Explore. Dream. Discover.: The Rainforest Part Two (Village Life)

Iko Esai is a village of around 5000 people and is also one of three villages to speak the IKO language. It is mostly a farming community but also doubles as the host village for CERCOPAN. This means that the rainforest area that CERCOPAN uses for their primate research and conservation efforts historically belongs to the people of Esai.

It is a wonderful village full of very welcoming people. So welcoming, in fact, that at any point in the day you will probably be invited in to say hello and drink massive amounts of Kai-Kai -- the locally distilled liquor. I suppose it can best be described as a VERY distant cousin to Tequila. At least that's what it's taste most resembles. It feels like your drinking liquid fire though. I went to a distillery to see how it's made. In short, its 3 day old palm wine that is then boiled in a large pot. The condensation is then sent into large bamboo chutes chilled by river water and the end result is this alcoholic concoction. I can say now, that i think I have thoroughly enjoyed my life's quota of this stuff and don't feel the need to find it ever again.

One day, I went with Cary to a village down the road known as Agoi. We interviewed hunter's on their previous weeks catch and looked into the livelihood projects that CERCOPAN had initiated. Later that day, I stumbled across one the local butchers. After almost two week's of not eating meat, I jumped at the opportunity to buy what he had. It was Porcupine meat, and it was damn good. I'm told female porcupine is the best bush meat around.

I was also lucky enough to attend a few occasions in the village, ranging from a traditional wedding to a motorcycle union party. I even managed to stay the night at my friend Mansons compound before I left. Iko Esai really is a party village and the villagers showed me a great time! To really top things off, I came at a time when the contract between CERCOPAN and Iko Esai was being renewed. This only happens once every ten years and was a huge deal to be a part of. To further cement Iko Esai's party persona, here is a list of some of the things that was included in the agreement.

-1 Live Cow (to be slaughtered)
- Many Crates of Beer (Star and Guiness)
-25 liters of Palm Wine
- Many Crates of Minerals (sodas)
-A massive jug of Kai Kai
-Kola Nuts

I mentioned earlier that Calabar Airport conveniently decided to shut down the day after I arrived. I ended up having to get up at 4:30 in the morning to catch a bus to the next state, Akwa Ibom. The bus was supposed to have an armed escort but instead was packed full of people and the driver was insane. Although, he did get us there in incredible time, effectively shaving 45 minutes off of our drive. I arrived at the airport in Uyo and returned to my home in Abuja!