Puerto Misahualli

It was time to head into the Amazon. When I was leaving Banos, I mentioned to the woman at the hostel that I was headed to Tena. She recommended going to Puerto Misahualli instead, a smaller town not far from Tena, but further into the jungle. It sounded way better, so I followed the instructions she gave me.

The bus to Tena was windy, per usual. I'm telling you, all buses will seem like a piece of cake from now on. Throughout the ride, there was nonstop people trying to sell items. I've seen this a lot in my travels but it's definitely prominent in Ecuador.  One man sounded like he was auctioning off items. I have no idea what he was saying or selling, but after 10 minutes I was ready for some quiet. 

After a few hours, I finally got nudged awake outside Tena, in Puerto Napo. I walked to the bus stop in the small town, and waited for another bus to Puerto Misahualli. This one was a little more entertaining. I got front row seat, which is usually dedicated to the person collecting the fare. However it was a bit crowded so I couldn't go anywhere. The bus driver and fare collector wanted to be sure I was comfortable. I did try to make conversation in my limited Spanish. Unfortunately I haven't learned as much as I would have liked. My app only works in wifi, and I haven't looked at a lesson in weeks. Oh well. My time in South America was dwindling.

The two guys were super helpful, and I got off the bus in Puerto Misahualli with no issue. Next stop, find a place to sleep. I flagged a few places to sleep before I left Banos, and went to investigate. The first was a hostel which looked relatively promising. The second place was deserted. Not sure where they were since they were on Booking.com. I wandered around for a few minutes and spotted three women near the cluster of restaurants. I went up to them and asked if they spoke English (they did), and where they were staying. They recommended a place across the river, and I'm really glad I ran into them. It was a beautiful lodge in the jungle. And only a short walk from town.

Home in the jungle.

I headed into town for dinner, after checking out some tour agencies. I sat down to eat some trout from the Rio Napo. The girls I ran into earlier were also there and they joined me. They were studying abroad and two of them were actually attending Ithaca College. Small world. They were really sweet and it was nice chatting with them. 

Full on trout.

On our way back from dinner, we saw some critters, including this guy at the lodge. Too bad it was dead. And good thing my sister wasn't here. She's not a fan of spiders. 

Dead tarantula.

The following day, I took some time to relax. In the jungle. I went for a run on the one road that goes even further into the jungle. After some breakfast and getting some laundry done, I eventually I headed into town for lunch.

Welcome.

When I was in town, I had plans of booking a jungle tour, and go swimming in the river. At first, I was hesitant on swimming in the river. You know due to snakes and other animals that could be lurking under the surface. But apparently the river is too fast-moving for any such animals. Before I could go for a dip, the rain started coming down. And didn't stop. And then the wifi went out, so eventually I grabbed a beer at the local market, and headed back to the lodge to wait it out. Without booking a tour either. 

Rio Napo.

As I was sitting on the porch outside my room, enjoying my beer, I noticed some shaking. I thought I had imagined it at first, but it continued. It was very slight. I immediately thought earthquake, given the recent quakes in Japan and Myanmar. And of course, I've been traveling in the Ring of Fire for a few months. It went away, and I forgot about it. I went to have dinner and nothing came up, except that wifi was out in the entire town. I called it an early night since I was running long the following morning.

When I woke up, wifi was back in business. And sure enough, there was an earthquake. I couldn't believe it. I had received a ton of messages, but fortunately friends and family were able to figure out where I was because of social media, and that I was several hours away from the epicenter. I was also able to check in 'safe' on Facebook, which allowed everyone else to know.

After checking in with people, I headed out for my run. I had 10 miles scheduled for myself. Since there weren't too many places to go, I headed out 5 miles on the road I ran on previously. The landscape pretty much stayed consistent, but I did find it funny to come across some cows.

Running with cows.

Later that afternoon, I finally went on my jungle tour. I had originally looked into doing an overnight, but liked where I was staying, so didn't do that. I then went into a few tour agencies in town, but since it was just me, it was going to be more expensive. I thought about just committing to one of them and staying an extra night, but I asked one of the hosts at the jungle lodge if they had tours. And the guy was on board with taking me for a jungle walk.

I put on some rain boots, insect repellent, and long clothes, and headed into the jungle. We started our trek and came along some plants that the guide's family were growing in order to reforest the jungle. I liked how they are promoting ecotourism. Their place isn't well known, but would be great if they could get more business. 

Reforestation.

My guide pointed out a few birds flying around. Good thing for the binoculars since they were hard to see. Of course I don't remember their names now, but he had a handy book to show me the names in case I didn't understand him. We also found some cocoa trees and cracked open one of the fruits to check out the beans on the inside. I ate some of the skin on the outside of the beans, which was a bit slimy but not bad tasting. I didn't take a chocolate tour while I was in Ecuador so I don't claim to be an expert, but I was told they then take the beans out and dry them in the sun. After that, I assume they take the cocoa and make some delicious chocolate. 

Cocoa.

A jungle trek isn't complete without seeing a snake. And I'm glad I didn't step on it while walking. Instead it was hanging out in the water. We kept an eye out for it and watched it as it slithered around. 

Snake in the water.

Once the snake went into hiding under some plants, I boarded the canoe that had appeared. We rowed around for a bit and spotted some spider monkeys up in the trees. After about 15 minutes, we docked at a shelter nearby.

Canoeing around.

I then headed to the guide's family, who are Quechua, who lived down the road.  We walked around the grounds, saw a few animals, and drank some chicha (yucca-based, not maize-based like in Peru). I also got to know the guide's wife, who was from Switzerland. It was interesting to hear her story and how she ended up in Puerto Misahualli. Their baby was super cute. 

While we waited for our ride back to the lodge, I played soccer with a few local kids. They were all pretty friendly, but it was hard to communicate when were weren't kicking around a ball. They asked me a bunch of questions, and I only wish I could understand. I just smiled and tried my best. 

Local kids.

It was time for dinner and my last night in Puerto Misahualli. The following morning, I got one last run in, another delicious breakfast, and a swing in the hammock before heading out. 

Hammock swing.

I may have not done all that I had envisioned in the jungle, but I still enjoyed my three days in the Amazon. After being in Southeast Asia for so long, it wasn't as much as a surprise as it may be to most. But that didn't mean it wasn't still amazing. 

Deserted boat.

Time to return to Quito and soak up my last days in Ecuador.