Wow - what a couple of days this has been!
After a restless nights sleep in the Hotel in Quito, suspiciously eyeing the inch high gap under the door to my room, hissing in frustration of only cold water in this hotel, the absolute lack of English spoken anywhere and no internet and being overtired....... well, lets just say that I needed to sleep. The blankets were like solid sheep and sooo snuggly warm - lovely :)
I woke up ready to head out and see what there was to see. So out I popped of the big gate at the front of the hotel onto the most beautiful walkway. Whichever way I looked, there was some old interesting building to be seen. Cathedral Spires called me from blocks away and off I went. But first I took a photo of the name of the road that the hotel was in and also the buildings on the corners of that street. Now I knew I would not get lost - smart right? No, I did not get lost! I really was thinking smart and it worked too :)
Being Sunday, there were very few cars around and a good many cyclists. Many of the roads were blocked and I am sure they had something going on in the town square - when I was leaving to head back to the hotel, drums and microphones were being unpacked - I was sorry that I did not have to time to see what that was about. I snuck into a couple of the Cathedrals and stood listening to their services - just beautiful and so full of Ceremony and sincere people - it really was lovely. I walked around for about two hours, just enjoying the lovely weather, the absolutely amazing buildings and the friendliness of everyone.
I was being picked up by my Spanish teacher at 11am, so had limited time to spare. After deciding to head back 'home', I passed a small cafe that was just putting out its fruit bowls on display....... one step, two step and reverse. For $1.50 I was handed this bowl full of amazing fruit and dug in immediately. About half way through I remembered some warnings about eating fruit...... yeah, yeah - I can hear you all! So I only had a couple more pieces and left the rest. All is well, I was not 'infected' from that fruit. Fortunately, because 5 hours in a bus is a very very long time when needing the bathroom!
Lucia met me on time, we had to walk to the taxi a couple of blocks away because of the closed roads, but handled it ok with us doing a shuttle thing to get all four bags to the taxi. They do not roll on cobblestone streets,so we could only take one at a time. Talk about a workout! Those bags were 50lbs each and I swear they gained weight along the way!
It was becoming more obvious that I am out of my comfort zone here and a good many times the words "what have you DONE!!??" flitted through my mind - but that feeling only lasted a couple of seconds and soon I found another good feeling, something interesting and special to see. I booked this trip knowing I would be out of my comfort zone, not speak the language and be doing things differently than ever before. I ASKED for this - and I am not going to beat myself over the head for getting exactly what I wanted.......... besides, I am really really enjoying it all.
Ok. So after a long and very harrowing taxi drive to the bus station - the taxi driver was falling asleep and driving way too fast and there were no seat belts and and and..... well, we got there in one piece. Fortunately there was not a long wait for the bus, so on we hopped and off we went. That bus chugged soooo slooowly up the hills, around the corners and I wondered if this would be the longest trip of all! But then things changed, we cleared through many little towns where people would hop on the bus and try to sell fruit or icecream or other made items - there were very few takers, but this happened regularly. In many of these little towns it was quite common to see four people to a motorbike/scooter! The kids seemed especially happy about these rides.
The speed of the bus and the scenery changed pretty soon and we were screaming through the most beautiful countryside, being flung left to right and the tires even squealed once or twice on this tiny road with no sidewalk. Sometimes we wondered if we could count the g-force of forward motion as he accelerated and bounced in our seats when the brakes were applied too forcefully and the whole bus shuddered its way to a grinding halt just short of whatever it needed to. We did not hit anything, so I assume that he got it right.
Then on came a football game, and the drivers helper put the volume up to distortion level and then played deaf for about an hour! Lucia went to ask them to turn it down, which he finally did - but just a hair. I opened the window and hung myself out of there to get some relief. It was with a general huge sigh of relief from everyone that the game ended and the tv was put off.
We drove over many little streams that were nestled between stunning shades of lush greens and plant variety that is almost impossible to imagine. And then a huge bridge would appear - only one car width with wooden planks, and over we would go - me firmly holding my breath while clicking away with Gypsey.
And then....... and then I noticed that all my paperwork was gone, with my money, credit cards, drivers license etc etc. Also, they got the little bag thingy that I kept my extra camera battery in as well as some camera cards. My house keys and the keys I locked my extra 'donation luggage' up with has also been taken. I think this was all. It was my fault. I put my bag on the floor and held it with my leg against the side of the bus. Some guys behind me slit the side facing backwards and ever so gently took what they needed. I am SO happy that my passport was not in there, that my camera was in my hand and that I had been carrying most of the money I had, on me, not in my bag. But what a horrible feeling that was! I probably need to let the airline know too - my return flights were in there too.
We discovered this about 30 minutes before getting to Tena (pronounced Ten-ah, which made for a very frustrating rest of the ride. But I was determined not to let it ruin this trip. So I took more photos and make a mental list of what was gone. By the time we (Lucia and I) got to Tena, I realized that I needed my cr crd numbers - so we had to walk a good way to an internet place where I signed on to email and discovered that everyone was worried about me not being able to contact at all! Oh what a mess! I quickly called Kate and Steven and assured them that I was ok and then told them about losing my stuff. THANK you Sis and Steven for sorting it all out for me! I really appreciate you getting it done so fast..... and sorry for worrying you all with the lack of contact after I arrived - I just could not help it at all, but still hate that you were all left hanging for that long.
