Luis glides above the black waters of the Napo River, in the Amazon basin. He is the naturalist guide for a group of 5 visitors from England, Australia and the USA. His father was a schoolteacher from the mountain. His mother was born and raised in the Amazon basin. She was one of his dad’s students and their love was forbidden, but they didn’t care. Luis was raised far away from macaws, anacondas and piranhas, in the mountain city of Quito, but he always had a fascination for the jungle. He moved to the city of Coca and started working as a guide in the Napo Wildlife Center, the only jungle lodge in the Amazon basin owned and operated by the local community. The proceeds go to building and funding schools and clinics for all the nearby Quechua villages. Luis found both his roots and his new life here. As he paddles fluidly to pull the dugout canoe he remains fully alert, his 6 senses on the lookout for wildlife. Sometimes he thinks about his son, one of the country’s most gifted chess players in his age range – only nine years old. A father’s pride. Warmth and wetness in the eyes. Suddenly Luis spots a silhouette. He raises his arm, a clear signal to the other paddlers. The dugout canoe slows down and comes to a halt a few paces away from his favorite creature in the entire animal kingdom. Luis whispers and points to the giant river otter staring right at them at the entrance of its lair. The grown man’s face is lit by a childlike smile. No matter how many wildlife encounters he has experienced, the magic never seems to wear off.
***
Maria is letting her daughter drive today. The teenager shows such skill and confidence behind the wheel in the busy streets of Quito: she really is her mother’s girl! Maria opens the door to take the passenger seat when she hears loud voices across the street. Instinctually she freezes, raises her head and observes. It looks like a taxi driver and a foreigner are having a heated argument. Without hesitating she tells her kids to wait for her in the car, closes the door and walks to battle. “What is going on here?” she asks. The gringo explains that the cab driver wants to charge more than the price agreed at the airport. The taxi says that the gringo refuses to pay the normal fare. After hearing both amounts, Maria’s blood heats up and boils within half a second. She raises her voice: “You should be ashamed to try to take advantage of foreigners.” The taxi turns his anger towards her and insists that she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. As Maria hesitates between slapping or ramming him, a policeman passes by on a motorbike. She calls and waves at him. The cab driver jumps into his car and drives away. “Where are you headed to?” she asks the foreigner before offering to give him a ride. The man is embarrassed but Maria won’t take no for an answer. There’s enough room in the back of the car, with her two younger kids. Soon they drop him off on Plaza Santo Domingo. He offers to pay for the ride: she looks at him with a beautiful smile, a frown, and a firm “No.” The gringo walks away, takes a deep breath and thanks the Universe for sending him an angel.
Cedric, 5/6/2012
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