..and that's why they call it the Rainforest.

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I booked 'The Jungle' as a side trip to the main event. To be honest I thought it would be okay, but nothing spectacular. How wrong I was. This is no semi-tame National Park , this is unspoilt rainforest in all it's glory.

A short flight to Coca, the last outpost, and a blustery fifty mile canoe ride on the Napo river, took us to deep into the forest. It was then only left a half hour trek in the rain and another short canoe ride across the Pichicocha Lake to reach the Lodge.

It's a spectacular setting and all pretty plush, not the basic accommodation I was expecting. A bed big enough for an orgy and a tiled bathroom with a full screen wall , so you can shower and flash the monkeys at the same time.

Lovely as it is , I'm here for the wildlife. It doesn't disappoint. With the help of two guides, our group of three saw countless animals. Monkeys, caimen , lizards , python ...the list goes on . And that's before you count the numerous birds. It was a real treat to see Macaws and Toucan in their natural habitat.

The Guides kept us busy with three treks a day, but I was lucky to spend the free time with some lovely people. Unlike the guides, my heart sank a little when we were joined by a group of College girls. As it was , they were a lot of fun and rather lovely. Nearly as lovely as Jackie and the very handsome boyfriend, Mitch. Will definitely miss them.

An unexpected highlight was a visit to a local community project where we could see the plants grown for medicinal purposes. We had a range of foods cooked for us, and pretty good it was too. I had the chance to eat a live witchety grub ala 'I'm A Celebrity , Get Me Out Of Here.' Well, you gotta try everything once , so, as it was squirming between my fingures and trying to bite me, I beat him too it... It was a bit tricky biting the head off , but then it wasn't that bad. Like cottage cheese. Cottage cheese that's wriggling.

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