And so we spent the night in Tena. It was a lovely evening - after finding out that the local police could do nothing for me, we decided to go and get something to eat and then take a walk around. The hotel is in a lovely area of the town and everyone seemed to be strolling around - it felt so comfortable and relaxing. People were just ambling around, over the bridges in town, down and up the roads, buying fruit and veggies and ....well, it was a quiet experience, mixed in with fantastic smells of fresh produce, brewing coffee and many many smiles along the way.
Lucia speaks about as much English as I speak Spanish, so communicating is very slow going - but I am learning and so is she and we get on very well and have many laughs. I just cannot hear her over the noise of the bus, so lessons while riding are not an option for me.
Back to the hotel, discovering only cold showers - again, I did a super quick wash down, sprayed lots of good smelling stuff and hit the bed. I bounced! Yep, that bed was like planks and the pillows were about three feet thick. Really? People can sleep like that? So I took the rather small bath towell, folded it up inside one of the pillow cases and slept. Oh wait - I found an internet conmnection in the hotel and has some wonderful minutes on FB with Kate and on email too. Balm for my soul...
Ok - wrap up time...... I woke up early, packed up quickly and off we dragged only two bags this time. The other two will stay in Tena till I go to the next place next week. We got on the bus, met our guide, Abel who is very sweet and headed on down the road for another four hours of bouncing, screeching brakes and absolutely fascinating countryside! The trees grew up around here! They fill the skies and the birds have there long nests hanging from the branches. The nests look rather like a sock filled with a tennis ball and hung up. The jungle got thicker and thicker and the road narrower as we went on. That made for some close calls when I had my shoulder and camera out of the window to see what there was to see. I learned to move really fast!
I sat further back than Abel and Lucia at a window that would open and it was very interesting, careening down this seemingly endless little dirt road, almost boxed in by Jungle growth, with no one I really knew and almost no English spoken. It was a very good, very free and not at all uncomfortable feeing at all. And then we came to the Napo River. What a view! Just glorious, with its light grey muddy rivers, low waters and rushing sound.... aaaah - it felt good to see her again!
There were many little houses and communities along the way today (Monday) All with thatch roof, many built with wide planks and really really basic in structure. Many had lovely colorful plants growing all around with guava and pawpaw trees everywhere. The varieties of flowers is sometimes simply breathtaking. There are splashes of color eveywhere, backed by incredibly lush green of the jungle growth, towered over by humongeous trees that seem to have perfect shaped canopies every time! Just beautiful.
And so we arrived at the little port where the road stopped and the river waited for us. But there was a huge storm headed our way and the guide said we were going to wait till it passed. And we did. We had lunch and tried to keep away from the seriously leaking roof of the open air eatery while the thunder and lightening made even the guide shudder!
And then onto the river in that long canoe again - we skuttled up the river, or rather down the river, slowing down when the water was barely deep enough for us. This is a fiberglass canoe which apparently can turn over in a storm because of the canopy it has to keep some of the rain out. I was glad we waited out the storm on solid land - it was not dry land at all.
After a relatively short ride, not even half an hour, to my great disappointment. there I saw the lodge with its thatch roof, nestled deeply in the jungle growth! Oh wow. It looked lovely. And it is. I have a room to myself, pretty much on one end of the lodge premises, all lit up with little lights along all the paths.. I have found a few critters in my room already buy they seem harmless so far. There are no windows, just mesh, so sitting here at 10pm typing this with only solar powered low lights and the sounds flitting around outside is..... I struggle to find a word for it..... soothing, gentle, dark, imaginary, peaceful, have I said dark, already? Well, something just landed with a thud in the bathroom - wait! Ok, that door is closed for the night! And I.will. not.get.out.of.bed.in.the.dark!
We got here around lunchtime today, did a walkaround lesson while looking at the school, had lunch,went for a walk in the rain and found a lovely multicolored froglet - the yellow dotted something or other poison dart frog. Apparently it is 33 times more poisonous than a lethal dose of morphine. No, I did not touch it. We walked up what felt like a gazillion steps to find the most beautiful view of the Rio Napo. It was well worth it and I was just a tad surprised that his almost-old lady actually managed it without a problem :)
Another official "sit down and learn" Spanish lesson was had and then I had had enough. I needed to get word back home that I really am ok, and that the rain messed with the internet connection and not to expect as much contact as I had hoped for. I had a very small, very short lived wobbly moment - but those moments have no chance of growing in a place like this! Its just beautiful with winding paths, lush green plants, strange vines and gorgeous flowers everywhere.. And after dinner, Abel found a satellite phone for me to call Kate - goooood! Thanks again sis and everyone that ran around sorting out my mess for me! Then later on we found that only the wireless did not work so I got to connect for a few minutes and get my email which I am now answering as well.
So. Tomorrow a new day starts with a fresh start - again. Me, Lucia (my Spanish Teach) and Abel (the guide) are literally the only guests at the lodge! Not a soul other than us. I am not sure whether I like it like this or not - but it is what it is - and so far its fabulous. There are many things to keep me busy, many things planned and oh those SPanish lessons are trying SO hard not to stick in my brain! I WILL learn some of it - I will.
And so, with many critters crittering away just outside the mesh, a meer foot or two from my bed, I will end this long email off. I had to catch up or some things would never get written down.
Yes, I have many many photos already...and will hopefully get some uploaded from Tena on the weekend.
Till the next episode
love and light, g'night!
Annie
www.amazontravels.blogspot.com
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