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You can get past the village, you strive from stepping stone to stepping stone.

As you walk, you hear the crowing of roosters and good morning calls of parrots in the trees.

Green plants dotted with red and yellow, monkeybrush flowers,

spring up around you. They reach for the sun that eases itself between the leaves on its way

to the forest floor. Their leaves rustle in the gentle breeze, creating a soothing background

for the birds leading the chorus of sound.

When you get to the bottom of the hill, you meet your guide for the day, a smiling young woman

who has lived in the Amazon basin her entire life. She has much to share with you about the

flora, fauna, and people of the area. You follow your guide down the path, her mud-caped boots,

leaving footprints in the ground. She wears a wide-brimmed pack that is fastened under her chin,

shading the glistening light that has made it through the ceiling of leaves above you.

Passing by wooden houses, the noisy squarks of chickens reach your ears, as children chase the

birds from your to the yard. Tag our beans, lie on woven mats in the sun, drying.

The pleasant nutty aroma fills the air as you walk by.

In a few minutes, you hear the sounds of human chatter and the sprinkling of a fountain,

as the main square of Sunrock de Combarza comes into view. The town centre rests on the slope

of the Combarza River. The main square is home to a handful of buildings, several small shops and

...