¨Oooo baby baby its a wild world¨

Jungle FEVER!!

That Cat Steven´s song was playing on our way to the jungle and on the way out so I´ve officially made it our Junlge Theme Song! So Steph has just told you about Banos (which was amazing!) and from there we organized a trip into the Jungle about two hours east of Puyo. We didn´t really know what to expect but we packed our Malrone and DEEP WOODS bug spray and headed out into the unknown! It was torrentially down pouring on the the 3 hour ride in and I was very nervous we had made a serious mistake by signing up. Luckily though the skies cleared as we went deeper and deeper and by the time we made it to our first stop a Kichiwa tribe villiage it was blue skies and sunshine. Edwin our guide was amazing! He was sooo knowledgable and loved to teach us! At the Kichiwa tribe we tried Chicha (fermented corn alcohol that is usually made from human saliva - although Edwin assured us this wasn´t - we chose to believe him) and purchased some local handicrafts - team bracelets!

From there we went to our little jungle bungalows, unloaded our gear, ate lunch and went on the most intense jungle walk. Edwin (who measures approx 5 foot nothing) may be short but he sure could walk fast. We were joined by another group - Tom and Will and their guide (also named Edwin - from here on out I will refer to him as Edwin Sr since he was taller than Edwin Jr - though still only about 5 foot 4). Both were amazing in that they new EVERY plant along the way and how it could be used medicinally, for food or for shelter. They made us each jungle necklaces out of seeds and fibres from leaves and then we pressed on. We eventually made it to a beautiful waterfall where we swam and played around before heading back to camp. We also had a little spa moment where we made ourselves clay facial masks that we were told would be good for our skin! At this point Allison was feeling pretty unwell (the last of us to fall prey to the dreaded TD) and we had a pretty relaxed night hanging out with the British boys and a couple of Americans. The next day both Allison and Steph were down for the count so Leslie and I were the sole reps from the Canadian camp to do another hike to another waterfall. We were with Edwin Sr this time and he again should us sooooo many medicinal plants. My favourite was this flower we chewed that made our tongue numb. Apparently it is used as an anesthetic. They were also big fans of this thing called Dragot´s Blood that is from the sap of a certain tree and can be used to cure upset stomachs and also good for healing wounds and scars. NEAT!

That afternoon we took a canoe ride with all of our stuff to move camps further into the jungle. The rest of the afternoon was spent in hammocks and practicing our skills on the blowgun. After dinner we went on a night walk which was as creepy as it sounds. We saw like 6 alligators and a tarantula which was neat from a distance....I suppose. Post night walk (still in night walk attire - including rubber boots) we found ourselves in a little Jungle Bar practicing our salsa moves with Edwin Sr and Jr. It was hilarious and probably horrendous but we had fun!

Our last day in the jungle we hiked up to a view point where there was the most amazing rope swing over the trees so we took turns at that and then continued with the blowgun practicing as well as our javilin skills. Needless to say I don´t think I was destined to be a jungle hunter. We left the jungle and stopped at a Monkey Reserve on the way out where did a lot of lookig and very little touching of the monkeys. Cute but probably diseased filled so we stayed a comfortable distance back. That night I took a little turn for the worse - struck by my second bout of illness but Allison and Les ventured to the bar. They had a pretty amazing night out by the sounds of it but were able to pull themselves out of bed in order to catch our bus to Cuenca yesterday!

MORE UPDATES TO COME!! Miss you guys!