Hola everyone,

 Thought I'd better update you on what I've been up to.

Thursday I visited some of the sites in the New Town starting with the Museo de la Amazonas. I thought I'd better do some research if I'm going to spend a month in the jungle! Unfortunately I couldn't understand much as it was all in Spanish (how dare they) but I got the general gist when I got to the exhibit with spears, heads on sticks and scary looking shamens, should be fun!

After that I went to the Museo el Banco Central which is the biggest museum in the New Town and has explains the history of the people of Ecuador including a massive exhibit devoted entirely to gold. Bling is not the word! I thought Essex was bad! It was quite an interesting museum, I took some photo's of some funny pottery then went upstairs to the art floor. There were loads of really freaky pieces (check out the photo album).

After that thrilling experience I headed back for my Spanish lesson where I bumped into this Israeli girl who I share the apartment with. She had just got back from a week in the jungle and was writing up her report. She had some 'interesting' experiences. She lived with a family in the jungle and initially told them she would eat whatever they ate oops! On the first day the little boy came back with an armadillo, which he dumped on the kitchemn floor and the little girl got out her knife and started preparing it for dinner. The next day they brought back some weird furry cat thing and another day she watched the mother wring a bird's neck. They're going to love me! Apparently they eat a lot of rice and fried bananas, so I thinkk I'll survive!

 That evening I went with one of the blokes from the Ecotrackers office to the Old Bus. We got the trole bus which is a tram that runs from the airport in the north to the Old Town in the south. When we got there there was some sort of event going on. There were dancers dressed in traditional Indian clothes, a band and leading up to a theatre there were little boys and girls dressed up standing either side of a path covered in rose petals. Loads of 'important' or famous people started turing up and they walked up thie rose petal carpet to the theatre. I have never seen so many armed police, army blokes and riot shields. This was all taking place right next door to the President's Palace, which is a big white house. There is quite a lot to seein the Old Town in comparison to the New Town but apparently it's a very dangerous place so everyone stays in the New Town.