From Quito we set out to another adventure, this time in the Amazon. We took a plane from Quito to a place called Coca (quite a dump to be honest) and from there it was supposed to be a 3 hrs ride in this pick-up truck:


Which eventually broke down because they had used gasoline that was not really clean or something (I still guess they filled it with diesel instead of gasoline!). So there we were, in the middle of nowhere... waiting for somebody to pick us up...

This is what the traffic looks like on these roads:




It seems odd at the beginning but Amazonía is not only this huge green lung of the world, it is also one of the regions where there is oil:




Not really a beautiful idea, but then that's how it is. And the workers live along the roads and pipelines in poor little wooden shacks like this:


Some local kids came up to see what was going on when our car broke down:


And then finally (after about 2 hrs) this truck/bus came and gave us a lift:


Happy campers on the road again:

(what was Barbara saying on this picture... maybe she was not all too happy at this very moment)



So the 3 hrs ride with the pick-up truck eventually took 6 hrs. But to get to our lodge there were another 3 hrs in a motor canoe down a river.

But first we met some Huoarani Indians who actually own this part of the Amazon rain forest as well as the lodge we were staying. But they don't really like to turn up as a tourist attractions at the lodge so sometimes you meet them, sometimes not... just as they please:

So after this first greeting we did not meet any others any more in the coming days (which seems okay, it's up to them to do as they please after all)

And then we were off on the motor canoes down the river towards the lodge:


And this is the Bataburo lodge, in the middle of the jungle:




The first encounter was this guy here:


Let me introduce, Pancho!


Pancho is actually a wild Ara who just seems to like to be near humans (like Barbara, here early in the morning) and is not shy at all:


He drinks water from the tap:

(even though he prefers beer and cheese!)

In this situation he was far less surprised than I was... Pancho is not a trained pet after all! He lives in the rain forest and just comes to the lodge for daily visits if he likes:


By the way, it was really hard to get rid of him; he just would not let go and these claws really hurt and in the end he also bit me...

...so I had to tell him off afterwards!


Then we really went exploring in the jungle:


Massive trees:


Here you see a tree with this special roots. They are up to 100m long in all directions to give these huge trees stability (the roots don't go into the ground very deep though):


Barbara and two guides who were with us:


These trees are called "Walking trees":

They constantly grow new roots from the top to the bottom. With these roots they absorb humidity and water and later when they reach the ground they become normal roots. So they grow leg/root after let/root.

Some trees are really twisted:


Some have really funny fruits:




Then there are beautiful flowers in the forest:


And lots of vines; some are strong enough to hold a lot of weight:

(nice boots, huh?)

And some contain absolutely clear, fresh and drinkable water!




Of course we also wanted to see a lot of animals in the jungle, but this is easier said than done!
We have seen a lot of birds which were too far away to take pictures) and a lot of monkeys which were to fast to take pictures...

...so we took pictures of slow animals like this sloth:




The we also got to see part of an Anaconda!

I know it is hard to spot! And I think our guides were more excited than we were at that moment... but just like you, we were just able to point out part of this snake which in full length is actually a 14m long!

And this thing is called Agouti. It is one of the biggest rodents which means it is like a rat without a tail, the size of a mid-sized dog!

(By the way, this would be a nice sized snack for an Anaconda!)

And then we found out why it is called "the rain forest"... it rained really hard:

And the rain brings out some really bright colours like the red wood in the foreground.

So we tried our luck at the blowpipe:


This thing is about 5m long and heavy and therefore it is really hard to hold it still and aim properly:




Next day we went fishing for Piranhas... I am not an avid fisherman, I have to admit. I find it rather boring. And also in this case it took quite a long time until I finally got one:


And since I was the only one who caught a Piranha this day I was the one to get it for dinner as well:


It was really nice, so this is what was left of it:


The night-walk was also very interesting. The guides take you for a walk with torches and I still don't know how they do it, but they see and find a lot of small interesting and fascinating animals (mostly insects).
Like this millipede:


Or this tiny little frog (original size ca. 5mm):


This is a "stick-insect"; hard to spot even though it is more the 10cm long!


And this is a Zycade which is very hard to spot but easy to hear because they make a lot of noise at night:


So, this was the Amazon adventure, more to come soon!