Into the jungle
Trip Start
Oct 17, 2006
1
5
40
Trip End
Mar 04, 2007
Mishualli,
Ecuador
Sunday, November 5, 2006
The following morning we had a short boat trip before trekking for about 6 hours through the secondary (NOT primary!) jungle with a guide, who got us to sample some of the plant life - including sucking juice from one leaf that tasted citrusy and chewing on another which tasted of cinnamon. We got to see lots of plant life but most of the animal life was hiding except for the insects, some of which were absolutely huge!
It was very humid in the jungle so we were glad to reach the lodge and go
for a swim in the river. In the evening we went for a quick walk around a reserve that the guide has set up and saw...Later that night we were visited by a shamen and some people tried jungle juice and were rather ill. It was an interesting experience though. We saw a huge tarantula, fortunately not in our hut, but the bats squawking in the roof above our room did keep me up.
The next day after a shorter walk in which we saw some huge balsa trees and more plant life we floated down the river in rubber rings over some rapids back to the lodge which was great fun. After lunch I played with one of the little girls that lives nearby before getting on a motorized canoe for a leisurely 3 hour ride back to Mishualli. We passed various villages and even saw a house with a huge painting on the side promoting one of the presidential candidates!
