 

The first dwelling we reached belonged to the locally respected Trigoso family. Women in Yine culture have an important standing – the community is definitely matriarchal. In the past, while men came and went, traveling and trading with other tribes along the river, a core of women remained at the heart of the village and to this day the position of the matriarch is revered. Lola Trigoso is an artisan, and her knowledge of rainforest remedies is renowned. She knows how to increase fertility, decrease fertility, bring down a fever, fight rheumatism and battle bronchitis. She also gave me a temporary tattoo using a dye extracted from the huito fruit. The dye does not show up straight away – it develops between two hours and one day – and the designs are unique. They can best be described as mainly geometric, a series of interlocking zig-zags, straight lines and triangles. 

We sat down to enjoy a traditional lunch of juane: rice, chicken, egg and olives steamed in a giant banana leaf and presented as a parcel. I noticed half-filled bottles of water hanging from the rafters and asked what they were for. Lola’s husband replied that it kept the mosquitoes away. “Does it work?” we asked. “Well, there aren’t any mosquitoes in here, are there?” he pointed out. I had to admit it was true, though the same cannot be said for the rest of Manu! 

Afterwards we took a walk around the village, visiting the school and watching a game of football. Ryan explained how the community had changed in recent years, and how the Yine ideas of rainforest ecology differ from those of the Western world. One of the aims of the Yine Project is to keep the Yine culture alive, and one of the ways this is being achieved is through the recording of stories and songs. After a final chat with the Trigoso family, we left the village in style, in traditional dugout canoes. The Yine are known as shrewd boatman, able to read every swirl of the water. My boatman offered to let me paddle for a while, but I was happy to leave it to the expert. Traveling on the Alto Madre de Dios River without a motorized boat is very relaxing, and the water remained calm for our two-hour journey. 

Over dinner, a blend of Western food and Yine cuisine, we discussed the day’s events and the forthcoming activities. After so much exercise, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. 

Early next morning, after fresh fruit straight from the tree, we stepped out into the sun and headed towards the river for our bow and arrow practice. The bows themselves were beautifully crafted, with macaw feather flights and shafts taken from the chonta palm tree. The Yine guides explained what the different arrows were used for and where in the forest one could find the materials. The Yine have a history of being good hunters, and in the past would travel the length of the river to look for parrots, macaws, resins and cocoa – they even raided other communities for their women! They would trade these “commodities” with other tribes and later the Incas. They were so well traveled various explorers reported the existence of some who spoke six languages, and the chronicles of Franciscan missionaries from the 1770’s describe them as “a sociable people, unique in their cleanliness and almost civilized.” 

Although I can’t say I was a natural at shooting, my friend Theo turned out to be something of a Robin Hood, sinking the arrow tip neatly into a ripe mango 15 meters (50 feet) away. Ryan became quite expert, but the Yine guides really excelled. A hand-crafted bow and arrow was the reward for Theo to take back to Cusco. Next was pottery. The local expert is Berta Laureano, who uses a mixture of two types of clay, one from Diamante and one from Romero, an area inside the Manu National Park. She prefers to shape the clay by hand instead of using a mold. A coat of white mud is used on the outside before the pot is shined with a stone. It is then fired for about two hours. 

She made it look easy. It wasn’t, but it was great fun getting our hands dirty! Even under Berta’s patient tuition, my pot failed to look particularly round or smooth, but eventually, once patterns had been added, it became a unique reminder of my tour. 

Before I knew it, it was time to leave. After saying farewell to the guides, I donned a T-shirt to show off my new tattoo and climbed aboard the plane. As we climbed higher, I watched the lush tropical rainforest turn into mountains. Was I glad to be returning to the city? In some ways, yes. But after witnessing a completely different pace of life to my own, I was determined to make some changes to my definition of “civilization.”