Chapter 8       Setting out! Amazon Jungle! 2

Snake blower in Putumayo

Zhuomchangba and his party flew to Quito first.

Since none of the four of them could speak Spanish, they finally found a local person who knew English and was willing to follow them to interpret the translation. They were called Quesa.

Kesa is an Indo-European mixed-race child who teaches English in a middle school and does not have a high income, so she is very moved by the conditions offered by Zhuomangba and others.

The reason why Zhuomengba and his friends found Quesa was because in addition to Spanish, Quesa was also proficient in five local dialects, and he had three experiences in translating for foreign explorers, but this was the first time he was translating to Chinese people.

The problem is that his mastery of English is average, even less fluent than Zhang Li, and sometimes he seems to be unable to translate.

He had a round apple-like face, and his smile was shiny and blushing, not at all like a middle-aged man who had been around forty-six years.

When he spoke, he liked to shake his standard oval head, his mouth was wide and his chin was short and narrow, and his chubby face looked like a cute doll.

When he and Zhuo Muqiangba stood together, they looked even more short and fat. Although they were only wearing short-sleeved clothes, Zhuo Muqiangba couldn't help but think of Comrade Lao Xiao who was wrapped like a rice dumpling in Kekexili.

Because the customs and aviation security checks in Ecuador are unusually strict, most of their equipment and equipment can only be left in China. When they arrive in Quito, they are ready to buy some suitable tools.

Zhuomengba gave Khasa a list and asked him to take them to buy.

Khasa was shocked at first sight. The list was densely packed with more than a hundred items listed, and the detailed classification was astonishing.

Kesa led them to buy some ordinary daily necessities and told them that more tool items would be better when they arrived in Putumayo.

There is a border port, and deep in the dense forest, many local residents have essential tools in the jungle, such as jungle hunting knives, crossbows, safety ropes, folding shovels, and if there is a way, they can also get weapons such as double-barrel hunting rifles.

It took more than eight hours to get to Putumayo from Quito.

It is not as dense as they imagined, but is almost the same as other places. The gray brick and tile houses and gray roads are just a little simpler, probably similar to the ordinary county buildings in China in the early 1980s.

Seeing Zhuomangba and the others showing a disappointed look, Khasa explained: "The city is developing, and large areas of rainforest have been cut down and they are dragged to a distance to process and export.

In the past, there was no road here at all, so I rely entirely on canoes to explore and advance in the jungle.

However, since the discovery of large oil fields in Putumayo, Colombia, the government has also begun to look for exploitable oil resources nearby. The roads have been built and a large number of vehicles have flowed in. The cultural concepts and lifestyles of local residents have been changing.

Now only these port towns have developed, and you can return to the previous jungle era less than ten kilometers away from the town, but in a few decades, those jungles may disappear."

Zhuo Muqiangba and the others nodded in sighing. After all, everyone hopes to live a better life. Talking about ecological and environmental protection is something that can only be done after filling their stomachs.

They plan to settle in Putumayo for a day, find a place to stay, and then ask Quesa to take them to purchase tools, and if everything is ready today, they can set off early tomorrow morning.

They have studied the map and believed that it is most suitable to take the waterway to Santa Maria. This river leads directly to Santa Maria, but there is a need to set up a tent along the way.

Kersa did not comment on this, saying that he was just translating and helping them purchase utensils, and that he would not leave Putumayo with them, and he had never done the job of the jungle guide and did not intend to do it.

After all, he still has a job that can make a living, so he doesn't have to fight hard. When Zhuomangba asked him how dangerous it was in the jungle, Khasa only said that exploring in this jungle was a lifelong job anyway.

He had heard many local rumors, and countless explorers flowed down the Putumayo River and drifted into the jungle, but never came out again.

Zhuomu Qiangba and the others didn't mind that as long as they could get suitable tools, they would be confident that they could hike through this jungle on foot.

I had no plan to bring a guide into the jungle, because if there was a guide, it would be no challenge.

Kersa settled the four of them at the home of a friend in Putumayo, an Indian single man named Hallmen, who was about thirty years old.

I don’t know how Kersa met him, but the two hugged each other enthusiastically as soon as they met, and then started to communicate in Quechua.

Then tell Zhuo Mu Qiangba and the others that each person only needs to pay thirty dollars to have a comfortable night like home.

Zhuomengba knew that Khasa must have treated them as fat people from their shopping behavior, so the fat water will naturally not flow to outsiders.

After settling down, Zhuomengba immediately asked Kesa to take them to purchase tools that they had not yet bought.

Khasa alertly recommended Hallmen, saying that he could speak some English.

Although Zhuomengba knew that Hallmen's English level might not be much better than Quesa, time was tight, so he and Basang, Quesa, Zhang Li, Yueyang and Hallmen purchased tools that had not been bought yet. After arguing the time and route, he set out to purchase.

Zhuomangba and others are responsible for purchasing some equipment for mountaineering and forest walking, such as safety ropes, safety belts, eight-character rings, rock cones, waist bags, engineer shovels, ziplines, etc. Zhang Li and others are responsible for weapons, picnic utensils, first aid supplies and medicines.

Putumayo is not big, but the weapons purchased by Zhang Li and the others have to go to the suburbs, while Zhuomongba and Basan are in the city.

Although Basang doesn't talk much, he has an advantage. He never causes trouble. He feels like a lone eagle. He is arrogant and despises everything, disdaining to talk to people around him or having trouble.

Zhuomangba and his friends' purchases went smoothly because explorers often passed by here, and there were also shops that specialize in selling jungle tools. The two of them put the tools they bought into their mountaineering bags and started walking back.

