Amazonian Advenures

So we took a little trip to the Amazon for our days off!

Eating something Random our Guide pulled off a tree.

We started out in Banos and did a day trip excursion into the Rainforest.  We first visited an animal refuge for injured animals to be rehabbed and returned to the forest.  Then after visiting a community of Kichwan people we ate a traditional Ecuadorian lunch and headed off on a hike through the Amazon Rainforest.

We ate, rubbed, chewed, and snorted many medicinal plants (I didn't snort though...not about that...haha but some people have better sinuses now).  And our goal was to make it to a waterfall!  However many dangers stood in the way.  At one point I wandered a couple feet away from our guide and ended up knee deep in quicksand.  Two teammates had to pull me out from behind.

Our paint after visiting the Kichwa. (we blew dart guns!!!!)

Then as we neared the waterfall the already thin path narrowed more on a ledge.  I was trying my best to keep up with the guide and I stepped a little to close to the edge.  Dirt crumbled beneath my feet as the ground gave way beneath me.  My right leg hung useless over the ledge as my left leg anchored to what was left of the path.  My arms held me up having the path at chest level now.  I let out a little scream and our guide doubled back to rescue me.  Once he pulled me back up we both stared at the gaping hole in the path and the subsequent fall.  Breathless I said, that's a long way to fall.  And he responded with, "It's only 3 meters." Um..that's 10 feet father than I would like to fall.

Fish Pedicures!

Once at the waterfall we swam under it, through it and around it until we could swim anymore...and we hiked back out to meet our net adventure.  The last thing we did, in the pouring rain of the Amazon was to hop into wooden canoes and head down a tributary of the Amazon river.  After every set of rapids we hit, our guide would have to scoop water out of the bottom of the boat with an old plastic bottle.

The following day I knew I needed to rest since we had work the next day.  So a friend and I had a girls' day!  We soaked in Banos' famous hot springs and then got a full body massage, facial, and fish pedicure (where the little fishies eat the dead skin off your feet).  We shopped for local made jewelry from the Tagua seed and then had lunch.  We ended our week-long quest for yarn at the best yarn store we have found in all of South America and then headed home on an early bus.  Such a restful day after such an adventure!