Amazon Addy

We just got back from the Amazon, and what can I say except that it was incredible!

Right now we are in Banos camping just outside of town at this awesome campsite. Tonight we have a costume party and after a quick visit to town, I decided to go as a nurse…it was that or a Christmas tree…not many options at the super market!

But back to the Amazon! Because of the presidential elections in Ecuador, we had to skip the market which gave us an extra night in the Amazon and an extra night here in Banos…which I am quite pleased with. We stayed in a lodge with lots of typical bugs that one would expect in the jungle…yes, there were tarantulas near by, as well as large cockroaches and a million other creepy-crawly things. Thank goodness I´m not freaked out by that sort of thing!

The first day there we hiked for 4 hours. The last hour was through a river and the water went up to our waists at points…it was very slippery and I almost went all the way under a few times! But thank goodness for other people to grab on to…the best quote of the day goes to Diana who said: ‘if I go down, your shorts go with me.’

After the hike, we swam on a perfect beach (except for the sand flies), and then went to an indigenous museum and an animal rescue shelter…so we saw a lot of monkeys and noisy birds and toucans, to name a few. Then back at the lodge a Quechua family came and danced for us. It was sweet, but every song sounded the same and the little boy drumming looked like he hated the fact that his dad made him do it.

The next day I stayed back at the lodge and then saw a Shaman at night. It was a very interesting experience.

On our last day there we took one of the freaky motorised boats up the river, made a balsa wood raft, and then drifted down the river for four hours…it was fantastic! Apparently people will build these rafts and float down the river and end up on the other side in Argentina four months later!

Some of the other cool things we learned about was how to make this juice that when put on a blow dart is poison for animals, but is also anti-venom for snake bites. Did you know that if you rubbed termites on you (yes, termites) it is the best protection against bugs?

We learned a lot and got to see a lot too…and after the few days there I realized that it is definitely a place worth going back to.

We have to catch a bus back to the campsite now, but I hope that all is well with you guys!!

Take care,

Adrienne

Ps – another good quote was after seeing the pleasant looking statues of the tribe who are the head shrinkers: ‘but they looked like such a nice couple…’...maybe you had to be there?