After a magnificent buffet breakfast at the Quito hotel, we headed to the bus station in the south of Quito. This was very modern, a cross between a bus station and an airport. We must have got the slowest bus in the fleet. Two and a half hours later, we were just down the hill from the hotel we had left from. The bus plodded on, complete with loud horror movie with screaming, slowly climbing through mountainous country. When the clouds lifted there were excellent views of snow capped peaks. Eventually we arrived at Papallacta, and headed to our hotel. They had public pools, and we also had guest only pools in front of our cabins.
We all lazed around in the pools, and admired the scenery.
We are very lucky with our group, a mix of old and young, couples and singles, and everyone is getting on well.
The next morning, after breakfast we headed out for a walk in the national park, before another dip, and back to the bus stop.
The bus trip to Tena was downhill all the way, as the road got straighter, the speed of the bus increased. Another movie, much better without screams. Tena is on the Rio Napo, a tributary to the Amazon. We finally had some warm weather, hot and humid.
We stayed in a home stay for 2 nights, with Delfin and his family. They have built huts for tourists. Several grown up children and partners help Delfin and his wife. We were all issued with rubber boots, the footwear for the next 2 days.
Our first walk was to see the Rio Napo from a lookout high on a cliff. We then went down to the creek, where there was a swimming hole we could take a dip in.
The next morning we headed up the creek to the waterfalls. Pam stopped at the first waterfall, while most continued to the 3rd waterfall. Going up the second waterfall required a safety harness and ropes. Beautiful rainforest and water. This was a 4 hour excursion. In the afternoon, there was another walk, looking at local plants and their uses by the locals. Most of the photos are on the waterproof camera, and we can't transfer these at present.
Between all these walks, there was eating and drinking. We had great soups twice a day, and main courses with rice, veges and protein (fish, chicken, beef, cheese at different times). We get huge portions of rice each meal, if there is no sauce on the protein, it is all rather dry. Beer comes in BIG bottles. We pay $2 a bottle at the home stay. Coffee is strong and black, tea is available, we are amused at the brand (Hornimans).
The last morning at the home stay required as decision, Peter and 4 others went rafting, the rest of us took a walk in a local garden, then made and ate chocolate.
What a process! First the beans were roasted, then the skins were rubbed off, the beans roasted again, then ground, then mixed with milk and sugar and boiled. Finally we dunked slices of banana and pineapple in the warm chocolate, and enjoyed eating the product. The kids from the family finished off the leftovers.
After lunch, we changed accommodation, moving to a Jungle Lodge thee other side of Tena. The lodge is right on the river, and we all appreciated the hot showers, and the wonderful view.
The next morning, we went by taxi and motorised canoe to an animal refuge a bit further along the Rio Napo. They look after distressed animals, and rehabilitate as many as possible back into the wild. They do good work, but it is never nice to see animals in cages.
