We went to see the Jungle and Volcanos

LOTS OF PHOTOGRAPHS!!!!

Ecuador is about the size of the state of Colorado, if you travel a few hours in any direction from Cuenca, you will find amazing and beautiful diversity. We have seen the Mountains, the Coast, the Cloud Forest and a Desert.   Our most recent adventure took us to the "Orient", that is what they call the Amazon here in Ecuador.

Our friend Efrain picked us up early in the morning, and then we picked up Pablo, his fellow guide, and off we went for our travels.  The scenery was incredible, simply incredible. 

Along our journey on the first day we stopped in a town called Mendez. Our guide book  described this town as "more than quaint, this picturesque oblivion seems made to order for Witness Protection Program Participants."   Too Funny.

We traveled on, and visited an animal Sanctuary.

This is the Ecuadorian version of a "Tasmanian Devil".    

This is a Capybara, it is the largest rodent in the world.  He was about four feet long and about two feet tall, they weigh anywhere from 77 lbs. to 150 lbs.

His feet were cool!

 

Yup, that's me.   I am still trying to get used to myself with gray hair!!!

These guys were fascinated by the cameras. They felt like little feathers, almost weightless.

We saw many, many more animals, Caimans, Tapirs, etc., but I can't include pics of everything.  It was amazing.

We spent the night in a town named Macas, this Volcano is right outside the town, too bad it was covered in clouds the day we were there!!



Volcan Sangay

We traveled on to a town called Tena where we spent two evenings.  Along the way Efrain stopped and explained various monuments.  It was really interesting to come across these displays of major cultural importance in very out of the way areas. 

Our Lodge in Tena


The pool right outside our room. 

The first evening we were there, a group of local indigenous dancers came to the lodge and performed. 



Michael danced with this beautiful young woman.

I was given a cleansing from a Shaman. He used the cigarettes and water for the blessing. He lit the cigarette and blew smoke on my head. It seemed to go on for hours, but it was just a few minutes.

Sweet little dancer



Dancers Feet

The show was fantastic!

The next day we went Kayaking.  We had never been in White Water Kayaks before, so it was interesting, but our guide Jaime had first class equipment, and the scenery along Rio Napo was stunning.

As we hit our first group of "rapids", and believe me, they were small, Jaime started paddling towards me because he said he read my lips, and I was saying "Oh Sh_t".  We weren't used to going over rocks, but these kayaks just glazed over them. 
It was a really fun day, something we hope to do again.

Our snacks while we took a break. They were served on Jaime's kayak.

This butterfly hung out with Michael and his boat.  Check out the size of this guy!!

This is the beach where we stopped for snacks.

Long story about this fish.

The next day we visited a village in the jungle. We were treated to a traditional wedding dance, shown their "Holy Rock", learned how to make Chocolate, and were served a fabulous lunch of Tilapia caught from the river.  We also visited a Botanical garden where we learned about Jungle plants and their healing capabilities.  We bought a few things, one for healing cuts and one for pain relief for things like arthritis.  They BOTH work.  We had been bitten by a few bugs and the liquid for cuts healed them, and the item for arthritis is wonderful. 

 How cool to find natural things. 

It was a wonderful day.

Our Boat to the village.





Traditional wedding dance.



This is a figure on the Holy Rock, from one side it looks like a Tapir, and from another angle it looks like a Toucan.

We were allowed to climb the rock with the local woman, but it had to be bare foot.  If you touch the rock with your hands, it is supposed to give you good "Kharma".  Just like the Shaman, we were taking all the good Kharma we could get!!

She explained how they make Chicaha de Yuca. They no longer chew it and then spit it out, which was the usual way of making this beverage. Now they just smash it up and place it in a banana leaf for a few days. If it is fermented for too many days, it becomes an alcoholic drink.



This is a piece of tree bark that they used to grate the Yucca to make Chicha de Yuca, ingenious.



This guy did not speak Spanish, only Quichua, one of the languages of the indigenous people.  He was quite proud of his pet Anaconda he found in the jungle.  This snake is 3 or 4 months old.

We learned how to cook the Cocoa beans and make chocolate.

The chocolate was used to make us desert, we had fresh Papaya with Chocolate sauce.  Yum.

Our Lunch,  it was fantastic.  Tilapia and Yuca.

 

When we left the jungle we traveled to Banos.

We took cable cars out to see two different sets of waterfalls outside of Banos De Ambato, absolutley beautiful.

Just beautiful scenery along the way.

"Volcan Chimborazo". 

It is the highest mountain in Ecuador.  Due to the earth's equatorial bulge, it is also the furthest point from the center of the earth.  Our guide book said " Tell  your K-2 climbing buddies you were there."   People come and practice climbing before going to Everest.
It is higher than any mountain in North America.

Volcan Chimborazo with Guanecos

There is a shelter on the Volcano at 4,800 meters (over 15,000 feet). They provide coffee, hot chocolate and coca tea. We sat for a while trying to get adjusted to the altitude. It LITERALLY took our breath away.

There are tombstones scattered over the volcano to commemorate the climbers that have died here. 



  

Snowing on the Volcano.

Last week we took an adventure.  There are far too many pictures to include; animals, scenery, people, it was amazing and we hope to go back and experience more

One day we had monkeys hanging on us, the next we were kaykaing, then hanging out with Anacondas in the Jungle, and finally we were on a Volcano, and it was snowing.

Ecuador, gotta love it.