Amazon Part 2
Ecuador Part 2: The Revenge!
Sept 6 Sunday
Today's fun plan would involve a whhhhhhole lot of traveling to get to our family house location. We were told the bus ride itself could take anywhere from four to seven hours depending on the driver we got and traffic naturally.
We left our hotel at 10am, leaving behind our larger luggage. No need to bring everything when we had day bags right?
The bus terminal was absolutely stunning. It was an old airport terminal that got converted to a bus station. It looked great, and the place was massive. Apparently you could get to just about anywhere in Ecuador by bus, and it was really cheap. Our trip for example was something like $5 a person. Kind of insane.
We didn't need to wait long for our bus. It was hard to look forward to the long ride ahead of us. Carlos (our guide) had told us all the many ways you could get stolen from while on the bus. No putting bags in the top section, and you needed to keep your bag on your lap lest someone cut it open without you noticing.
Encouraging right? I was expecting a run down bus, but was surprised when it looked pretty modern. The bad part? No air conditioning. Hurrah for human sweat pile time.
One thing that happens frequently on the bus, is vendors will jump on at one stop, then come down the aisle hassaling you to buy some food or sunglasses. For the most part, they at least took no well, so there's a plus I suppose?
In general, personal space is not something that seems to exist here. With the buses being so cheap, many people tend to ride it. As such, all the seats, then standing in the aisle happened really quickly. Some people tried not to lean on you too much, others literally sat on my shoulder then farted in my face. Good times.
Alas we did not have a fast driver, and there were many stops. There was no, "stopping for lunch" as that would be silly. We ate a few pepperoni sticks and some gronala bars to not get too hungry, but we didn't dare eat too much and need to go to the washroom. Even though there was technically a washroom on the bus, it was only for females, and you could only pee.
Other then that, yeah, not much to say. The bus ride was not fun. I couldn't read as that was making me queasy, and it took us seven hours to get there.
By the end, we were understandably excited to move around. Shan had put on a seat belt on the bus, and soon found out that that it would not unlock. Thankfully, she's flexible, and with leaning the seat back all the way was able to wiggle out. After that fun, we had time for a washroom break, then it was to be another hour long drive. I'll bet you can understand we were not super thrilled about that. With the washrooms, you had to pay to use them. More if you needed toilet paper. One of the biggest things to look for was to make sure there weren't and Bullet Ants crawling around to chomp on you. We learned later that Bullet Ant bites were kind of nasty, and gave most people a heavy fever for a few hours.
After our drive to the house, we had the chance to check out the look out points first. There were two lookouts, and they had some fantastic views. I was a bit worried when there were some in the group far less agile then me (as you all know how graceful I am). It was a good chance to actually chat with some, as I could offer out an arm for support.
The house itself far exceeded my expectations. There were many buildings, two guard dogs, and quite a lot of roosters and hens. The area was large, they had a fridge that was stocked up with beer you could purchase, and the family living there was very friendly.
After getting our room assignments and unpacking some things, it was dinner time. The portions were very generous, and it was hard to not lick the plate when I was done, given how good the food was, and how hungry I was.
Shan and I headed back to bed after briefly chatting with people. Even through we weren't active, all the travel had pooped us out. We watched some Penny Dreadful, then crashed pretty hard. The mosquito net was not as bad to sleep with as I feared.
Sept 7 Monday
The Roosters woke us up nice and early, about 5:30am or so. Shan was already up, and my earplugs were not helping keep up the noise of excited critters. They sure we're cute though.
Today was labeled workout day, as there were some plants to learn about, then some waterfalls to check out. This was pretty exciting, and we got to known some of the others from our group.
After breakfast, we had our guided tour, talking about the local plant life. We were given rubber boots to wear, as there would be a whole lot of tricky spits, and a whole lot of wet spots.
The tour was very informative. We were shown some plants that were good for medicinal purposes, and others that you could weave into rope or other useful tools. When we reached a small stream, we were shown how you could pan for gold. It was very hard to actually find any. Seems you really want to look for black dirt.
