So after a lot of travel to leave chupaca (a cab, then an 8 hour bus ride, then another cab, layover in the airport for hours, flight to Quito, then a nigth in Quito in a hostel and another very interesting local bus in the morning from Quito to the jungle) In the airport we discovered the very popular trend to saran wrap your suitcase with lime green saran wrap, everyone was doing it, it was sooo weird!

But we made it to the jungle and made it out of the jungle alive...barely! It was a fun four days. We spent our first night living with an indigenous family in some pretty rustic conditions. We had no electrcity, mosquito nets over our beds and to get anywhere around our hut we had to wear boots up to ours knees. Needless to say we spent four pretty dirty days in the Amazon jungle. We also ate lots of yucca (the jungle replacement for the usual potatos), more soup and lots of amazing juices from local fruits. On our first day, we went to some supposedly nearby langoons that ended up being an hour and a half hike. The view was beautiful, but the blisters we had on our feet after the hike with no socks in our boots were pretty painful. The lagoon was gorgeous though. Our tour guides was a 29 year old Ecuadorian named Enrique and he had great stories of his indigenous life during the war against Peru. He went and hid in the jungle for years to avoid his family. We found where Lauren should find her husband because all the local indigenous families have 8 or more kids, Enrique was one of eight and his parents married at 12 and 13! He also possessed unbelievable knowledge about plants and wildlife in the jungle - at one point, out of nowhere, he said he smelt a wild boar. He also managed to find his sister amidst the many trees of the jungle because of tracking footprints. He is also an international amazon jungle celebrity - people actually fly to Ecuador from all over the world to learn about the medicinal properties of the Amazon jungle from him and he's in movies too. Crazy! Our second day in the jungle was the most physically taxing one of all and involved many waterfalls. The day began with us trekking through the jungle (lots and lots of trekking in this blog), and on the way he teaches us about the different plants, one that is good for stains on clothes, one that cures cuts and supposedly stomache cancer, he showed us all the ones you can paint with (hence ourfaces and arms in the photos), and the ones with a white powder on the back that can make an imprint. Eventually stopped at the first waterfall. Further into the trek, Enrique tells us we will climb up the waterfall and in no time at all, he has climbed to the top and thrown down a rope for us to make our way up the water. One by one, we slowly climb up, thinking that with each step we fly down and crack our heads on the rocks. By the time we make it to the top, we are fans of the waterfalls and can't wait to get to the third one. (Except the first one Lauren did she got pulled under and beat up a little) The next waterfall was a little less intense and was much easier to climb up the rope. The highlight of our jungle trek was when we actually saw a vine hanging from the trees from which one can swing (like Tarzan literally). Lauren made it safely there and back but poor Jenny lost her footing and instead of letting go of the vine and stepping onto land, she swung out a little too far and lost grip of the vine. Tumble, tumble down the mountains. So, in the end, the outcome of the vine swing is pretty bad rope burn on both of Jenny's hands and deep cuts as well. Ouch! After this swing, the trek continues and by this time we just need to lie down. Enrique tells us: "cinco minutos mas (5 minutes more!)" till we reach the end, but it ends up being ...over 2 hours of going up and down in muddy mountains. That night, we are lucky enough to meet some other fellow backpackers, one of whom is a transplant surgeon from New York, who skilfully cleans Jenny's hands. Thank god for that. On the third day, we are driven by the tour company to the other "more modern" set of cabins called the Shangri-La and the view of the jungle from there is absolutely breathtaking. It was pretty cool to see this entire structure being constructed in the middle of the jungle. We soon realize the unpredictability of the jungle as it can easily downpour one minute, then, 30 minutes later, the sun will come out. The third day begins with foggy, rainy skies so we decide to skip out on the canyoning activity and relax, especially given the condition of Jenny's hands. So we spent the morning lounging in hammocks. By the afternoon, the skies clear up, and Lauren and Candice head out on the their trek of the jungle. The scene in this part of the jungle was very different from the first two days, it felt like we were planted in the middle of a movie set. We trekked through small rivers, climbed up and down, and shimmied through the forest with our backs planted firmly against rocks while using both our hands to push ourselves upwards. It was a very cool experience but pretty tiring for los manos. We also got to see tons of spiders and bats. We encounter more injuries on our very last day of the jungle. Given how physically gruelling the past three days have been, we opt for more leisurely activities and decide on a supposedly "easy, one hour hike." We soon find out that nothing in the Amazon is ever "easy" and "flat." After climbing down a few natural ladders, we come to a plateau where we get yet another breathtaking view of the rainforest. On our way back, we hear a scream from Lauren who is grabbing tightly onto her left hand. After some poking around, we discover that she has, indeed, been biten by a Conga Ant, one of the most deadly species of ants found in the Amazon, according to our tour guide, Darwin. She describes the pain as "if a parasite was lighting a fire inside her finger for 4 hours." Ouch! Thankfully, with some ibuprofen and some rest on an extremely bumpy 5.5 hour bus ride from Tena to Quito, she feels much better. The bus ride was even quite a show, they sat people in the middle aisle on plastic stools and even a few people stood for four hours. The bathroom would swing open all the time, and there were weird psychadelic lights on the ceiling, nothing like home!

We're currently in Quito for the night but will be off to the Galapagos tomorrow where we have no internet access for another 5 days, sorry! Check out the photos, especially the ones of us cascading down/up the waterfalls.

We miss you!