fia_andreen's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member fia_andreen on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/fia_andreen en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 12 Jan 2008 09:42:14 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com Jungle Hike — Jatun Sacha, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1199411880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1199411880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1199411880/tpod.html Sat, 12 Jan 2008 09:42:14 -0500 One lost Swede on the Equator.
Jatun Sacha, Ecuador




In order to beter observe the reserve (2200hectares) we are building a new Cabana at the other end of the forest. The hike there takes about 3 hours.











Once we had reached the half built cabana and had had lunch we vaded across the river Arahuno and walked upstream for 40 min or so. Barefot in wet gumboots the walk was a bit uncomfortable but very pretty. We met lots of kids on their way home from school and they were all keen to talk to us and most of all look at our cameras.






After crossing the river again (this time in a strong current)we walked up to the school. 120 children study her and most of them have to walt for up to an hour to reach get there. Families take turn to bring food and cook so the children get both breakfast and lunch at school.




After some interesting chats we neded to make our way back to the cabana. However, we were not loking forward to walking all the way back with blisterd feet. Floating home on the river was much more appealing, but her was the problem with two cameras...



As we stood there puting the walk home off a balsa log came floating on the river. The forest guard William swam out and got it and proceded to cut it in half with his machete. With some palm leaves he then tied the two parts togeter to make a little raft for our backpack.



After a hot and sticky afternoon it was bliss to slowly float down the river and chat o locals that thought us rather hilarious. There were a few places with rapids but most of them were shallow and most of us (read: everybody but Sofia) managed to cross them by foot.





Well home we got the fire going and made pasta with tomato sauce for dinner. From the hamocks we watched daylight fade away and then enloyed blinking our flashlights at the fireflies that happily blinked back.

After a few hours we went on a night walk and viewed spiders, frogs and insects with our flash lights. Monkeys were chit chating in the tres above us trying to figure out who we were.

Very tired and content we went to bed in our sleeping bags on the wooden floor. Sleeping was uncomfortable but doable.







In the morning we walked down to the river. The scenery was breathtaking. A 50h farm her costs about US$10000... We sat there for a while and enjoyed watching the locals take their canoes to work, school etc.We were lucky enough to catch a motorized canoe that took us 1h downstream to the road where we could get a bus back to the station.







The river ride were wet and wild as the over loaded canoe made its way through rapids and shallows. The fare was US$0.25.
]]> Misahualli — Misahualli, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1197686880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1197686880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1197686880/tpod.html Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:55:51 -0500 One lost Swede on the Equator.
Misahualli, Ecuador

On fridays we work in nearby communities helping them set up organic gardens with suitable plants for this climate and to teach the kids some basic English. After lunch we usually get beaten at volleyball.
]]> STEAK!!! — Tena, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1198809480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1198809480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1198809480/tpod.html Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:42:03 -0500 One lost Swede on the Equator.
Tena, Ecuador

Today I had the most exciting meal of my life. It was very good, nit the best one I have had but DEFFINATLEY the most EXCITING.

In the restaurant lived a parrot and a sloth but that was not nearly as exciting as eating a massive piece of steak : ) VERY VERY HAPPY camper.
]]> Nariz del Diabolo — Alausi, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1198062900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1198062900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1198062900/tpod.html Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:26:45 -0500 One lost Swede on the Equator.
Alausi, Ecuador

Somewhat weak from yesterdays food stall I got on the Andean train at 7 in the morning. The scenery was beautiful and although I slept a lot I am glad I made the effort to get on the train.

Once we arrived in Alusi after 7 hours I got on the buss to Ecuador's biggest city Guayaquil. The buss trip was 10 times rougher than the famous train trip. Many 6 point turns to get around corners on Andean gravel roads with more pot holes than road. And coming down from the mountains the driver would use the breaks every 5 seconds to save us from floating over some edge in the fog.

The big city was big hot and stinky as expected and after meeting with the people making Organic Galapagos Coffee the next day I took the night buss back to Tena. It took 11 hours and was in style with my previous bus journeys this week.

...and I have been complaining because the jungle was sticky!!! I could not wait to get back to the reserve in the rainforest!! And I doubt I will leave again till I actually have to.
]]> Beauty Salon and Food Stalls — Riobamba, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1198024800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1198024800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1198024800/tpod.html Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:24:55 -0500 One lost Swede on the Equator.
Riobamba, Ecuador

So. Have now reached the Andean town Riobamba. I walked by a beauty salon that advertised Manicures $2 and Pedicures $3 so I thought I´d give it a go since the Salon looked so very Peach coloured underneath the dirt on the walls. It was hillarious. The place was an absolute pig stie. The staff had layers and layers of make up probably left on from last week. A smiley girl attended to my feet while another 5 watched and giggled.

After she heated up some water over a gas bottle I got to put my feet in a footbath. She den proceded to randomly cut file and butcher my toe nails. They are now all different lengths and my left index toe is still bleeding. I politely declined having nail polish applied.

Then I got to put my left hand in cold water in a pink tray that looked like it had been used while renovating a house, plus it had two dead ants in it. She then proceded to fray my right hand nails and push back one or two lucky cubicles. No blood this time. While she was working away on my poor nails one of her friends came in for a chat and used the nail tools on herself while gossiping happily.

