While in Quito I shoped around for tour agencies to help me experience the Amazon without getting lost and eaten by piranas. So after hearning the same sales pitch from 10 different tour agencies, price became the untimate factor in my decision. $180 bucks for 5 days and 4 nights including water, meals, guide, and accomidation seemed sweet, only $36 bucks a day. So getting to the jungle was a bitch as the road was unpaved and muddy/bumpy. Then in Cayubeno I got on a long canoe which was driven by this 16 year old local kid. He know his shit and after a 2 hr river trip i arrived at our camp. Camp was a bit nicer than i expected, i had a big bed with a mosquito net, toilet, hammock, sink, and showers (all water straight from the river of course). At least their wasnt any electricity. First 2 days it was just me and the local (spanish speaking only crew) we chilled, played cards, fed alligators, swam,, and cannoed around the mangroves of the lagoon grande, a black water lagoon just outside the camp. So, then our guide arrived and a group of tourists, 2 wacky Norigean girls, 4 spoiled rotten (read: fuckin ASSHOLES) british prep school chums all 18 years old, and an old couple from Holland. So the next few days we did hikes where our guide explained various trees/plants and their uses amongst the native people. really cool, did yall know they have birth control that comes from the bark of a tree, the boil it drink it once a month and no babies. I also ate some lemon ants (guess what, they taste like lemons), tried some natural anti diaherria herbs which sorted me out, because i ate some funky meat in Quito. Tons of cool shit...all i have to say is natural medicine is where it is at. I swung on some vines tarzan style, smokes some herbs (no, not those kinda herbs ; )
and painted my face with some natural ink stuff. Saw lots of animals, birds, and bugs. Didnt see any snakes or anacondas. But did see monkeys, shit tons of birds, alligators, prinias (actually we went prinia fishing), and lots of bugs, spiders, and butterflies. I had a good time.
Ill give more details when i post the pics later. Best memory was just the sound at night...imagien, its pitch black and you can hear so many different noises that remind you that you are surrounded by life....thats what i miss most of all. So afert the rainforest i booked it straight for Banos, which was a real treat...a small town at the base of an active volcano, but more on that later.