Near the end, we were asked which way was home, sadly many of us failed. Thankfully our guide for the day was nice and lead us home.
After lunch, I got changed into my swimming trucks, as I didn't think our trip to the waterfall would be too crazy. Silly me.
It was definitely a challenging trip up. There was a whole lot of tight sections, as well as spots were you really needed to plan out your footing. It was bouldering all over again.
After a tough climb, we reached the first waterfall. There was a small section where we all tried to squeeze in for a photo opportunity. Everyone was feeling great, and we began our way to the second waterfall.
Here was some tricky climbing spots. Some areas so bad that we clung on to the ropes they had set up. I'm not sure if my grip strength has gotten better, or the legitimate fear of falling off a cliff side kept me going strong.
Then came the time for the necessity of harnesses for our next spot. That's right, there was a waterfall section we needed to climb up.
Now, this was no small little jaunt up or anything, this was a pretty substantial climb with water crashing down on you. My nerves hit a bit. I'm not a light guy, and there was a part of me that wasn't sure someone maybe half my size could hoist me up if needed. Still, Shan was determined, and I had already gone this far, so it was time to meet some fear.
After getting harnessed up, the climb was difficult as expected. One of our guides climbed up with ease, showing us the best route to follow.
Shan was up first, and our guide was confused when she didn't want to take her glasses off. Funny how one might want to be able to see.
I was up next. After cursing at myself thinking this climb might kill me, I much more slowly made my way up. I did it though, and it took a good five minutes for my heartpace to calm down afterward.
Immediately after there was another tight climb up a good ten feet section. He showed us how to climb up, saying it was really so easy.
After trekking for awhile, we reached the far larger waterfall section. Most of us stripped down and swam around a bit, enjoying our victory.
I thought there might be another pathway home. No? Go back down the same way you came? Oh, I see. Going down took longer, as some in our group were showing some signs of exhaustion. Somewhere along the way home I tore a massive hole in my swim trucks. Well, couldn't save them. Thankfully no one behind me seemed to mind seeing some ass, so that was a plus.
After dinner, there was a time where they taught us about their culture, including general information, to weddings, to the life of Shamans. Male and female Shamans were able to communicate with different spirits. Men could communicate with female spirits, and females could communicate with male spirits. There was a believe that male spirits were more powerful. The life of a Shaman was not an easy one. You basically needed to cut everyone else out from your life, and it could take forty to fifty years to learn the various ways to heal people.
Shan was chosen to take part of a cleansing ritual. We were told for Spirits to come out, the rituals needed to be done at night, with no lights. Lights would turn spirits away. Shortly after, we turned in for the night.
Sept 8 Tuesday
Today was a day filled with travel. The plan was to go to a nature habitat, then to go swimming. To get to the habitat, we needed to drive over to a Port, then take a boat in.
Our driver needed to get some gas, and ended up going far out of the way of where we needed to go. Gas here is about the same price as it is in the States. I still wish I remembered how many litres were in a Gallon.
Naturally, we got there late, so everything became a rush.
We boarded a long motorised canoe. It was the first time I had been in such a large canoe. The ride itself was nice. The water was cool, and the water appeared more bownish in colour thanks to all the mud.
We made it to the nature habitat. It could only be accessed by boats, which made the location a lot more remote. Today was officially one of the hottest days of our trip. The humidity was really getting to me badly.
The habitat itself had a simple objective, take in animals, then get them to the point where they could go back to nature. Some of the animals were former pets, so at times this could be a difficult. There were also a few free range monkeys, which given the chance could and would riffle through your stuff and steal something.
After the habitat, it was time for another boat ride to go to the home of our sea captain. His marriage was considered a bit of an oddity, as he was from Ecuador, and his wife was German. They had hopes to start a small restaurant at their home, but it was difficult just due to the competition in the area. The food was good but I could not finish my plate, a sure sign I was getting too much heat. After lunch, it was back on the boat, then a drive to a swimming spot. Due to active volcanoes, we needed to change the location of where we went, as no one was happy to at the thought of breathing in ash.