Needless to say the black rim of dirt under my nails is still there. So for 5 dollars I got the most useless beauty treatment in the universe, but the experience was worth one MILLION dollars!

Decided to sit down for dinner at one of the street stalls where they were frying pork over charchoal. I know that the travel books advice against it but after all the money I spent on injections back in NZ I was going to get my monies worth. Since I had been vaccinated for salmonella I opted for pork AND chicken.The food was yummy and for a massive plate I paid $2. There were no scraps on the ground as the many dogs keept it very nice and clean.

3 teanagers were sitting next to me half eating half sleeping in their food. Im not sure what they were on but whatever it was they had had quite a lot.
]]> Steak and toffee — Banos, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1197939720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1197939720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1197939720/tpod.html Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:20:48 -0500 One lost Swede on the Equator.
Banos, Ecuador

Heading to Guayaquil to meet with the people making Galapagos Organic Coffee and as per usual I have not researched how far it actually is before heading off. 4h buss ride on dirt roads with plenty of potholes took me not even half way.

Banos is Ecuadors Queenstown... or more like Rotorua with thermal baths. Every so often you get stuff in your eyes. It is apparently from a near by volcano that is very active.

Walking down the street I heard someone call my name. Roddy, a scottich bloke I worked with in Galapagos had just arrived - by bike. It was nice to see a familiar face and Roddy showed me to the best cheepest backpackers in town. That evening we indulged in steak. Most massive meat dishes costs around $5. Roddy has got the sice and looks of uncle Fester but not even he could finnish his meal.

Full and happy I went straight to bed after leaving the restaurant.

The next day I went to the local Zoo and there I ran in to a french guy I sat next to on the plane. He was working there and gave me a tour of all the animals. The Tucan bird is my favorite. There were also Puma, Jaguar, lots of monkeys and a Tapir. The Tapir wandered loose around the zoo. Felt like a mix between a pig and a pony. She lay down in the shade under a tree and let me scratch her under the jaw.

Before I hopped on the bus to Riobamba I bought some of the local speciality - Marmelada Guayva and Sugar Cane Toffee. Both sickeningly sweet but quite nice.
]]> Hike to Chichico Rumi — Tena, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1197159540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1197159540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1197159540/tpod.html Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:33:31 -0500 One lost Swede on the Equator.
Tena, Ecuador

Today we went on a djungle hike to the nearby village Chichico Rumi (monkey rock).


Lots of butterflies on the way there and in the village lots of kids monkeys and other small animals I have never seen before.

One baby monkey deciced that I was itoe mother and hung out on my lower leg as we walked around the village.
]]> To the Amazon — Tena, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1196468280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1196468280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1196468280/tpod.html Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:31:01 -0500 One lost Swede on the Equator.
Tena, Ecuador

 After a healthy dose of civilization in Quito I began the 7h journey to the Amazon. I actually slept he whole way and woke up hot and bothered in a lush green landscape.

The last 40 min I traveled on the local bus. It filled up to the brim with school children and old ladies that had been to town. There was also a man asking for money for an operation. He had some 10inches of his intestine hanging out of his stomach, holding a plastic bag underneath it to collect the.... the whatever was seeping out of it. It was horrible and I felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie and that this was only the beginning of many more revolting adventures.
]]> Christmas in the Amazon — Nucansi Cauchay, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1198696140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1198696140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1198696140/tpod.html Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:20:03 -0500 One lost Swede on the Equator.
Nucansi Cauchay, Ecuador

A few days before Christmas the nearby villages came together for fun and games much like at home. Christmas her is not a huge deal and even though they really like the Christmas whateveryoucallitinenglish with the baby Jesus in the stall and the shepherds etc, I didn't get he feeling that the Kitchwa people were overly fussed about baby Jesus.

After fighting a tummy bug going around the camp I crawled out of my bed on Boxing day. It has been raining for 3 days pretty solid. The rest of the volunteers used the excess water for some high speed tubing down the Napo river.

The other day I got to go with one of the guys patrolling the forest. It was so beautiful and so interesting! Gabriel's dad was a famous Shaman (medicine man) and had passed much of his knowledge down to his children. It struck me how obsessed with chemicals we are in the western world.
]]> Jatun Sacha Reserve — Tena, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1197298320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1197298320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/fia_andreen/ecuador_2007/1197298320/tpod.html Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:10:20 -0500 One lost Swede on the Equator.
Tena, Ecuador

Have now been in Amazonia for a week.

Today is kitchen duty, my least favourite. Other jobs includes attending to the organic garden, which I love, and working at the Center for Conservation of Amazonian Plants. On fridays we go out in the nearby comunities and healp out there.

After work we swim in the river Napo or read books in the hammocks. There is also a 30m bird watching tower a short hike away. Everything here is on steroids. Butterflies bigger than my hand and grass hoppers like Swedish cray fish.

Anything that loks like a dead big black spider is usually a sleeping scorpion that quickly inflates to a very alive angry little beeing.

The food her tastes nice but is hopelessly vegetarian, or not even that - Carbarian. Pasta with rice and beans or solely potatoes with some cheese on. Tomorow I am taking the 1h buss to Tena for a burger. Can´t wait.
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