Amazonas - celebrating 50 Year in the Jungle!

We used the days in Quito after our lovely tour at Galàpagos and Peru to recover and melt/digest all the things we have seen and done under our now more than two month of travel. We also prepared for the arrival of Eva daughters Sophie and Lina and Lina´s boyfriend Peter. We had our first ugly bacteria in our stomach so when the Bid Day came we where both relatively "slow" but Anders sang Happy Birthday and handed over 50 red roses in the morning to the "lady-in-the-middle-of-life".

We went out to the airport to pick up the youngsters in our yellow rented school bus. Jimmy was our driver this and the next day (with his son also in the front " he can speak some English") and after a short stop at Hostel Jhomana we went to Citad del Mitad del Mundo to stand with our feet on both sides of the equator. Deb and Rich (whom we met in El Chaltén) gave us the tip to go 300 meters away from official monument - so we did that. There is Museo Solar Inti Nan where you can do some practical experiments to prove the real equator line and we did the "cink trick", the "egg trick" and the "muscle trick".

The cinktrick is cool! They put water into a mobile cink and removes the plug and the water flows directly straight down into the bin ON the equator line. When they put the cink 1 meter to the North the water flows anticlockwise down into the bin and clockwise when they put the cink 1 meter on the South side of the equator. So COOOOLLLL!

After a short visit to a volcano crater we head back to Quito where EvAnders stays at the hostel while the youngsters goes to the restaurant - we decide to have the real 50 years dinner some other bacteriefree day - he-he!

The next morning we go very early to a lovely place about 2 hours from Quito where they have thermal baths - Papallacta - we stay in the hot bath for 2 hours and vow - it’s so nice! On our way back we visit some Indian markets so they can see the handicraft and in the evening all apart from Anders goes to Adam’s Rib to eat. Anders takes some boiled rice and watch when Boca wins the Copa SouthAmerica against Pumas from Mexico - after penalties!!!

We don’t know if it was the happiness that Boca won also this title (2 in 5 days) but the following morning Anders is "back-in-business" and we all fly to Amazonas!!!!

After a short flight, some waiting and a 5 hour boat ride on the Napa river we arrive at Yuturi Lodge where the staff welcomes us. A short rest, dinner and we head with our guides for the jungle with our flashlights!!!!
The following days and nights Medoardo (our native/Indian natural guide) shows us so many things about the bushes, threes, insects, mammals, birds, fishes etc etc. What they can be used for, how to cure medical problems, what to eat and how to avoid the dangers in the jungle. He is very, very skilled and we really like him!

He eats larva (don’t know how it tastes?) and we eat ants - they taste lemon! However, we do not eat the Yuturi ant - it is very poisonous!! Medoardo tells us to take a bath in the river - so we do that (hmmm.. he looks at us and inspects so we don’t have any open wounds!?!). 4 hours later we are fishing piraya at the same spot!!! We check the tarantula spider (IT IS BIG!) and in the evening we go out in the small boats with our flashlights and look for the red eyes from the caymans. Yes, we see one and our guide jumps into the water and catch him and bring the cayman into the boat! He shows us how to make musical instrument during our hikes in the jungle, how to make a backpack and he shows which three to use if you have malaria, cholera, cancer, yellow fever, kidney problem etc etc. We see thousands of birds and in our cabin we have bats, la cocoracha (cockroaches) and some other friends - no electricity so we are glad we have our flashlights.

NICE PLACE TO BECOME 50 - ISN¨T IT?????????????

OH - I forgot to tell - one evening Lina and Peter asked us to come to their lodge where they served Champagne and Goose Liver from Europe - that’s what we call CLASS!!!

Well, Eva loves the place and it is a little sad we have to leave. However, we get another 24 hours at another lodge - Yarina Lodge where we look at different mammals, plays with monkeys and learn even more about the jungle.

We really had luck with the weather - no real rain until it was time to leave the place this morning - it really started to pour down and half ways we heard a super strong BANG - it was the thunder at the same time as we saw the flash!!!!!

Well, wet we got to Coca and back in Quito we went out this night to celebrate Eva at Adam’s Rib - now all could join!! In a couple of hours we take the night bus together with Sophie, Lina and Peter to Atacames where we will stay some nights. We will stay with Alfonso at Aldea Hotel and hopefully we can just lay in the sun tomorrow and say Happy Christmas to each other over a Piña Colada or something like that!!?

Well, many hugs and kisses and FELIZ NAVIDAD / HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!

Best regards

EvAnders