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Welcome to the jungle!
Our view from the jungle lodge.Welcome to the Jungle
So, we left Quito at around 6am to begin our journey towards Tena and then on to the Amazon Jungle.
We stayed one night with a small indigenous community who prepared us fresh food and we spent the night watching (and participating!) in local dances and rituals. We travelled by small pick up trucks in order to get there along the bumpy roads, and me and Jo were more than happy to ride on the open back with one of the locals carrying the food.
It was a real eye opener. The community consisted of a total of 48 people. We all trudged up a slippery mud hill in our wellies to get to our wooden lodges with their straw roofs, slipping all over the place and laughing loudly which made the children stare as they casually walked past in bare feet without the aid of a head torch! Everyone had a job and alot of the young girls would carry and look after the children on their own.
Two of the canadian boys performed a line dance to show some of our culture and I strummed wonderwall for the group to sing along to...turns
Lazing in the hammocks
Matt, Jo & Matt lazing in the hammocks! out that song is pretty universal!
The natives just stared in confusion...
The next morning we were woken up at 5am to have a ritual drink of tea, which this community perform everyday. The tea is a natural version of RED BULL as it gives you energy to help you plan the day so you get all of your tasks done. It was lovely, even if we were all a little sleepy. But who cares, our only task that day was to laze about in the hammocks.
We then said goodbye and continued deeper into the jungle to a great lodge which had a fair few cabins and a bar! Quite strange to be drinking cocktails in the middle of the jungle but the place had a brilliant atmosphere and you could be lounging in the hammocks one minute, playing cards and the next plunging into the river or trying desparately to shake a tarantula off your head! On a serious note, those things were bigger than my face. Not the kind of friend you want to be sharing a room with!
Our guide at the lodge was called Mr Matildo and I swear to god he
Dancing
Traditional Dancing was a superhero. He must have been at least 65 and was hiking through the jungle ahead of us all, scaling bat caves without a rope, and swimming his way accross the strong currents and rapids of the river that leads to the Napo. He knew all there was to know about hunting and plants. He was very easy to trust, so much so that when he split open a plant and told me to eat the ants that crawled out I did so without question. They were called "lemon ants" ...and surprisingly nice! (Not compared to the grub worm we had as a side dish for dinner!)
We then went tubing down the river in rubber rings, the rapids werent too extreme but it was lovely to swim and then float into the Napo (which was substantially colder to say the least!)
The view was spectacular...I cant imagine anyone not wanting to come here. I will include some photos to help give an idea of just how amazing that place was. And a couple of the tarantula for those who dont believe me!
Next stop Baños!
Adios amigos!
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