Ecuador Day 5 - Exploring the Amazon

We had a fantastic more relaxing day today playing tourists on an 'Amazon Exploration' day trip. We were picked up at 8am and driven south west from our resort near Archidona via Tena to Ahuano, about an hours drive.  On the way we saw some wild Black Mantle Tamarins jumping from tree to tree.  I didnt manage to get a photo they were too fast and too far away.  From Ahuano we had a great half hour boat ride through the jungle along the very large, muddy and fast flowing Rio Napo and Rio Arajuno.  We saw toucans and parakeets along the way and a few locals very basic houses dotted along the rivers edge.

From the boat we went on an hour and a halfs jungle trek along very muddy tracks (we got provided with wellies) through primary and secondary forest.  Our guide pointed out all sorts of interesting flora and insects, not so much fauna, too many tourists.  He pointed out lots of different trees and palms, some very large, and explained their uses by the natives e.g. for building houses, poisonous ones using the sap for hunting, roots with tough spines used as food graters.  We saw lots of termites and ants nests and spiders and a very large grasshopper/cricket.

After the trek through the very warm humid jungle we visited AmaZoonico.  An animal refuge and rehabilitation centre created in 1993. They had lots of Monkeys - capuchin, spider, squirrel and woolly monkeys plus caiman, turtles, ocelots, toucans and macaws to name just a few.  The animals and birds end up at the centre due to illegal pet trade and illegal smuggling and trafficking. Two thirds of the animals arriving at the centre are unable to be rehabilitated but a third are deemed suitable for release back into the wild.

We had an hour long guided tour of the centre by a German girl and English lad, both volunteers who work there.  From their shop we bought some locally made Ecuadorian chocolate, pineapple and orange flavours, very nice and made a donation to 'help the animals'.

From the rehabilitation centre we took the half hour boat trip back again and had a lovely lunch in a restaurant back in Ahuano.  After lunch we drove a short distance to the Tiyu Yacu Community Project.  A small community of 15 Kichwa families living next to the river.  We were shown how they carry out gold panning, in the river, collecting tiny flecks of gold which they can sell and make about $30 per gram. A very labourous process.  Another lady showed us how they make ceramics by hand and using only natural implements, natural dies to colour the clay and tree sap to glaze them.  We also saw how they make Chicha, a fermented drink made from crushed yuca (cassava) plant and water, using grated sweet potato as the fermenting ingredient. Nigel liked it, I didn't, he said it tasted like traditional old fashioned beer, quite yeasty.  Finally we had a go at Blow Piping. Shooting darts from a blow pipe into a carved wooden owl. It was good fun, I managed to hit it a couple of times, Nigel missed!

Back at our resort, Hakuna Matata, we were served another delicious three course meal again for dinner.  They had a full house tonight, very busy.