In the Jungle, on the river (and in the river!)

Thursday morning bus from Banos to the jungle town of Tena - a 6 hour relatively adventure-free ride. Arrival in Tena was hectic - not sure where to catch the next bus from but managed to find refuge (and a TV) in a cafe - joined in with the locals cheering on Mexico v France.

Second bus of the day was even more 'local' than the first - and was about 20 degrees hotter - OK for us as we were able to open the window but not so for the 2 chickens in a string bag in the luggage hold next to our rucksacks! Must have been an horrific journey which we were surprised to see they survived. Expect they would have preferred to be with the box of live chicks that were a few rows up from us in the bus. Definitely an interesting ride with a good unfolding picture of jungle life.

Journey's end was the river bank - which the bus actually pulled up on and we made our way to the motorised canoe to our lodge. Took a few pcitures en route - one of which was of a ramshackled riverside dwelling which turned out to be our home for the next 3 nights!

The lodge was actually better than our first impression - still no hot water or electricity in the rooms but a great location, friendly (if incompetent) staff - and no other guests - our own private riverside lodge! A quiet end to the day with dinner and attempts to get to sleep with the sound of the jungle making a varied nightime soundtrack - and thankfully not too many bugs joining us in the room.

Next day we awoke to the sound of heavy rain on the tin roof of the lodge but at least by the time we set off, the weather was clearing up. First up was a jungle trek for 3 hours - very hot and humid conditions and a more challenging walk than we had expected. Not too much in the way of wildlife - we saw a few monkeys, spiders and birds but with the vegetation so thick, we heard more than we actually saw. The guide was very good - a local man, Fausto - brought up in the jungle and able to give some great insights into how the people of the jungle use the plants and trees to survive. Tried some jungle fruits, tested a couple of 'medicines' and all in all had a great walk. Not too touristy - in fact, we saw no-one else on the whole trek

After all swinging on a vine in true jungle fashion, it was into a small (but occasionally very deep!) river for a walk which lasted around 45 minutes - a great way to cool off, see the jungle from a different viewpoint - and for Tina to spot the one and only snake we saw - a whip snake - not poisonous but enough to keep us all on our toes! Then it was lunch on the boat and off to a local museum and a chance for us to try out our blow-pipe skills - amazing how effective the pipe was - even for novices like us. Finished the day at a Swiss-funded animal rescue centre.

Saturday was another busy day - a visit to Fausto's family home on the river - much of which was swept away earlier in the year and a chance for Tina to have her face painted using the dye from a plant and for her to have made a 'princess star' made from a palm leaf to wear on her head. Dug up our lunch of jungle potato and began to prepare for another trip down the river - this time on a quickly assembled balsa wood raft - luckily Ian was not involved in the construction!

The raft was made up of 5 logs tied together with rope - took about 10 minutes to put together and we were off downstream. As we soon were soaking wet, it was a perfect opportunity to jump in the river, cool off and hitch a ride. The river was fairly fast flowing - good to keep mosquitos away and to float quickly back to the lodge for lunch and a chance to sit in the sun.

Later in the day we were on the river again (no roads on the island) to visit the local village to have a beer, visit a couple of craft shops and meet up with an amazing beetle - found in the street by a boy who was just playing with it - we were convinced it was a toy until Fausto assured us it was real! Glad we didn't meet it in the jungle or in the lodge.

The evening finished with a visit from the local shaman - a kind of witch doctor. All very atmospheric as the generator at the lodge had packed up so no light in the dining area. The shaman then proceeded to 'cleanse' Tina in a 10 minute ritual which involved being hit by dried leaves and with the 70 year old semi naked man (with 4 wives) sucking the back of Tina's head to rid her body of evil spirits. Not sure it did that but it did actually cure her backache!

Something of a chaotic start to Sunday - we needed to get down river to catch the first of two buses to get us to Quito. The boys in the lodge had been out drinking and were totally disorganised. Missed the first bus but just got the second by one minute - again accompanied by chickens and livened up by one of the many pregnant local teenagers suffering morning sickness on the seat next to us. Tina offered her tissues - as any good nurse would - but refused to clear the mess up!

A really good jungle experience overall - as good as it could have been - with not too many other tourists and certainly won't forget it in a hurry.

Main bus ride to Quito was the scariest of the lot - a mad driver racing other buses for 4 hours but eventually arrived in one piece. Hotel in the backpacker ghetto of the city - will visit the Old Town tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing Katie and Matthew in Colombia very soon!