Kesa introduced the customs and local scenery along the way. Although he stuttered and had many grammatical errors, he could also make Zhuomu Qiangba and the others understand it roughly.

On the way, Khasa suggested taking a break at an ice bar. Although Zhuo Muqiangba was not very willing, it was indeed a bit difficult to carry the luggage of the four people on their backs. The weather here was too stuffy.

Ice bars are everywhere in Ecuador, an equatorial country, and are very popular among young people. In traditional bars, ice drinks are the main ones, and the temperature is cool, hiding in the ice bar to resist the scorching heat has become a fashion.

The three of them walked into the ice, and Quesa ordered ice drinks for them and told them that with the changes of the times, even those jungle tribes could drink internationally renowned drinks such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

Zhuomengba likes the LeBert iced coffee here, and Basang also likes drinks made of dragon fruit, golden fruit, banana and other fruits. It is comfortable and smooth and has a fragrance in the mouth.

They rested for a while, and when they were about to leave, the sound suddenly became louder in the ice bar, and seven or eight strong men came in with a woman of Indian descent.

The woman was wearing a thin green gauze skirt and a rice tiara skirt, a pair of crystal sandals, a slim figure, graceful and tall, with a kind of aristocratic beauty.

She was screaming at something, as if she was very dissatisfied with the men. The strong men exposed their upper bodies, with strange patterns all over their bodies, and their bronzed skin was like Indians.

Kersa whispered: "It's Indians or other tribes in the jungle, so it's better not to mess with them."

As soon as he was halfway through, he saw Zhuo Mu Qiangba had already walked upstairs.

One of the Indians was the most burly. He stood opposite the woman and argued with the woman for a few words. He raised his hand and wanted to hit him. As soon as he raised his hand, he was clamped by an iron plier.

The man turned around and saw Zhuo Muqiangba holding his wrist with his right hand.

Zhuo Mu Qiangba was also very surprised. It turned out that these Indians even had totem-like patterns on their faces.

The strong man had two crescent-shaped red patterns under his eyes, extending straight to his mouth like two fangs, and in the middle of his forehead was an abstract pattern of the jaguar head, which looked more like a hooked cloud pattern.

The others also turned their heads, and the patterns on their faces were different, and they probably had different status.

The man caught by Zhuo Mu Qiangba whispered a few times, and Zhuo Mu Qiangba didn't understand at all.

Khasa ran over and stammered and translated: "He...he...he, he asked you...what do you want to do!"

Zhuo Muqiangba said: "Tell him that men should not bully women!"

Kersa stammered and translated the past again.

The man smiled with teeth, suddenly exerted force on his hand, pulled his wrist back, and said something while comparing to draw.

This time, even Zhuomu Qiangba saw that he was going to compete.

Basan looked coldly from the side, but his eyes were staring at several other Indian men in case they suddenly attacked.

Khas opened his mouth several times, but couldn't translate it, obviously he didn't know how to word it.

At this time, the Indian woman said, "Thank you, do you dare to compete with him?"

He spoke fluent American English, but he favored the Indian man more in his words.

Zhuo Muqiangba shook his head and acted like he was afraid of whoever was afraid of.

The Indian men made strange sounds in unison, as if they were laughing and roaring. The other guests in the ice bar saw that the situation was not good, and they had already left one after another.

Zhuo Muqiangba thought he would do one, but he didn't expect that the Indian man swept the wine glass aside and put the handheld on the bar, and wanted to wrestle the arm.

Zhuo Muqiangba walked past the bar without any fear, and held his hands tightly together.

When Zhuo Muqiangba caught the man just now, he had already estimated how powerful the man had. Who knew that he had discovered from the beginning that the man's power was far more than what he thought.

Due to calculation errors, Zhuo Muqiangba, who had not used all his strength at the beginning, was at a disadvantage. His arm was pressed down to an angle of 45 degrees. After struggling for a while, he actually lost.

The Indians let out a strange roar again, and the man shook his head slowly, Zhuo Muqiangba smiled coldly, and suddenly put his left hand on the bar. The Indians discussed again.

The man hesitated for a moment and stretched out his left hand. This time Zhuo Mu Qiangba had the absolute advantage.

Because there are very few people like them who have undergone special training on both hands, and no matter how the man uses his strength, Zhuomu Qiangba's left arm is like a steel pillar, which is difficult to shake.

The man seemed to understand that Zhuo Muqiangba's power was actually greater than that of himself, but he won unexpectedly just now, and he gave up on his own.

Then the Indian man reached out and shook hands with Zhuo Mu Qiangba, patted his shoulder and chest, and then patted Zhuo Mu Qiangba on the shoulder, saying something. Zhuo Mu Qiangba was surprised that the man's attitude changed so much.

The woman said, "My brother said that our Kukur tribe respects the man with strength the most. He is the strongest warrior in our tribe. I didn't expect you to be stronger than him. He admires you very much."

Kersa breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your brother!"

Zhuo Mu Qiangba was stunned.

The woman smiled charmingly and said, "Well, it was because of some things in the family that we had differences in our opinions.

But thank you. Without you, I would have been able to take that slap."

Zhuo Muqiangba then realized that it was a misunderstanding. He glanced at Basang, and Basang looked like he wanted you to meddle in other people's business.

The woman asked again, "My brother said, are you going to explore the jungle?"

Zhuo Muqiangba said: "Well, I plan to travel in the jungle."

The woman said, "Why not go to Brazil?"

The jungle area there is much larger and safer than here, with specialized guides, and tourism has been resourced."

Seeing Zhuo Muqiangba looking in distress, she smiled and said, "I will ask you casually. My brother wants to tell you that you can go west and go upstream when you explore here.
To be continued...