So we finally did it. We took a day trip to the amazon. Our tour operator said he would make it unforgettable, and it pretty much was. It was nice too because he spoke English and was well organized.
Our day began at 8 am we hopped a van/bus along with 7 others. First stop a monkey reserve/rescue center in Puyo. A few months ago this was the place to go as the monkeys were free to roam around but now everything is in cages so basically its a monkey zoo. We enjoyed it but not really a highlight.
From there we headed on. About 20 minutes later we were at the edge of the jungle. We were brought to a wood carved canoe where we were transported down river through some rapids to our first stop, Lunch. We got off the canoe and hoped on the back of a pick up truck to get a drive to the restaurant.
The restaurant was simple but quite amazing. The owner had a pocket monkey as they are called that basically cuddled with heidi for the whole time we were there. At a few points he did get pretty excited jumping on Keefe and Aidan. Lunch came it was a chicken, rice and a potato salad, but what was cool about the meal is that they wrapped it in a banana tree leaf, and stem it for 15 minutes and voila you have your lunch ready. The restaurant was a grass hut on stilts right by the water. The view was awesome. And on the wall they had a crocodile skin hanging which was caught in the lagoon behind the restaurant.
From there we were driven to a look out to see the river below. Not a bad little spot. And this is where things really get unforgettable. As we were walking down from the look out the driver had gotten the van stuck in a ditch in the mud. So Heidi gets behind the wheel and the 3 of us begin to push. Now thanks to our experience of getting stuck in snow we were able to help by getting branches and putting them under the wheels to get them moving. At this point the van is in the middle of the road and the driver and guide are up the hill at a restaurant making plans. Another bus is trying to get by and not to happy about it either. After trying to call the driver Heidi jumps in the van and takes over, moving the van over and nearly into another ditch.
From there we drove to the trail we were going to hike. The trail leads to a beautiful waterfall. We make our way through the none traditional path and using some back paths that locals use. As we walk we go through mud and streams. The boys kept asking about quick sand. Our guide tells us soon we will arrive to some. Upon arrival at the quick sand he keeps asking the boys if the want to try it but they say no. Keefe gets this bright idea to jump over the sand and unknowingly jumps right into the middle of it. To see the panic on his face was priceless ( I wish i had a picture). After pulling the boy out we kept on our way and finally arrived at the waterfall. Everyone had a chance to swim under it and it was time to head back to the van and off to our final stop.
The final stop was Quichua tribe village. Occupied by 14 families it was interesting to see the homes and the set up of everything they had. Our journey for the day comes to an end here but we did much more in the area stay tuned.
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