The swimming spot was really nice. It reminded me a bit of golden lake as there was some sparkle in the water itself. One of the people in our group bought a ball, and a big game of keep up started. In the end we had even brought in some other bystanders as we all leapt around, trying to keep the ball airbound. The cold water really seemed to help me, or so I thought.
It was a fairly long drive to get back home. Some of the roads in the area are just boulders and other large rocks. Traffic laws also kind of seemed more like guidelines then anything else.
When we got back, I was feeling pretty terrible again, and thought it would be a good idea to have a nap before dinner. Occasional fever like spikes came and went, which made sleeping pretty difficult.
After waking up very groggy, it was time for dinner. I tried asking for a smaller portion, but I don't think I was heard. After dinner, the first of unpleasant bathroom times had begun. I'll spare you the details.
After that fun episode, I tried to get some water back into my system. Determined not to let some diaherra like symptoms to ruin my night, we had a fun time playing Truth or Dare with others in our group. It was a blast really. Always fun when people have as little shame as I do.
After that, it was time for bed. Unfortunately, Shan went from feeling perfectly fine to not at all.
Sept 9 Wed
After a brutal night, we have decided to avoid the sun as much as we can. We really wanted to go to the school, but between Shan and I, we thought it would be a really bad idea. Having some of my appetite back was a good sign I was starting to feel better at least. Shan on the other hand was feeling absolutely terrible.
We had some breakfast, then bid the others farewell as they left for the School and swimming after. I didn't want to leave Shan alone, so we both stayed home.
Our bus ride is tomorrow, so we're really hoping to have all of this out of our system before then. She took some medicine. Besides my malaria medication, I'm avoiding taking my stuff for traveler's diaherra, as you really have to avoid direct sunlight. Really difficult here, lemme tell ya.
Our late day activity was learning how to make chocolate. Our guide mentioned typically they just left their as a drink, they tended not to make bars out of it.
The process itself wasn't overly difficult. After opening the fruit, you dried the nuts. Once dry, you roast them. They have a distinct popping sound when they're done. After that, you peel off the crisp layer, then roast it again. From there, you grind it into a fine paste like substance. This is where you add in milk and sugar as you cook it. Depending on the proportion of milk and sugar, you can get drastically different tastes.
After enjoying some bananas with chocolate, it was mud mask time. The real benefit to this was it helped cool the face down a bit. It also should make you look younger. I laughed and said if I wanted to look 15 years younger, I'd shave my beard off.
Last bit of crafting for the night was making a bracelet or necklace. It was quite nice.
We didn't really do much later in the evening this time around. Many others were also under the weather, so there was not a high party mentality.
Sept 10 Thursday
The morning started off once again with the Roosters boasting to the Sun about how awesome they were. It was sad to think this would be our last day at the home, even with the sickness.
Many asked for smaller portion sizes for breakfast. We all feared about how long it took last time with no washroom on the bus last time around.
We did have time for some morning shooting though. Blowgun style! There were two blowguns available. A longer, heavier one which was more accurate, and a far lighter one.
All in all, it was a good time. People were feeling better, and it seemed only three from our group could be reliable hunters.
Before formally bidding the family farewell, it was time for a silly show. They entertained us for so long, it was time to return the favour. Our sing and dance of choice? The Chicken Dance of course! Mind you, most of us clumpsily crashed into one another when we were supposed to be linking arms. The good part though, the family was entertained. Confused, but entertained.
After that, we bide or farewells, and made our way to the bus. This time around it was a far shorter drive. Last time it took seven hours, this was three and a half. We also had the fun of seeing occasional subtitles for a really crazy movie. So terrible. Such Action and Romance.
We arrived back at the hotel and learned that not all rooms are equal. Sadly, the bed for our new room was smaller, there was no fan in the washroom (which for those of you who know my washroom bombs, that's important) and the water never really did heat up a whole lot.
