SRF EXPEDITION TO ECUADOR, JUNE-JULY, 2011

For the second time in our 16 years history, students studying the health professions had a wondrous chance to discover the wild and majestic regions of Ecuador. Ecuador is one of the most bio-diverse countries on the planet. Some incredible statistics about Ecuador include: 28 percent of all the world’s birds reside there; there are 600 species of fish in one river; you can explore two climates in one day -- from the lush rainforests in the east to the Andes Mountains hovering 9,000 feet above see level.

This year’s group of SRF students got to see a little of everything. Our ‘green’ adventure took us the magnificent cloud rainforest called Pontecarpus near the city of Loha, to the mountain top in the town of Vilcabamba called Mandango, to the southern-most border with Peru where we traveled by boat on the remote Zamora River -- one of the most remote and inaccessible rainforests left on the planet. High above the mountain peaks caressing the river below live the remote and mysterious Shaur Indians. Part of the tribe still lives almost completely apart from modern and Western influence. There are few tribes like this left in the entire Amazon basin. We visited a Shuar village that has been ‘Westernized” by modern day medicine and some conveniences. The people of the village no longer hunt for game but rely on the Ecuadorian government to provide stores to purchase their food. The woman and children still make beads and necklaces to sell to tourists.

The team stayed at the renowned Madre Tierra Spa and Hotel in Vilcabamba. We had a visit with the elder ‘centenarians’ of the Vilcabamba (known as the Valley of Longevity) and learn a little of the diet, plant medicines and life style that adds to their longevity. Professional lectures on medicinal plants, herbs, vitamins, fish oil, and natural cancer treatments were provided by SRF President Dr. Dan Wagner, and SRF Board of Advisor member Dr. Aisha Jaffri. The food was all natural and delicious. We had a morning session with well-known raw-food experts Matt and Angela Monarch. On the final day the team enjoyed a ‘going-away’ party at the residence of Dr. Dan and Lynn Wagner who built a small home in Vilcabamba last year.

It was a great team and everyone enjoyed each others’ company. It is almost certain that Ecuador will be a future destination of the SRF team.S