Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest

So I´m in an internet cafe in Tena, a city in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador. We´ve just finished a week of classes at an ecolodge about three hours east of here, really in the rainforest. Serious mosquitos, serious humidity, lots of bugs. Some big spiders. Thankfully no big snakes. (Well, they were there, but I didn´t see them, which is just fine, thank you.)

And it was amazing! Honestly, I cried the first night, after losing my battle with the mosquitos outside and the giant cockroach in my room. I honestly wondered if I could make it a week. And for the first two days I had a wicked headache from the humidity, which unfortunately cost me my first forest excursion, as it had basically morphed into a migraine, and climbing mountains when you can´t walk straight is just not a smart idea.

But it left on Wednesday, and I did make the birding excursion that morning. It was absolutely amazing!! We had an incredible morning, seeing so many birds, and some very rare birds as well. Our guide, who is Quichua, was amazed too. We saw dozens of toucans and toucanettes. We saw a jacamar. And most exciting of all, we saw a quetzal! Really!! These are very rare, very hard to find. They are quite special in Quichua culture, which Juan confirmed when I asked him. He says he always looks for them (actually he mimics their call beautifully), but rarely actually sees them. Hannele´s camera was much easier to use with the birding telescope, so she has most of the pictures, but will share them. Two hours on the top of a bus, and three hours walking through the deep forest. An absolutely incredible experience.

Classes were good too. Things are starting to click, and I´m terribly saddened by the fact that I will be leaving so soon. I really need at least another month to get things to really settle. Honestly, I´ve only met one person so far here less time than I am. So I´m starting to figure out when and how I can get back.....

The lodge was beautiful too - I did really enjoy it in the end. Now I´m part-way back to Quito. Very early in the morning I´m catching a bus a little further south though, to meet the ladies from the COICA offices. They are having a women´s workshop in Puyo, and wanted me to come. Unfortunately, I didn´t find out until after I´d booked my class, but it´s only two hours from here and the big day is Saturday, so I´m off to join them in the morning. Then I´ll go back to Quito with them on Sunday.

I´ll try to get some photos up Sunday or Monday, once I can pull them off the camera and save them for the web - that´s just easier at the school or at the hostel. The ones from the top of Pichincha, at 12,000 feet, are great! ¡Hasta pronto!