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Sacha Inchi Super Food, The Inca-Nut

Harry Kelley relaxing at his country estate, Los Cedros.

When Harry Kelley and Julio Parilla, two gentlemen farmers from Iquitos, Peru invited me to visit their estate, Los Cedros, to tour their Sacha Inchi operation, I jumped at the chance. You do not have to be an old farmer like me to appreciate their farm. Every thing is neat and tidy and well taken care of. It was fascinating to learn about Sacha Inchi farming from the experts.

Julio at home.

I have enjoyed Sacha Inchi cold pressed oil, and roasted seeds for a couple of years, but  unless you have spent some time in the Amazon rainforest or along the east slope of the lower Andes you might not have heard of Sacha Inchi, even though it has been cultivated for 3,000 years. It helped fuel the Inca conquest of the Andes, and is nicknamed the Inca-nut.

Los Cedros, a tropical paradise.

Sacha Inchi may well be the next big thing in health food stores around the world because the cold pressed sacha inchi oil contains 45% omega 3 fatty acid, 36% omega 6, 9% omega 9, 27% protein, and is rich in iodine, vitamin A, and vitamin E. It has a delicious mild nutty flavor. If you have been taking fish oil supplements for your omega 3, you may want to switch to Sacha Inchi for the taste.

Julio pointing out the Sacha Inchi pods.

I learned a lot about growing Sacha Inchi. Julio planted their two hectares from seeds he sprouted in a special compost mixture. His compost recipe is 5 sacks rotten sawdust, 1 bag aged chicken guano, 1 bag finished black compost, and a couple of handfuls of lime. He planted around 1200 sprouts in a 3 meter grid lined up with tall posts and wire for a trellis. It is best to plant the rows north and south to get the maximum sun on the vines.

Julio shows me the Sacha Inche rows on the high trellis.

Julio says, “You can not just plant Sacha Inchi and leave. It needs plenty of tender love and care. It has to be fertilized, trimmed and pruned, kept on the trellis, and weeded. Never interplant Cocona because the Cocona plants carries a fungus that is harmful to the Sacha Inchi vines.”

They made their first small harvest  of 40 kilos after 8 months. Two weeks later they harvested 80 kilos, then two more weeks and it was 110 kilos. In one year and 6 months they have harvested 600 kilos, and expect the total per hectare to be much more because they are learning better ways to prune the vines to increase the yield.

Sacha Inchi blossoms.

After picking the pods, they sun dry them for three days to make them easier to shuck the seeds out. They hire local women to do the shucking for S/1 sole per kilo. The value of a kilo of seeds is between 3 and 4 soles.

Sacha Inchi pods and seeds.

Harry says, “The best money is in cold pressing the oil, which involves a peeler to take the skin off, an oil extractor and a bottler. The pulp is a by-product used for soap, flour, bread, feed for fish and cattle, and is also used in cosmetics and medicinal cream.”

Harry and Julio are considering adding another 2 hectares to their Sacha Inchi farm, depending on government loans and the future price of Sacha Inchi.

I will do my part to raise the price. I love the roasted seeds and the oil is a tasty nutritious substitute for olive oil for bread and salads. The oil is not suitable for cooking as heat destroys the omega 3.

I buy my Sacha Inchi oil in the store right around the corner from my home and office.

Try this; mix 4 Tbls. Sacha Inchi oil with one Tbls. fresh squeezed lime or lemon juice with salt and pepper over a mixed garden salad with diced avocado.

Try this; 1/3 cup Sacha Inchi oil mixed with finely chopped fresh basil and or thyme leaves. Use as a butter substitute on crusty French or Italian bread, or as a condiment for a tomato, onion, avocado, lettuce vegetarian sandwich on multi whole grain bread. Delicious!

Sacha Inchi Super Food, the Inca-Nut

Bill Grimes, Dawn on the Amazon

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Get Personal With Paiche

Marmelita, Rudy, and Golbert at Fundo Pedrito.

Far from civilization, quiet in a canoe, we sometimes hear the exciting sound of a giant paiche, POP, suck, and splash from the flooded jungle. We cup our ears and nod knowingly to each other and are happy to hear the sound of the largest scaled fish in the world surfacing and inhaling fruit, seed, nut, or fish.

