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Published: January 7th 2007
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Jungle manicure
from the petals of an ornamental flower We arrived in Tena after another fun bus ride where the road was blocked for at least an hour due to random roadworks...we jumped out to view 'la selva' from the side of the road, stretching out in the valleys with its humid green mistyness, buzzing with a million mosquitos and chirping with monkeys and birds and who-knows what else....YAY, WE FOUND THE JUNGLE!! 6 months in Ecuador and we have not yet set foot in this sticky green wonderland, which takes up more than half of the country and joins with the rest of the Amazon that so often comes to mind when you hear 'South America'...
So we found a nice hostal, 'Limoncocha', with an even nicer view of the valley, and run by a quiet German guy (what is it with the fantastic hostals in SA run by German or Swiss expatriots?). No time to waste, booked a jungle and rafting tour, and we're off at 8 the next day with Juan, the cheeky but trusty 'guia'. The local bus drops us off on the side of the river, and we jump in a reeeealy long canoe with motor, that to our surprise does not tip over
Panama hat
The leaves that are used to weave 'toquilla', otherwise known as the panama hat with our weight and proceeds to chug us down an arm of 'Huanchaca' river. In Quechua(one of the indigenous languages still spoken by many in Ecuador) 'Huan' means big, and 'chaca' means river, (or the other way round, I'm not good with these things) so there's a little language lesson for you.
We jump off in the middle of a small field 'yucca', a sticky plant that is used to make drinks, bread, almost everything. It was near a community where about 200 people live, which Juan told us is about 5 families....lots of kids running around like wild things. The jungle was as sticky and green as I thought it would be, with so many crazy plants and bugs to ogle at...no monkeys yet tho! Lunch at a little hut with some gorgeous grubby little girls watching us and playing in the mud, they got our leftovers, which would have been good for their swollen stomachs.
Another boat glide took us to an animal reserve run by some lovely Swiss volunteer blokes, and it was definitely a getaway - set deep in the jungle with nothing but a bunch of wild or not so wild jungle buddies
Bad spirits, be gone!
Júan demonstrated a shaman ritual, complete with fresh ginger spat into the leaves and shaken all over me, thanks! to keep you company. It was starting to pour big fat raindrops through the thick canopy as we were lead around the cages by Patrick, who was very excited about the whole experience I think. He delighted in explaining the personal history of each animal, from the mini-leopard-like creature that was nearly smuggled out of the country as a pet cat, to the spider monkeys that need to be caged beacuse they are extremely aggressive, especially towards women! These black sneaky 'monos' are considered a prize meal for a special guest of the local villagers, because they are so vicious and hard to catch. My favourite creatures were the laughing parrots who mimicked our voices, garbling in some gibberish that somehow did sound like a human. What a cacophony of amazing jungle sights and sounds.
The following day it was time to get close to nature again, to become one with mother earth to.... ok to go river rafting and get thrown from a rubber tube into viscious, unforgiving torrents of white whipped water! To shreak in horror as parañas nibble at your ankles whilst hollywood sized anacondas wrap themselves around you choking the very life out of you!
Kick-ass dart shooter
Traditionally the venom on these darts was painted on the end of the balsa wood spear, then a serrated edge chopped with a piranha tooth cut about 1 inch in....when the monkey or hog was shot, it pulled out the dart but the venom part would break off and stay in them, until they fell down from the tree! (note: creative licence may be used, here and there)
Júan was leading us again, and two of his mates came along for the ride. They all had no qualms about pushing us into the water at any time, even into the rapids, until it became an all out war of who could stay in the boat the longest. After each tumble in the white water, we would all touch paddles in the air then make a giant SLAP on the water, go team! Juan made an effort to steer us towards every possible rock and whirlpool, so much that we went head-first over a huge boulder and almost tipped the raft, 3 of us tumbling out! I got caught in the current but managed to get back in and save Greg's paddle, all with a dopey smile on my face to show I wasn't scared (a big lie)
All and all it was a great day, and a great stay in Tena. I (Greg) definitely plan on coming back to this part of the world, it's truly amazing, next time I think I'd like to go a bit deeper though, where the toucans fly free and the wild
Big rat
This guy is the largest rodent in the world, found snuffling around in the Amazonian jungle. It can swim, climb and give you a run for your money on foot! cats still stalk their prey.
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mishka
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attn: jungle folk
Nice work guys making me jealous of your adventures! Say hi to the anacondas and pirahnas for me - nick wants to know how they taste and the best way to cook em!