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Published: October 14th 2011
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T-minus one month before leaving Puyo! For Jeremy’s birthday we decided to do something special. We hopped on a bus and headed towards Tena, with a stop at the Caves of Jumangy. The caves were filled with beautiful formations illuminated by our headlamps, bats, spiders and enough black holes and slippery spots to make any Western safety expert lose his mind. We loved it but were quite happy to see the light of day again! Only a mere twenty minutes was spent at the waterslides as they truly seemed too dangerous to ride more than once.
Monkey Games So we grabbed a lift and headed towards the tiny town of Misahualli. We hadn’t read much about it, rather someone had said it was a cool place to check out…and it certainly was. The drive alone was breathtaking- heaps and heaps of traditional thatched roofed houses littered the road and the town itself was shimmering when we arrived due to the sun setting on the massive river. We immediately headed towards the bridge and marveled at the murky yet iridescent waters. Crossing over we came upon cabanas for a mere $15 a night- mind you it came with its own monkeys. Two
little rascals (about the size of a large hamster + tail) scurried into our room and made haste nuzzling through our linens. The owner showed us how to coax them out using just a leaf! We left our stuff and wandered into town, all the while admiring the rich hues settling over the waterway. After a fabulous dinner and half a box of wine at the beach we continued to the main plaza where we were shocked to see such a large number of free roaming monkeys. They must drive the locals crazy! There were two playing tag on the metal roof behind our bench, a few scoundrels stealing from a local shop keeper and then one ballsy fellow who came over and blatantly stole our wine box from beneath our feet. The critter proceeded to lift it and throw it on the ground but did not succeed in bursting it open. Well one night of that monkey business was enough, so we took off for Tena to await a friend the following day. We were able to set up a rafting trip with River People with no hassle at all. It turned out to be fantastic. Lots of laughs,
mud paints, great food and fun rapids…even got to ride on the front of the raft over some of the large waves!!! But every weekend must come to an end and honestly we were glad to get some real rest…plus Jeremy had to finish up all his work for his community visit ASAP as he was to leave the next week.
Despedidas Soon the time came to say good-bye to our friends we had met. We were selling all of our kitchen wares at the same time so you can imagine my dismay to cook all day (in a toaster oven) to have it sold off, which was soon followed by THE FRIDGE! Thankfully the nice lady downstairs took our perishables in so that nothing spoiled for our party at the river. It turned out to be great…we made everyone act like a child again with three-legged races, egg tosses and the limbo. Prizes were given to all the winners and we sipped on Jungle Juice (rum and fruit) all day long. After a long day we were all craving something fried and tasty yet wound up at dinner with chicken innards soup. Perfect way to end out Puyo days.
On The Road Again We took a midnight bus out and awoke in Mindo, in the north of Ecuador about 8 a.m. Groggily, we stumbled into the hostel El Descanso, lured by the hummingbird feeders, where we crashed in the open room dorm hearing only the sounds of the birds. Upon waking, the town itself seemed to be more of a town than we had anticipated…so we took off walking looking for a place to throw our tent for the next few days. Following the main route, towards the zip-lining and waterfalls, we saw a sign for Reserva Las Tangeras. It was a 45 minute trail from the road, and all the while we were looking for the facility. Once we saw it we knew we were going to have to turn around, grab our stuff and come back! So hours later we were finally settled in our campsite along the river and hanging out up at the rustic house/research station with the New Zealand couple running the show. We spent the next couple days with the birds…as in the Cock-of-the Rock, toucans (everywhere!) and of course hummingbirds! The trails were really well maintained and the water was pristine. A
happy place to soak it up!
Up Up and...snow??? Leaving the warm and beautiful bird filled cloud forest we took a pit stop in Otovalo to complete all of our holiday shopping before moving on to Ibarra. We wound up in a small nearby pueblito called La Esperanza. Aida, who years ago opened her house to tourism (whether it was initially due to the magic mushrooms or really had to do with the volcanoes nearby, we will never really know!), warmly welcomed us. She is a spunky lady for her 75years and knows how to make travelers at home and fill their bellies with deliciousness. We awoke the next morning, despite a massive storm the night before, and headed out the door at 5 a.m. to reach the trailhead for Volcano Imbabura {4,630 m (15,190 ft)}. We had heard from friends that while it was a tough hike we should both be able to reach the summit in about 7 hours. Our early morning start was rewarded with an array of blue, all the shades imaginable, while the sun slowly crept up. Soon the fertile green countryside was drenched in golden rays of sunshine. As the climb continued to get steeper we saw the farmland diminish and sights of the snowy Volcano Imbabura came into view. Now, why it didn’t register fully that we would have to cross all that snow in order to summit, I do not know….but we continued on. By 3800m there was snow sticking to the ground…and we still were going UP UP UP. The trail continued to deteriorate (it was still well marked); however, one had to climb over slippery cold rocks in order to continue. Our mittens surely did not like the environment and our fingers quickly felt the pangs of cold shooting into them. I was getting a bit nervous by the 4200m mark but continued up thinking it was bound to get easier (stupid!) and that we were oh so close. Yet some 200 meters higher I crossed my limit. In the middle of climbing up some rocks, with steep drop offs on either side, I called to Jeremy that I couldn’t go any higher…my leg was shaking; not from cold but from fear. We immediately decided to descend and were pleased to see the cloudy, windy skies break, just for a few minutes and let us bask in the expansive view of the countryside. The return to town was mainly on our rear-ends. Needless to say, we walked exhaustedly (and covered in extreme filth) back into the hostel, slept, filled our bellies and prepared ourselves for the Colombian border crossing the next day.
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