We usually have to be three days from Iquitos to get the thrill of seeing a big black caiman sunning in the grass above a mud bar near the river. It is a contest to determine who can see those awesome amphibians first.

Black Caiman sunning in the grass.

Yesterday, Edson, Marmelita and I took our friend Rudy, and one of our favorite street urchins, Golbert, exploring in Dawncita, a little over one hour boat ride from Iquitos, to Fundo Pedrito. There we discovered a series of small lakes. One lake had several large caiman. Another lake is home to 6 paiche and dozens of the giant water lilies, Victoria Regias, many of which were in bloom. Another lake is full of small caiman and another is full of fish to feed the paiche and caiman.

Victoria Regias water lillies.

The caiman come right out of the water after the fish. Visitors are protected by a barrier fence.

A bunch of baby caiman.

We learned to tie small fish on strips of jungle vine to dangle on top the water and lure the paiche in close, like fishing only without a hook. When those huge fish erupt right under your feet with that loud POP, splash, and suck the fish in, it is very startling, and we nearly always jumped back or at least flinched.

Rudy luring a paiche to the surface.

I was captivated. I didn’t want to leave. I mean it. I could have spent hours there with the paiche.

I flinched and missed my photo op. What a sound.

Starting now, Dawn on the Amazon is proud to offer a new day trip to hand feed the giant paiche, and caiman.

The picnic lunch is a plate of tropical fruit, usually a tamale or humita, and french bread with cheese.

Combined with a nice picnic lunch.

Squeezing the juice from sugar cane to make rum.

Going to an old fashioned rum making still, and sampling the wares.

Old fashioned rum still.

Taking a boat ride on the Amazon River.

This fish jumped in the boat with us.

Looking for pink dolphins, bird watching, and unusual plants.

Bubinsana blooming bush.

Makes for a great day that I recommend.

In conclusion, join Dawn on the Amazon for another great day trip.

Get Personal With Paiche

Bill Grimes, Dawn on the Amazon, Amazon Tour

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Pirate Monkeys Board Boat On Way To Butterfly Farm

Breaking News…Just in, 12 minutes ago…News sources in Iquitos Peru report Pirate monkeys board Dawn on the Amazon. Captain Bill Grimes held hostage.

A pirate monkey disguised as part of the Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm sign.

Pirate monkeys attacked Dawn on the Amazon as the boat entered the territorial waters of the Amazon Animal Orphanage and Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm. Several of the Monkey Buccaneers swung on board and demanded booty. When the crew refused, the pirates took Captain Bill Grimes hostage and demanded a ransom of bananas, and snacks.

Monkey pirate swings on board near butterfly farm.

The Captain of the Port and the Coast Guard were alerted. Led by Tecnico Eddie Collantes, the Coast Guard and Marines descended in full force, routed the monkey pirates sending them back to their hideouts, and rescued the tourists and crew of Dawn on the Amazon.

Butterfly Farm Buccaneer.

Cristina Alegria, the director of tourism says; “This is the second attack in two days. Monkey Pirates are becoming more of a problem and are bad for tourism. Something must be done. Perhaps it is time to hire mercenaries to stop the monkey pirates.”

This is clearly a case of organized crime. When the pirates swung on board one of the crew of Dawn on the Amazon, Edson Marinho, overheard the war lord Chavo, give an order in monkey spanish, “Take everything you can and give nothing back.”

A Butterfly Farm Buccaneer.

Captain Bill Grimes says, “They were too fast for us. In no time they had stolen our snacks, extra flashlight batteries, our toilet paper, and to add insult to injury, one of the monkey pirates took a dump in our shower bucket.”

A senior UN official who asked not to be identified for this story, says it is “difficult to determine which monkey buccaneer is Robin Hood, and which is Captain Hook.”

Is this Robin Hood or Captain Hook?

Junior is the cute one. In the movie, Dawn on the Amazon and the Monkey Pirates, Junior will be played by Johnny Depp.

Junior attacks Marmelita.

