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Published: November 15th 2006
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Wednesday 1st November An early morning start (6am) where we rush to take the tents down. We´ve got a long drive to Coca for our jungle trip. The roads really bumpy with no tarmac and Martin has threatened us that we may have to get our and push. In fact at one point we think this may happen but luckily we make it. We spend the day driving through cloud forest with pretty amazing views. We finally arrive at our destination at 8pm in a place that can only be described as a shit hole. Its so bad that we experience 2 power cuts in the night. The heat and humidity are so bad that we can´t wait to leave the next day (especially me as its making Kate grumpy!)
Thursday 2nd November Today is the day of the dead where all the South Americans remember dead relatives, so we take a walk up to the cemetery to check it out. There are lots of stalls selling remembrance items (like bread rolls made out in the shape of people). We´re talking about this one night in the jungle and it turns out that Maggie has bought
one of these dolls thinking its a normal roll and wandered around Otavalo stuffing her face with it and complaining that's its really leathery. God knows what all the locals think as she tramples over one of their religious items!! He he, I think its really funny.
We get in a small motorised canoe with lots of booze for a 7 hour journey up the river Napo, a tributary of the Amazon. Its huge and every now and again we get splashed by waves as other boats pass by. We´re pretty laden down with all the stuff we carrying (mostly booze!). We turn into a small tributary which eventually leads to a lake where our lodge is. The area is known as Panacucha. The lodge is brilliant and build in traditional style with no electricity and everything is lit by candlelight. The rooms have open windows with fantastic views over the lake and great sunsets every night. Obviously there is no one else near us, pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Our rooms are basic with just a bed and mosquito net. The toilets are round the back of the lodge with a cold shower! There are several
hammocks that we have great time swinging in!
Friday 3rd November We spend the morning on a 4 hour jungle hike. Its pretty hot and humid but not as bad a steamy Coca. Our guide Falsto spends alot of time explaining about the uses of different plants and how the people live traditionally. We all have make up put on our faces. Falsto digs a huge witchety grub out of a tree and then eats it, he explains its delicacy of the jungle but I wouldn´t want to eat it. Disgusting! The trees are huge and so tall you can´t see the top of them. We see a jaguar paw together with a pig imprint. I reckon Falsto has just put it there for us. We also get to smell some really stinky pigs but don´t see them! We also have the beginnings of a beautiful relationship as Falsto makes Vicky a really nice hat thing.
In the afternoon we take a canoe ride around the lake in traditional canoes made from one piece of wood. Vicky (we´ve renamed the inbred as she´s short and from Cornwall), Becky, Dave and Nessie (we´ve named her paws as
Mmmm looking good
This is the Inbred at her best she got fat fingers - Butchers Best!) are in a boat that wants to sink. They have to keep bailing out water and we get screams every now and again as they think they are going to sink. It doesn´t help as there is a huge spider running around in their boat that paws keeps moving to avoid this and hence rocks the boat more and we get more screaming. As you can imagine, this isn´t conducive to seeing wildlife but is great fun! We do see some fresh water dolphins (which is rare) and some macaws. We end the trip by swimming in the lake and then trying to get back into the canoes. We end up sinking the canoe several times as we try to get back into it!
At night we have another boat trip in the dark to go Caimen spotting. We only see some eyes in the distance and Kate falls asleep on me giving me a dead arm!
We spend the rest of the evening drinking substantial quantities of alcohol and teasing Maggie about day of the dead dolls and breakfast! We also spend a lot of time swinging in the hammocks
and trying to break them. I fall out a few times (or rather am pushed out).
At about 11pm one of the jungle boys asks if we want to go for a stroll in the jungle. We end up hiking at full pelt and seeing nothing but the end of my wellies!
Saturday 4th November This morning we have a boat ride down the river and then a short 2 hour walk in the jungle. We see more things today, with howler monkeys and squirrel monkeys swinging in the trees above us. We have a swim in the river with a current so strong that you swim so hard but still remain in the same place!
In the afternoon we go piranha fishing. We have simple hooks with meat on the end. Its not easy to catch them, they nibble at the meat and you have to jerk really hard to get them. Most of the time you don´t get anything except and empty hook. Only 4 of us caught anything, I got 2 (woo hoo) and Kate got 1. Kate also gets told off as she spends some time with her feet sticking over
the edge of the boat, not a good idea when there are meat eating fishes in a feeding frenzy just below us!!
In the evening we get to eat our piranha´s. They are actually horrible and full of bones. We drink lots as usual and have some more hammock time (my arse is still bruised). Dave gives us a safety talk but I´m so drunk that I fall asleep during and snore loudly! Kate has to put me to bed as I feel quite sick. Kate´s thinks this can be easily solved by making me wear my motion sickness bracelets, I´m slightly confused in the morning when I awaken wearing them!
The last thing I remember is leaving the Inbred and Paws with the jungles boys on the terrace........
Sunday 5th November No hangover surprisingly, it must have been the motion sickness bracelets!
We get up at 6am for a another canoe ride around the lake. As we getting on the boat I notice a cushion appropriately placed for Vicky and Falsto´s late night jungle excursion.........Vicky has made herself a friend!!!! We haven´t seen any snakes but she has!!!!
The boat trip
is brilliant and we see the most animals we´ve seen all trip. Lots of birds (parrots etc) and monkeys and dolphins.
The boat ride back takes even longer as we´re going against the current. We stop on the way to see a traditional family lodge and the way they live. It takes nearly 9 hours to get back and my bum really hurts by the end of it! To ease the passing of time we drink a few beers and have to stop for the toilet loads! We also experience a tropical storm on the way back, the rain is so hard it hurts when it hits you.
We end up back in Coca and only experience one power cut this time!
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