A Day of Much Moving

Location: Amazon to Andes

The day was filled with a plethora of forms of transportation. After our final meal in the Amazon, we took our bagged lunches and got on our same old boat to make the 3 hour trip to Coca. Many of us slept on our bags or on each other. About 2 hours in, the motor began acting a bit wonky but we still slept through it. However, soon the motor gave out completely and we were left in the middle of the Napo River. Hector the Protector and our loyal boat driver paddled us to shore. We thought of it as a sort of adventure and a nice experience. We shared granola bars and talked of rationing our food out for a few days (jokes, of course). But Hector came to the rescue! We were close to Hector’s home (island) so he called in a friend, and a cool speedboat came and picked us up. The top of it was rainbow, just FYI.  We got there only a little while after we were supposed to, despite being stranded for half an hour. Thanks speedboat guy. We walked into town and went to the market. Hector showed us some homemade remedies but none of us could make ourselves be brave just yet. However, we came to a place that had grubs, just waiting to be eaten. Someone ate a raw one and a few people ate cooked ones. Ewwwy. We took a bus to the Coca airport and went through a quick baggage and security check. The plane ride was short and easy to get through. Once we grabbed our bags from baggage claim, we went outside to yet another bus. A 5 hour bus ride? That sure sounds fun! Not. On the bus we talked and slept and talked and slept and talked some more. We were allowed to have our phones near the end and some serious Hannah Montana was going down. Can I hear a Pitch Perfect please? Some of us felt a little woozy on the bus because of the distance and the turns and incline. We made it though! The Andes are so different from the Amazon. It’s amazing that this is the same country and not even that geographically far apart. The Black Sheep Inn is a homey environment that we all find very nice. There is a yoga room, DIY gym, zip line (can we use it?), sauna, hot tub, and cat and a dog. We were very excited about those last two. We ate some free goodies and called home to let our families know what was up. After dinner we called home a little more and then had our chat. We discussed how different this place really is. We really miss Hector. The change in environment is nice but also causing some bodily sadness. The altitude is getting to us, but we’ll make it through. Tomorrow will bring some horseback riding and hopefully a stop to the cheese factory. Fingers crossed. Bundling up for the night and sleeping well tonight.