From Banos we drove three hours into the jungle in a town called Tena. We stayed for the second time at an amazing jungle lodge called Hakuna Matata that sits on the edge of the Amazon Rain Forest. We enjoyed the delicious food and tranquil atmosphere for the day and just relaxed in the jungle. The next day we were scheduled to take an all day excursion into the jungle, but at the last minute Roger decided to stay back and have a quiet day soak it all in. So, off Spencer and I went on our adventure.
We started by driving to a town called Misahualli that has one of the main ports for the Napo River, which is one of the tributaries for the Amazon River. We boarded into these huge motorized canoes and took a ride for about 30 minutes. It was very cool, though the day started our rainy and cloudy.
Our boat eventually pulled up to this Animal Sanctuary that rescues and rehabilitates indigenous animals with the hope of returning them to the wild. Here are some photos of the cool animals they're helping.
The sign at the entrance on the river. This cool guy greeted us at the top of the stairs.
Tucans & Scarlet Macaws
Sadly these guys are the target of local poachers as they can fetch upwards of $10,000 on the black market.
Cute monkeys
Spider Monkey. They were so excited when we arrived and came right up to us.
I don't remember what these were called, but looked like wild boars.
Our guide showing us an Amazon Walking Tree. This tree can move up to 2 meters per year!
Ocelot. So Cool.
Turtles sunning themselves.
Caymen (Alligator)
And my absolute favorite, this is a Capybara.
This photo doesn't give you perspective, but this oversized rodent was huge!
Next we went for a guided walk through the jungle. It was pouring rain (what else do you expect in the rainforest) but we had a great time.
Our guide showed us the poisonous frog that the tribes use to tip their spears.
It was some deep mud and very thick vegetation.
Telling us about the various uses of many of the plants - cooking, medicine, utility.
The trees started to get really tall as we got further in. Standing in the base of a tree, it was HUGE.
About an hour into our walk, our guide heard something and asked us all to be quiet. About a minute later a pack of Squirrel Monkeys were surrounding us and just hung out around us for a few minutes. It was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.
Here's a momma and her baby
After our rainforest walk we got back in the canoe and returned to port for lunch. Then we headed by car to a Kichwa village to see how an indigenous rainforest tribe lives. The Kichwa are one of 24 indigenous tribes still living in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Each tribe has their own language and customs. The Kichwa is the largest remaining group.
Their primary income comes from panning for gold in the river. This backbreaking work is done by the women and yields just 3-5 grams of gold per 50-60 of these pans.
This woman was mashing yucca, a primary food that is like a potato.
Making bowls out of the river clay.
Blow gun demonstration.
Spencer and I had an amazing day exploring the Amazon! We were sad to leave Roger back at the lodge, but we returned to find a refreshed and relaxed guy who had an awesome day soaking it all in!
Hammocks galore and an amazing pool.
All of the paths at hostel are surrounded by this thick vegetation. Of course...it's a jungle lodge!
Roger was a little shocked by the bridge to get into the lodge (note the giant hole near Spencer's foot)
Driving back towards Quito we spotted this awesome example of Ecuadorian safety.
Yes, that is a small little dog hanging off the motorcycle on the highway.
Overall, we had an excellent visit with Roger! It was so nice to have him here and show him around our cool country. Hope to have him come back someday, there's always more to see.