But, here we are,meeting with the group in less then a hour for some dinner.
Sept 6 Sunday
Today's fun plan would involve a whhhhhhole lot of traveling to get to our family house location. We were told the bus ride itself could take anywhere from four to seven hours depending on the driver we got and traffic naturally.
We left our hotel at 10am, leaving behind our larger luggage. No need to bring everything when we had day bags right?
The bus terminal was absolutely stunning. It was an old airport terminal that got converted to a bus station. It looked great, and the place was massive. Apparently you could get to just about anywhere in Ecuador by bus, and it was really cheap. Our trip for example was something like $5 a person. Kind of insane.
We didn't need to wait long for our bus. It was hard to look forward to the long ride ahead of us. Carlos (our guide) had told us all the many ways you could get stolen from while on the bus. No putting bags in the top section, and you needed to keep your bag on your lap lest someone cut it open without you noticing.
Encouraging right? I was expecting a run down bus, but was surprised when it looked pretty modern. The bad part? No air conditioning. Hurrah for human sweat pile time.
One thing that happens frequently on the bus, is vendors will jump on at one stop, then come down the aisle hassaling you to buy some food or sunglasses. For the most part, they at least took no well, so there's a plus I suppose?
In general, personal space is not something that seems to exist here. With the buses being so cheap, many people tend to ride it. As such, all the seats, then standing in the aisle happened really quickly. Some people tried not to lean on you too much, others literally sat on my shoulder then farted in my face. Good times.
Alas we did not have a fast driver, and there were many stops. There was no, "stopping for lunch" as that would be silly. We ate a few pepperoni sticks and some gronala bars to not get too hungry, but we didn't dare eat too much and need to go to the washroom. Even though there was technically a washroom on the bus, it was only for females, and you could only pee.
Other then that, yeah, not much to say. The bus ride was not fun. I couldn't read as that was making me queasy, and it took us seven hours to get there.
By the end, we were understandably excited to move around. Shan had put on a seat belt on the bus, and soon found out that that it would not unlock. Thankfully, she's flexible, and with leaning the seat back all the way was able to wiggle out. After that fun, we had time for a washroom break, then it was to be another hour long drive. I'll bet you can understand we were not super thrilled about that. With the washrooms, you had to pay to use them. More if you needed toilet paper. One of the biggest things to look for was to make sure there weren't and Bullet Ants crawling around to chomp on you. We learned later that Bullet Ant bites were kind of nasty, and gave most people a heavy fever for a few hours.
After our drive to the house, we had the chance to check out the look out points first. There were two lookouts, and they had some fantastic views. I was a bit worried when there were some in the group far less agile then me (as you all know how graceful I am). It was a good chance to actually chat with some, as I could offer out an arm for support.
The house itself far exceeded my expectations. There were many buildings, two guard dogs, and quite a lot of roosters and hens. The area was large, they had a fridge that was stocked up with beer you could purchase, and the family living there was very friendly.
After getting our room assignments and unpacking some things, it was dinner time. The portions were very generous, and it was hard to not lick the plate when I was done, given how good the food was, and how hungry I was.
Shan and I headed back to bed after briefly chatting with people. Even through we weren't active, all the travel had pooped us out. We watched some Penny Dreadful, then crashed pretty hard. The mosquito net was not as bad to sleep with as I feared.
Sept 7 Monday
The Roosters woke us up nice and early, about 5:30am or so. Shan was already up, and my earplugs were not helping keep up the noise of excited critters. They sure we're cute though.
Today was labeled workout day, as there were some plants to learn about, then some waterfalls to check out. This was pretty exciting, and we got to known some of the others from our group.
After breakfast, we had our guided tour, talking about the local plant life. We were given rubber boots to wear, as there would be a whole lot of tricky spits, and a whole lot of wet spots.
The tour was very informative. We were shown some plants that were good for medicinal purposes, and others that you could weave into rope or other useful tools. When we reached a small stream, we were shown how you could pan for gold. It was very hard to actually find any. Seems you really want to look for black dirt.