These photos of the monkey pirates were taken clandestinely by David Leer, one of the hostages.

Dawn on the Amazon and hostages escape the monkey pirates clutches.

Pirate Monkeys Board Boat On Way To Butterfly Farm

Captain Bill Grimes, Dawn on the Amazon

Stay tuned for more adventures from the movie Dawn on the Amazon and the Monkey Pirates, starring Johnny Depp as Junior.

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Iquitos Water Carnival

A guest post by Barry Brett

One of a series of short humorous stories of life in Iquitos.

Each article is a portrayal of actual events, written from the perspective of a Californian living in the Jungle City of Iquitos, Peru.

A Humisha tree decorated with gifts at the Iquitos Water Carnival.

It all started so innocently. A casual knock at the door. “Would you like to contribute to the Street Humisha Fund?”

“Well, uh maybe. Just a moment.” I rushed over to my Spanish-English dictionary. No mention of it there! “I’ll get-back to you later”. My mind raced back to the contribution for the Street Soccer Team. He had an honest face – I’m still searching for him!

The Humisha is the trunk of a tall palm tree. Erected to celebrate carnival, it sits in a large bucket and is adorned at the top with dozens of gifts. Humishas are strategically placed at the end of most streets and each Humisha Tree symbolizes the relationship between earthly man and the water kingdom. At the pre-ordained time the Humisha is felled and the people scramble to retrieve the gifts. I soon realized that there was status attributed to the Humisha Tree. Neighbors in the better streets of town raised taller Humishas with more expensive gifts. Some streets had two Humishas while others had none! I imagined a Beverley Hills Humisha Tree adorned with diamond bracelets, Rolex watches and Gucci Bags!

The basic festivities stretch over a period of a week, reaching fever pitch on Carnival Day. There are street Aquatic Parades. Communities select a water princess who parades around town on a flower-adorned float carried by young athletic-looking men. People with painted faces swarm into the Plaza de Armas throwing globos at each other. The globos are nothing more than colored balloons filled with water. As the globo hits its human target, it bursts, drenching its victim.

By Sunday it seemed like everyone was throwing water at everybody. People would drive around town in moto-taxis carrying dozens of globos ready to hurl at the unlucky bystander. People stood at street corners poised with buckets of water ready to launch at a moments notice. Children would act as scouts looking for unsuspecting victims, alerting the “bucketeers” around the corner. Friends visiting my house arrived drenched, looking for dry clothes. It was a war zone!

I thought back to those “wet tee shirt” nights at a local bar in Huntington Beach, California. Partially clad young women wearing tee shirts would sit on the bar to be sprayed with water droplets and the odd glass of beer. Their drenched clothing would cling to their oversized breasts leaving nothing to the imagination! People paid big bucks just to enter. Beers were at premium prices. Bouncers surrounded the female participants, ready to handcuff and arrest anyone who dared to touch or fondle them. I wondered what on earth had gone wrong with our society.

Workers erected a Humisha Tree directly in front of my house. The music started around midday and continued throughout the afternoon. Neighbors beckoned me to join-in, dragging me into their midst, as they danced around the Humisha Tree. Onlookers sprayed water on me in keeping with local traditions. For a fleeting moment it felt like I was dancing around the Maypole, an ancient English custom. On the first day of May, young eligible maidens would dance around a pole to be greeted by young eager males. It was a civilized form of a tribal mating ceremony! They wore clothes! But this after-all was the Amazon, and Iquitos stands at the center of the river communities that surround it. The water festivities are very much a central element of the local peoples very existence.

Suddenly the dancing got faster as they played the pandilla, a special type of erotic carnival music originating high in the Andes. I was hit by a barrage of globos, my pants were wet and slippery as young women (and men) brushed-up against me, frantically dancing around the “Humisha Tree” to the rhythm of the “Pandilla”. (Forty years in Californina and I hardly knew my neighbors!)

