Fine dining adentro

I recently got back from a trip to the Waorani community of Tepapare (my favorite of the dozen or so I have visited). The purpose of the trip was to work on a the chambira palm nursery. We had planted seeds months ago and it was time to replant them. This last trip adentro was a gastronomically unique experience. There seems to be a lot of fruit...and other products...to gather in the rainforest at this time of year.

Below is the truck we loaded up with 7 passengers, 20 sheets of sheet metal, a half dozen gas cans and 100 pounds of food and other supplies.


This is a morete. The outer covering is sort of like scales. It first has to be boiled, then peeled, then you kind of gnaw at the fruit inside. Pretty tasty, actually.

Chontacuros. Yes, these are worms. And yes, I even ate one!!! (and no, I didn't even get any dare money for it.). Thankfully it was cooked (they are commonly eaten raw...LIVE!). The flavor was unmemorable...the texture was too much for me to take. Too chewy on outside. Locals say that eating them is good for fighting colds.

Here is Manuela eating guaba. We ate LOTS of guaba over the course of the week. They are long green pods that contain large black seeds covered with sweet, white stuff that you suck on and then spit out the seed. Pretty good, actually.

Here is a guy climbing a tree to harvest more tasty treats.