Near the end, we were asked which way was home, sadly many of us failed. Thankfully our guide for the day was nice and lead us home.
After lunch, I got changed into my swimming trucks, as I didn't think our trip to the waterfall would be too crazy. Silly me.
It was definitely a challenging trip up. There was a whole lot of tight sections, as well as spots were you really needed to plan out your footing. It was bouldering all over again.
After a tough climb, we reached the first waterfall. There was a small section where we all tried to squeeze in for a photo opportunity. Everyone was feeling great, and we began our way to the second waterfall.
Here was some tricky climbing spots. Some areas so bad that we clung on to the ropes they had set up. I'm not sure if my grip strength has gotten better, or the legitimate fear of falling off a cliff side kept me going strong.
Then came the time for the necessity of harnesses for our next spot. That's right, there was a waterfall section we needed to climb up.
Now, this was no small little jaunt up or anything, this was a pretty substantial climb with water crashing down on you. My nerves hit a bit. I'm not a light guy, and there was a part of me that wasn't sure someone maybe half my size could hoist me up if needed. Still, Shan was determined, and I had already gone this far, so it was time to meet some fear.
After getting harnessed up, the climb was difficult as expected. One of our guides climbed up with ease, showing us the best route to follow.
Shan was up first, and our guide was confused when she didn't want to take her glasses off. Funny how one might want to be able to see.
I was up next. After cursing at myself thinking this climb might kill me, I much more slowly made my way up. I did it though, and it took a good five minutes for my heartpace to calm down afterward.
Immediately after there was another tight climb up a good ten feet section. He showed us how to climb up, saying it was really so easy.
After trekking for awhile, we reached the far larger waterfall section. Most of us stripped down and swam around a bit, enjoying our victory.
I thought there might be another pathway home. No? Go back down the same way you came? Oh, I see. Going down took longer, as some in our group were showing some signs of exhaustion. Somewhere along the way home I tore a massive hole in my swim trucks. Well, couldn't save them. Thankfully no one behind me seemed to mind seeing some ass, so that was a plus.
After dinner, there was a time where they taught us about their culture, including general information, to weddings, to the life of Shamans. Male and female Shamans were able to communicate with different spirits. Men could communicate with female spirits, and females could communicate with male spirits. There was a believe that male spirits were more powerful. The life of a Shaman was not an easy one. You basically needed to cut everyone else out from your life, and it could take forty to fifty years to learn the various ways to heal people.
Shan was chosen to take part of a cleansing ritual. We were told for Spirits to come out, the rituals needed to be done at night, with no lights. Lights would turn spirits away. Shortly after, we turned in for the night.
Sept 8 Tuesday
Today was a day filled with travel. The plan was to go to a nature habitat, then to go swimming. To get to the habitat, we needed to drive over to a Port, then take a boat in.
Our driver needed to get some gas, and ended up going far out of the way of where we needed to go. Gas here is about the same price as it is in the States. I still wish I remembered how many litres were in a Gallon.
Naturally, we got there late, so everything became a rush.
We boarded a long motorised canoe. It was the first time I had been in such a large canoe. The ride itself was nice. The water was cool, and the water appeared more bownish in colour thanks to all the mud.
We made it to the nature habitat. It could only be accessed by boats, which made the location a lot more remote. Today was officially one of the hottest days of our trip. The humidity was really getting to me badly.
The habitat itself had a simple objective, take in animals, then get them to the point where they could go back to nature. Some of the animals were former pets, so at times this could be a difficult. There were also a few free range monkeys, which given the chance could and would riffle through your stuff and steal something.
After the habitat, it was time for another boat ride to go to the home of our sea captain. His marriage was considered a bit of an oddity, as he was from Ecuador, and his wife was German. They had hopes to start a small restaurant at their home, but it was difficult just due to the competition in the area. The food was good but I could not finish my plate, a sure sign I was getting too much heat. After lunch, it was back on the boat, then a drive to a swimming spot. Due to active volcanoes, we needed to change the location of where we went, as no one was happy to at the thought of breathing in ash.
