9/3/2013 Manta to Tena
By bus.
Taking my yellow bag that all the camp gear is kept in seemed the most practical thing to do. If for some reason it went missing. It could be replaced and I could still ride effectively. With a pannier missing it would be a totally different story.
Getting on the bus, it was very comfortable, a window seat was taken. They actually allocate seats.
It was so nice to be moving along the road with no effort. Some Spanish study was done.
However, so was a lot of sleep and listening to my ipod.
I didn’t realise how tired I was. For once my guard could be totally dropped during the day and one could just switch off. My bag was in the bus with me.
Soon getting on to the road already traveled, it was quite amazing just how intimate one did get with the passage during the ride.
Towns visited, places stopped and certain stretches, all bought back fond memories of the slow passage.
The long climb back up to Quito from Tadapi was again blanketed in cloud, much to my disappointment.
Every stop, the bus was frequented by vendors selling everything from colouring in books to bread stuffed with pineapple, highly recommended I will add.
I really did not feel like chatting to people unless necessary. The guy next to me had a child on his lap much of the way.
Arriving at Quito, at 1930, having left Manta at 0830, it was indeed a bit of a marathon sitting affair.
Though a great battery recharge.
At the provincial station in Quito, a huge bus terminal with food stalls and great organization, a ticket to Tena was bought.
An hour’s wait was required, time to eat and freshen up.
The bus to Tena was equipped with a reasonably large flat screen TV, a good sound system and on the night a couple of general admission, humorous movies were played.
During the second, sleep came again, next thing I knew, we were in Tena at 0130 in the morning. The total bus fares were $14 not bad for 15 hours in a bus.
The town was very much alive with people eating in the streets, wandering home while taxis were hovering about.
A hostel was found on foot, a shower taken and more sleep overcame me.
10/3/2013 Tena all day.
Arising from the nest, feeling like I had been on a bus for a day. Having time to spare, I took the opportunity to go to a panadería, Just the freshest plain buns were bought.
The hostal is right in the middle of town, it is the Hostal Cambahausi, a Tia supermarket is 20m away so I have been treating myself to yoghurt and some snacks.
The blog was updated and a bus caught to Puerto Misahualli, here is the confluence of the Napo and Tena rivers if my memory serves me.
All the rivers now run to Brazil and onto the Atlantic. The bus took half an hour, a sly nap was taken on the way. Again covering kilometres without effort is like being infront of TV in a comfortable chair, sleep comes easy, especially with a less than gripping show on air.
Getting to town, a wander about was enjoyed and mucking around with kids and their Boas on the river bank.
They handle them like the old draught stoppers for doors. Asking them, they told me they cut their spine so they can no longer constrict. The price animals pay to amuse us humans, huh?
A great meal was enjoyed in town.
Guide boats were lined up on the shore for river excursions, my interest did not lie with their offerings on the day.
Chatting with a guy he told me that when it really rains you can smell the oil in the area. They are drilling and extracting it 2 hours downstream from Puerto Misahualli.
Time was spent chatting to a German girl for awhile, she was working in a tourist place and like me had plenty of spare time. It was good to speak a bit of English.
Cuye was being cooked in the streets, my interests neither lay with dining on one of these again.
Getting back to Tena, the rain started coming down, literally by the bucket full and within an hour the sun was shining
The evening was idyllic being balmy, partly clear and plenty of street food for the taking.
A fried fish was enjoyed with rice, yucca and beans.
Sunday evening here is a big night to eat out, the atmosphere was one of celebration in that it was a clear evening, smoke from all the BBQs filled the air with very moorish aromas of everything from fish, chicken and sausages to beef.
A movie was enjoyed as was the day.
11/3/2013 Tena all day.
A person I met in Canoa told me about this guy Eduardo who had a property here in the jungle who took on volunteers and showed people around his family’s land.
I had arranged to meet him this morning. He was on time with his sister and French girlfriend.
I bought fresh rolls at the panadería and enjoyed the pith of the seeds on Guavas, a giant seed pod from the forest.
I decided just to spend one day with them .
We grabbed a cab and went bush. Arriving at Eduardos dads house we put gumboots on and headed into the bush to his place to meet his family.
They lived on a river some 20 minute walk from his dads place. It was a good set up.
His sister Fanny and I wandered off through the bush. She was great and spoke Spanish clearly and slowly for me. We talked all day about everything that came to mind. My vocab hindered proceedings a bit here. She spoke no English, so it was all good practise.
My Spanish is improving somewhat, my next big hurdle is more pronouns.
Her family grow cacao among other things. We went hunting for ripe fruit and enjoyed eating the pith around the seeds that eventually end up as chocolate.
She told me all about growing and harvesting the crop, so interesting.
Other fruits of the forest were enjoyed.
We then headed off down the road further into the forest. It is all private land. She is on the community board here.
The area surrounding Tena supports a large population of lowland Quichua Indians, and significant numbers of Quijos and Chibcha Indigenous groups, among others, live further out in the forests outside the city.
