Into the Amazon

Location: The Amazon

To start our second day in Ecuador, we got up bright and early to catch a flight to Coca. We got on the plane, and 35 minutes later we were already landing! When we got off the plane, we met up with our guide for our time in the Amazon, Hector. We took a short bus ride to his office, and our bags were loaded onto a boat (it looked like a very long canoe, with a motor). We got on the boat and for the next 40 minutes boated across the Napo River to Hector’s house. Hector bought an island, which he turned into a monkey conservation area.  Upon our arrival, Hector told us about his plan to transfer monkeys to other areas. He also told us how he started with nine monkeys and now has over seventy! Next, we all put on rubber boots, which proved to be very useful, and Hector led us through the jungle for our first glimpse of the Amazon rainforest. Along our hike, we saw tons of plants and insects, along with some wooly monkeys too. We also encountered a lot of mud, and the boots were much appreciated. After our hike, we ate lunch. For lunch, we had chicken, rice, and a vegetable, similar to a potato, called yucca. After lunch, we waited inside for the rain to die down before we got back on the boat. While waiting, we played a bunch of games and told riddles and jokes. When the rain died down, we got back on the boat and prepared ourselves for the two-hour boat ride to the lodge we would be staying in. When we arrived at the lodge, we were served tea, fried plantain, and cheese. Afterward, we put rubber boots back on and headed out for another hike in the forest. During this hike, we encountered a much more swampy terrain and often walked on top of logs and planks that made a path. We walked into the forest and got ready to climb the many levels of steps to reach a platform in a kapok tree on top of the canopy. The view from the top was breathtaking, and we all admired its beauty. After climbing back down, we returned to the lodge and settled into our rooms. Then we went to dinner and had a very similar meal we had during lunch, but with some vegetable soup. After dinner, we discussed what Day Three would bring and our thoughts from day two. Then we headed off to our rooms to shower and sleep early to get ready for our next day in the Amazon.