Ecuadorian Amazon

Followers,
The last night in Quito we had an excellent Italian meal with extras (Bruccetta to start, shot of liquor on ice cream to end) in a restaurant with a locked door, we flew the next day to Coca.
Here we took a motorized boat 2. 5 hours down the Napo river (a tributary of the Amazon). The river was very wide but shallow, with oil exploration operations and villages along the shore. These decreased as we approached the lodge dock. There we walked 30 minutes along a track, partially board walk, to a waiting canoe.

A small Anaconda was seen just off the dock. The canoe then took us along a channel into the lake where the Lodge was located. An adventure already!

The next 5 days we wandered the rainforest, and were paddled through the channels off the lake. Discovering spiders, birds and plants with medicinal properties. One of these,  sour cane, seemed helpful after stomach problems we had from a local village lunch.
Bobbie found walking the primary rainforest claustrophobic,

but when viewed from tall towers connected by walkways overlooking the canopy she enjoyed the bird watching. One tower was built around a giant kapok tree taking you 55 metres up above the jungle canopy.
One afternoon we went piranha fishing next to the swimming ladder. See the result.

Yes, Bobbie did swim in the lake twice, but found the water hot for swimming, and very dark. She was assured that piranha only eat dead meat.
During our canoe excursions the most interesting birds were the yellow backed Oropendolas. Their nests were hanging baskets in the trees.

Food was very good at the lodge with cold beer and excellent lemonade - freshly made. One night was a BBQ with an Eclipse of the moon thrown in.
The return to Quito was again a 2 hour trip up the river, this time with some of the local villagers using the free transport the lodge provided to support tahe development of the surrounding communities.

Again the oil company activity on the river seemed other world, and you questioned how long the river communities could continue to farm and fish as they had for centuries.
We are writing this from our luxury Mountain Lodge in Peru, on our way to Machu Picchu. The first day we did a 6 hour hike to 4,435 metres  (14,550 feet) through the Huallata Pass. But more in the next blog.
Cheers Bill and Bobbie