After some few kilometres walking and chatting on the road above the river Napo, we arrived at an area where a small stream ran into the Napo. We had to pay a couple of dollars to get in.
The water was fresh and oh so clear. Swimming in it was so refreshing.
We swam in a few spots in the stream.
The surrounding Jungle was awe inspring, most trees had leaves way bigger than Adam could have ever dreamt of using. Lushness understates the vegetation when describing the growth present. Exotic palms shared the locale with their broadleaved relatives, palms never seen before.
Butterflies of assorted exotic colours flitted by in search of sweetness.
Birds to celebrated the fine day, calling just for the heck of it.
Eduardo had told me not to expect any animal sightings, they are all long gone. The iconic birds, the Macaw and Toucan can be seen but only very early in the morning.
The Napo river is gilded with granite boulders of all shapes and sizes along its riparian zone, while some were mid stream. They were all polished by the sheer abrasive forces of the river and its cargo of silt when in flood.
Walking on these rocks was a pleasure under foot.
The volume of water in the Napo was huge, if one fell in it would almost certainly be curtains.
Two girls got swept over the rocks from the stream and ended up drowning in the Napo.
Fanny was a great source of knowledge she grew up in the Jungle with her family.
On the day we experienced just the best weather, clear skies and no rain all day.
Back at the house we had lunch, then I helped his mum crush Chonta seeds (from palms) to make a drink that the locals enjoy, it is alcoholic.
It was a great day, just taking it easy in the jungle, swimming and soaking up knowledge about an unknown world in the company of great people. People that call this ever so special and fragile part of our planet, home.
If you want to spend time with Eduardo you can email him at nuspa2005@yahoo.com
Dinner was fish again. Tonight at 1100 I catch a bus further east to Limoncocha near El Coca, some 5 hours away. This is deeper into Amazonia. There is a port at El Coca.
By bus.
Taking my yellow bag that all the camp gear is kept in seemed the most practical thing to do. If for some reason it went missing. It could be replaced and I could still ride effectively. With a pannier missing it would be a totally different story.
Getting on the bus, it was very comfortable, a window seat was taken. They actually allocate seats.
It was so nice to be moving along the road with no effort. Some Spanish study was done.
However, so was a lot of sleep and listening to my ipod.
I didn’t realise how tired I was. For once my guard could be totally dropped during the day and one could just switch off. My bag was in the bus with me.
Soon getting on to the road already traveled, it was quite amazing just how intimate one did get with the passage during the ride.
Towns visited, places stopped and certain stretches, all bought back fond memories of the slow passage.
The long climb back up to Quito from Tadapi was again blanketed in cloud, much to my disappointment.
Every stop, the bus was frequented by vendors selling everything from colouring in books to bread stuffed with pineapple, highly recommended I will add.
I really did not feel like chatting to people unless necessary. The guy next to me had a child on his lap much of the way.
Arriving at Quito, at 1930, having left Manta at 0830, it was indeed a bit of a marathon sitting affair.
Though a great battery recharge.
At the provincial station in Quito, a huge bus terminal with food stalls and great organization, a ticket to Tena was bought.
An hour’s wait was required, time to eat and freshen up.
The bus to Tena was equipped with a reasonably large flat screen TV, a good sound system and on the night a couple of general admission, humorous movies were played.
During the second, sleep came again, next thing I knew, we were in Tena at 0130 in the morning. The total bus fares were $14 not bad for 15 hours in a bus.
The town was very much alive with people eating in the streets, wandering home while taxis were hovering about.
A hostel was found on foot, a shower taken and more sleep overcame me.
10/3/2013 Tena all day.
Arising from the nest, feeling like I had been on a bus for a day. Having time to spare, I took the opportunity to go to a panadería, Just the freshest plain buns were bought.
The hostal is right in the middle of town, it is the Hostal Cambahausi, a Tia supermarket is 20m away so I have been treating myself to yoghurt and some snacks.
The blog was updated and a bus caught to Puerto Misahualli, here is the confluence of the Napo and Tena rivers if my memory serves me.
All the rivers now run to Brazil and onto the Atlantic. The bus took half an hour, a sly nap was taken on the way. Again covering kilometres without effort is like being infront of TV in a comfortable chair, sleep comes easy, especially with a less than gripping show on air.
Getting to town, a wander about was enjoyed and mucking around with kids and their Boas on the river bank.
They handle them like the old draught stoppers for doors. Asking them, they told me they cut their spine so they can no longer constrict. The price animals pay to amuse us humans, huh?
A great meal was enjoyed in town.
Guide boats were lined up on the shore for river excursions, my interest did not lie with their offerings on the day.
Chatting with a guy he told me that when it really rains you can smell the oil in the area. They are drilling and extracting it 2 hours downstream from Puerto Misahualli.
Time was spent chatting to a German girl for awhile, she was working in a tourist place and like me had plenty of spare time. It was good to speak a bit of English.
Cuye was being cooked in the streets, my interests neither lay with dining on one of these again.