The swimming spot was really nice. It reminded me a bit of golden lake as there was some sparkle in the water itself. One of the people in our group bought a ball, and a big game of keep up started. In the end we had even brought in some other bystanders as we all leapt around, trying to keep the ball airbound. The cold water really seemed to help me, or so I thought.
It was a fairly long drive to get back home. Some of the roads in the area are just boulders and other large rocks. Traffic laws also kind of seemed more like guidelines then anything else.
When we got back, I was feeling pretty terrible again, and thought it would be a good idea to have a nap before dinner. Occasional fever like spikes came and went, which made sleeping pretty difficult.
After waking up very groggy, it was time for dinner. I tried asking for a smaller portion, but I don't think I was heard. After dinner, the first of unpleasant bathroom times had begun. I'll spare you the details.
After that fun episode, I tried to get some water back into my system. Determined not to let some diaherra like symptoms to ruin my night, we had a fun time playing Truth or Dare with others in our group. It was a blast really. Always fun when people have as little shame as I do.
After that, it was time for bed. Unfortunately, Shan went from feeling perfectly fine to not at all.
Sept 9 Wed
After a brutal night, we have decided to avoid the sun as much as we can. We really wanted to go to the school, but between Shan and I, we thought it would be a really bad idea. Having some of my appetite back was a good sign I was starting to feel better at least. Shan on the other hand was feeling absolutely terrible.
We had some breakfast, then bid the others farewell as they left for the School and swimming after. I didn't want to leave Shan alone, so we both stayed home.
Our bus ride is tomorrow, so we're really hoping to have all of this out of our system before then. She took some medicine. Besides my malaria medication, I'm avoiding taking my stuff for traveler's diaherra, as you really have to avoid direct sunlight. Really difficult here, lemme tell ya.
Our late day activity was learning how to make chocolate. Our guide mentioned typically they just left their as a drink, they tended not to make bars out of it.
The process itself wasn't overly difficult. After opening the fruit, you dried the nuts. Once dry, you roast them. They have a distinct popping sound when they're done. After that, you peel off the crisp layer, then roast it again. From there, you grind it into a fine paste like substance. This is where you add in milk and sugar as you cook it. Depending on the proportion of milk and sugar, you can get drastically different tastes.
After enjoying some bananas with chocolate, it was mud mask time. The real benefit to this was it helped cool the face down a bit. It also should make you look younger. I laughed and said if I wanted to look 15 years younger, I'd shave my beard off.
Last bit of crafting for the night was making a bracelet or necklace. It was quite nice.
We didn't really do much later in the evening this time around. Many others were also under the weather, so there was not a high party mentality.
Sept 10 Thursday
The morning started off once again with the Roosters boasting to the Sun about how awesome they were. It was sad to think this would be our last day at the home, even with the sickness.
Many asked for smaller portion sizes for breakfast. We all feared about how long it took last time with no washroom on the bus last time around.
We did have time for some morning shooting though. Blowgun style! There were two blowguns available. A longer, heavier one which was more accurate, and a far lighter one.
All in all, it was a good time. People were feeling better, and it seemed only three from our group could be reliable hunters.
Before formally bidding the family farewell, it was time for a silly show. They entertained us for so long, it was time to return the favour. Our sing and dance of choice? The Chicken Dance of course! Mind you, most of us clumpsily crashed into one another when we were supposed to be linking arms. The good part though, the family was entertained. Confused, but entertained.
After that, we bide or farewells, and made our way to the bus. This time around it was a far shorter drive. Last time it took seven hours, this was three and a half. We also had the fun of seeing occasional subtitles for a really crazy movie. So terrible. Such Action and Romance.
We arrived back at the hotel and learned that not all rooms are equal. Sadly, the bed for our new room was smaller, there was no fan in the washroom (which for those of you who know my washroom bombs, that's important) and the water never really did heat up a whole lot.
But, here we are,meeting with the group in less then a hour for some dinner.