Amarongachi Jungle Eco-Lodge Tena

... and surrounded by tropical birds and trees.

No cold drinks and we´d ran out of fresh water. No cold beer. No light at the end of the tunnel. I can see now why they named the country after the Ecuator. I´d been bitten to buggery during the day and was trying desparaetly not to scratch my legs into bleeding pulps. The resident ******* sized big spider had set up shop just outside the bunk house joined by his spindly medium sized friend.

As we sat back to relax ...

... cinnamon leaves, olbas oil tree, lemony leaves, we licked an anaesthetic bark (which they put on the end of arrows after boiling it up abit, to knock out the monkeys), we saw massive termite mounds, tons of herbal/jungle doctor remedies (leaves for post pregnancy, stomach pains, ridding bad spirits and headaches from those new to the jungle, parkinsons remedies etc etc) We also saw loads of mushrooms which Al became obsessed with taking pictures of... we then went off with ...

... was usually a ladder made from a log set up inside where she could make her way down, but it had been washed out with a recent storm. We later found that ladder on our walk out, down the stream. I wanted to haul it back and set it up so I could make multiple jumps off the rock face. It was quite the spot to behold when the sun peaked through and lit the small amphitheater up. I told Caroline our trip reminded me of a Goonie Adventure for sure. One ...

... of the world apparently) and which is surrounded by a number of indigenous communities still living in the Amazon rainforest. We arrived in Tena by lunch and were lucky enough to be able to jump straight away onto the local bus that takes people from town to their local villages in the jungle. It would be from this bus that we would take the boat to the lodge.

This posed a problem however: Renee has the bladder the same size as an under nourished newt, and, having had a 4 ...

... for tea!

On the last night the locals put on a show for us and showed us their local dancing and music. In return we had to show them one of our dances. So after careful consideration..... the group chose the Oky Koky!!!!! It was really funny and all the kids had a great time shaking it all about.

This morning we left the community and took a four hour boat ride down the river back to Tena. It took so long because the water was so ...

... right next door. There is a basic kitchen (no fridge though) on the top terrace, which has gret views over the town and surrounding area. The free wifi is a bonus and gives me an opportunity to catch up on mail and admin, oh and load up yet more photos.

our good friend Claire has just found a new job, hurrah for you Claire, and I've just picked up mail from Sally. I'm going to write a longun back to her in a mo as well as a catch up to my dear mate nina.

laters

... show up at Barrio Amazonas to learn English, and on asking them where the boys were, the answer would inevitably be "ellos estan jugando al fútbol"!

After half an hour or so we gringos couldn't take the heat any more so we and the kids went down to the nearby river to cool off. I absolutely loved playing with the kids in the river, either helping them do back-somersaults into the river, or ferrying the younger kids who can't swim that well, across the ...

... I really wonder why I am not morbidly obese by now! With Tom, Ben and I there, all three of us having substantial appetites, we made sure there was no food left! We thought that at least one of the three of us would be seeing our lunch again after the first rapid of the afternoon session but it all stayed down!

The rafting itself was just as awesome as before. In fact, even more so ...