I know, I know. This post is LONG overdue. But better late than never right?
At the end of my trip to Ecuador I signed up to go on a trip to the Amazon Jungle. 4 days, 3 nights living on the Napa river. I was pretty excited for this adventure. And an adventure it was!
My friend Karissa and I signed up together and it ended up only being me and her on the trip. Basically we got a private vacation. It was just me, her and our tour guide for those 4 days.
We left Quito at 8am on Tuesday. We then drove to the airport and took a 30 minute flight to Coca. We got picked up by a taxi and our guide and took a 2 hour truck ride to the edge of the river. We then took a 10 minute boat ride and arrived at our location. Quite the day of traveling. We arrived at around 2pm.
The original lodge that we were supposed to stay at was closed for construction so we had to stay a little bit farther down the river in "dorms" with the local high school students. Well these dorms weren't exactly nice. It was wood walls with chicken wire windows and a door. No electricity, no service, bugs everywhere, and mosquito nets to sleep under.
This was our bedroom. We weren't exactly thrilled but we managed to survive.
Yes, we went to the bathroom after about 5 minutes of being there and came across this thing. It was huge! We let it be and then on the last day our guide told us that it is one of the most dangerous spiders around. I am grateful I didn't know that till the last day or I don't think I would have slept at night.
These were the bathrooms and toilets. Doesn't that look so nice?
The sink and only mirror.
The "hall way" to our room.
This was where we ate all our meals.
After we got settled in and had a chance to look around the activity planned for that day was to go for a walk to the community and to go see the old lodge.
Wow, was this like stepping into the movies.
This was the community that was closest to where we were staying. It is probably one of the nicest ones.
The way these people live was mind blowing. I didn't realize people really lived like this. They lived in these wood huts. Coco and coffee beans are what they harvested the most that brought in money. Most of the people live on a salary of $600-$1,000 a year. The rich people could buy a fishing net for $100 and make money from that. The wives would all just sit around, nursing their children and hang out while the men were working. Some women did work though, panning for gold or making bracelets to help bring in a little more money. They lived so so simple but they were so happy. Our tour guide told us that no American could come into this lifestyle and survive. It was such a beautiful life for them but I am grateful for what I have!!
Beautiful views all around us
Me and Karissa standing on the old lodge looking over the Napa river
Beautiful sunset
For the next days ahead of us we just did a lot of hiking. We hiked through lots of rain forests, and jungles. I saw the most beautiful views I've ever seen in my life! We saw lots of monkeys and cool colorful birds.
One day we hiked to this community. This community was just this single house that a family lived in.
This was the grandmother. She was so content to just sit there and hang out.
The kitchen.
The grandfather was a Shaman. Their local medicine man. He "cleansed" us. He smoked some tobacco and then blew it on us. Basically second hand smoke spread around with a leaf. It is a very mental thing and the people their totally believe it. Me, not so much. haha. But it was an awesome experience that I'm sure I will never be able to experience again.
Our guide being cleansed. He was a believer.
We then learned how to use a blow gun with darts. It was so much fun! And really not too hard.
I got a bullseye!
Some muddy trails we waked on! Every thing was so so muddy.
Beautiful forests.
Huge huge tree! All trees around were normal size and then there was just this random one huge tree! It was so cool.
The Napa river. It was awesome because one second we would be walking in thick forest and then it would open up to this beach and river.
This was very Survivor looking to me.
One time it started raining really hard while we were out walking. Our guide just pulled out his machete and cut us a leaf. And wa-la, an umbrella! So smart.
Our tour guide had a great sense of humor. He told us to close our eyes and then he stuck these on our noses! Haha. Very funny.
Every day in the large community at 4:30 all the guys came together and played soccer. It was a huge deal to them. They would make bets and played very seriously. It was fun to watch.
Muddy everywhere!
One of the coolest things was that it would start pouring rain and we would only hear it but not feel it because we were so covered by trees. Such an awesome sound!
One day we took this truck ride around to see different birds. It was a nice break from walking miles on end and cool to see more wildlife!
This is the chocolate pant that they harvest. Taste nothing like real chocolate.
Canoe ride on the river.
Scary bridge we had to cross. It was just bamboo and very shaky.
Muddy feet from not wearing boots the first day.
All in all my trip in the Amazon was so much fun. If you are ever in Ecuador I totally recommend visiting here!
It was an experience I will never forget.
And now when people ask me what the coolest thing I've ever done...
"I lived on the Napa River in the Amazon Jungle for 4 days" will always be my answer.