As the music intensified dancers pulsated and gyrated. Their shiny, wet-slippery bodies became enmeshed with each other, and with me! I felt like I really belonged here. I was losing control, it was wonderful! I looked around for the bouncers with handcuffs or a hidden camera. I was getting giddy dancing around the Humisha as neighbors threw more “globos” and other onlookers joined the dance pressing their wet bodies up-against me. The water was so cold but I was getting so hot! So this is what they do when they can’t afford Viagra!

Finally the moment arrived. Young men picked-up their axes and cut-down the Humisha with a couple of blows. There was a loud scream as participants rushed over to the felled Humisha, scrambling to grab whatever gift they could find. fights and squabbles erupted. It reminded me of sales-day at Walmart. Slowly the street returned to normal. City workers arrived to drag-off what remained of the Humisha and the sun dried-out the muddy dance-puddles. Who cares about “Wet Tee-shirt Night”, the “Maypole” or the “Street Soccer Team?” I’m go glad I contributed to the “Street Humisha Fund.” I would hate to have missed-out on that party! I would be more than happy to contribute again next year, or next week if they wished!

Iquitos Water Carnival

Barry Brett                                                                    Copyright July 2009

Barry Brett has spent three of the past five years here in Iquitos, Peru. Growing-up in England, he emigrated to the U.S. as a young man and has lived almost forty years in Huntington Beach, California.

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Here Is What Happened To Me

Spending time with my IV drip bag.

I am not here to whine, complain, apologize, or make excuses. I am here to let you know what happened to me. A brief history; I slept most of the first week of March as if I was in a coma. I became conscious just in time to keep Marmelita from calling the ambulance. She half carried me to the Ana Stahl Clinic, where I was misdiagnosed. I wasted another week being treated for dengue. I had dengue years ago on the island of Bora Bora in the South Pacific, and know the symptoms. I knew I didn’t have dengue but the doctors at Ana Stahl were very stubborn and ignored my objections, so I wasted most of another week sleeping.

A friend recommended Doctor Erwin Ampudia, and I recommend him to you. He is the best doctor I have ever had. Plus he makes house calls, as you can see from the photo above with me lying in my own bed under the IV bag hanging from the wall where Jesus on the Cross was hanging a half hour before.

I learned more about the bio-diversity of the rainforest. Did you know 25 % of all the viruses around Iquitos are unnamed, unclassified by science, and poorly understood? I caught one of those. A virologist could make a name for herself researching the viruses of Iquitos Peru. For all I know 25 % of viruses everywhere are unnamed. Dr. Amudia does not have the resources or time to research the virus, but he cured me.

I was fine for two months, then I came down with the same virus again. We recognized it earlier so it was easier to cure the second time. Then on July 5th and 6th I was feeling something wrong, and slept most of the day and night, and sure enough, I was having some residual effects from the same virus. This time Doctor Ampudia is treating it more aggressively, hoping this will be my last bout. I am scheduled for two more IV drip bags, and two more shots, and a large vitamin supplement.

This virus knocks me out. I can sleep all day and all night and all the next day. Then I lay under a drip bag for hours.

Last week a friend asked me, “How do you and Marmelita get it all done?” My answer was, “We don’t, I can’t.” I guess since the 1st of March I have lost a month and a half of productivity, maybe two months. Marmelita was already the most overworked woman in Iquitos. Our friends poke their heads in the office on their way home to express feeling sorry for her working so late every night. Frequently she brings the “books” home and works at the dinning room table till midnight.

My last blog post was July 12th, and the one before that was July 2nd, and here I am again on July 23rd. That is not getting the job done. I am proud of my July 2nd post, Here Is What Happened On Our Amazon River Boat Cruise. I was feeling strong and great. After that, I had ideas for good articles, but could not stay awake long enough to write them. I am very grateful to all of the writers who provided me with guest posts to help keep the Captain’s Blog content fresh while I was sick. Special thanks to Mike Collis and Barry Brett.

I missed some of your emails. I flagged most of them for attention when I woke up, but sometimes I did not wake up. I know several slipped through the cracks in my attempt at triage. Usually I am efficient with emails, but not lately. Tomorrow morning I am going to go back to clean up my inbox and see what I missed.

The last two days have been my best in a long time. You can expect more from me.

Here Is What Happened To Me

Bill Grimes

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