Getting back to Tena, the rain started coming down, literally by the bucket full and within an hour the sun was shining
The evening was idyllic being balmy, partly clear and plenty of street food for the taking.
A fried fish was enjoyed with rice, yucca and beans.
Sunday evening here is a big night to eat out, the atmosphere was one of celebration in that it was a clear evening, smoke from all the BBQs filled the air with very moorish aromas of everything from fish, chicken and sausages to beef.
A movie was enjoyed as was the day.
11/3/2013 Tena all day.
A person I met in Canoa told me about this guy Eduardo who had a property here in the jungle who took on volunteers and showed people around his family’s land.
I had arranged to meet him this morning. He was on time with his sister and French girlfriend.
I bought fresh rolls at the panadería and enjoyed the pith of the seeds on Guavas, a giant seed pod from the forest.
I decided just to spend one day with them .
We grabbed a cab and went bush. Arriving at Eduardos dads house we put gumboots on and headed into the bush to his place to meet his family.
They lived on a river some 20 minute walk from his dads place. It was a good set up.
His sister Fanny and I wandered off through the bush. She was great and spoke Spanish clearly and slowly for me. We talked all day about everything that came to mind. My vocab hindered proceedings a bit here. She spoke no English, so it was all good practise.
My Spanish is improving somewhat, my next big hurdle is more pronouns.
Her family grow cacao among other things. We went hunting for ripe fruit and enjoyed eating the pith around the seeds that eventually end up as chocolate.
She told me all about growing and harvesting the crop, so interesting.
Other fruits of the forest were enjoyed.
We then headed off down the road further into the forest. It is all private land. She is on the community board here.
The area surrounding Tena supports a large population of lowland Quichua Indians, and significant numbers of Quijos and Chibcha Indigenous groups, among others, live further out in the forests outside the city.
After some few kilometres walking and chatting on the road above the river Napo, we arrived at an area where a small stream ran into the Napo. We had to pay a couple of dollars to get in.
The water was fresh and oh so clear. Swimming in it was so refreshing.
We swam in a few spots in the stream.
The surrounding Jungle was awe inspring, most trees had leaves way bigger than Adam could have ever dreamt of using. Lushness understates the vegetation when describing the growth present. Exotic palms shared the locale with their broadleaved relatives, palms never seen before.
Butterflies of assorted exotic colours flitted by in search of sweetness.
Birds to celebrated the fine day, calling just for the heck of it.
Eduardo had told me not to expect any animal sightings, they are all long gone. The iconic birds, the Macaw and Toucan can be seen but only very early in the morning.
The Napo river is gilded with granite boulders of all shapes and sizes along its riparian zone, while some were mid stream. They were all polished by the sheer abrasive forces of the river and its cargo of silt when in flood.
Walking on these rocks was a pleasure under foot.
The volume of water in the Napo was huge, if one fell in it would almost certainly be curtains.
Two girls got swept over the rocks from the stream and ended up drowning in the Napo.
Fanny was a great source of knowledge she grew up in the Jungle with her family.
On the day we experienced just the best weather, clear skies and no rain all day.
Back at the house we had lunch, then I helped his mum crush Chonta seeds (from palms) to make a drink that the locals enjoy, it is alcoholic.
It was a great day, just taking it easy in the jungle, swimming and soaking up knowledge about an unknown world in the company of great people. People that call this ever so special and fragile part of our planet, home.
If you want to spend time with Eduardo you can email him at nuspa2005@yahoo.com
Dinner was fish again. Tonight at 1100 I catch a bus further east to Limoncocha near El Coca, some 5 hours away. This is deeper into Amazonia. There is a port at El Coca.
Fanny with Yucca, a staple here like we eat potatoes.Plants are in the background. These tubers are so nice to eat.
Platano, such a staple where it will grow in Central and south America, cooked so many ways and in so many dishes. Eaten green or ripe.
The seeds need to dry for 3 days, foreground. The white cocao seeds were harvested this morning. Germans buy from them. The brown seeds are the finished product for the farmer.
This frog was overwhelmed by these ticks.
It took 56 years for the Napo to come up with this piece!!
To think guys are spewing oil through places like this not far away. There's no such thing as clean oil production when working in this kind of environment.
Eduardo and Fanny, great people.
Eduardos mum crushing palm seeds for Chunta, an alcoholic drink.
Mariposas comen, I like this word for butterflies
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Guavas pod, the pith is eaten from around the seeds inside. Sweet and healthy
Yeah, give me both skewers please!! Without the attachments.
We ate the pith from around these cocao seeds within the fruit. It to was sweet and moorish
Cacao ready to pick. Whoever came up with this fruit got it right
Not ready for harvest, a bit to young, the fruit that is!!
They can be found growing on the tree trunks.
Surreal sculpts, art by water and silt.
Clear water like never seen before except on Fraser Island, Australia.
Cheeky bugger, enjoying Yucca.
Straight from beneath mum, half the eggs were still unhatched.
My mate, most taxis here are dual cab hilux diesels, diesel is about 40 cents a litre. It is cheaper than petrol, as it should be.
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