I have never been a Hallmark holiday kind of gal, but today was a fantastic day for us!
We are at the edge of the Amazon rain forest entrance. It is a town called Tena. I am not yet allowed to river raft or exert to much but we went on a small flat hike. We saw butterflies (free range) and lot’s of medicinal plants. One snake, a bat or two, and some old bee hives, among other things. We had to wear high rubber boots. The most amazing thing was the weather was not ridiculously hot and humid! The guide was raving about about perfect it was.
Vladimir, our Kichwa guide, (his father read Lenin), painted our faces, as many of the indigenous tribes do. It washes off, but stains clothes. The paint came from seeds he picked off a tree. For those of you from book club I kept thinking of Euphoria, by Lily King.
It feels so good to be up and around again!
Steve here:
We arrived in Tena yesterday afternoon, after losing over a mile in altitude. We have gone from the cloud forests of the Western Andes to the rain forests of the Eastern Andes.
We wandered around town a bit to see the sights:
We decided to take a tour, and are really glad we did. Our guide, Vladimir, is Kitchwa. In the Ecuadorian summer he guides rafting in Switzerland. He group up around here, and his mother taught him many of the indigenous herbal medicines. It was fascinating to watch him pull out his knife, cut a plant or tree, and then explain everything from snakebite remedies to contraception. We were with a young couple from Spain, Pilar and Jonathon.
The land we hiked is Kitchwa, and there were several plantations/gardens:
We walked along a path that has been here for centuries, finally coming to a house where we had lunch:
After lunch we walked back to our starting point. Then we walked down the road to a demonstration on how chocolate is made:
It was a great time. Beautiful weather. In Tena, the cool air from the Andes collides with the warm air of the Amazon yielding –
Looking good! Happy Valentine’s Day! We worshiped at First Congregational, had a little brunch out, and came home to do a few chores. Dinner… I took a container of Beef Burgundy out of the freezer, made a little salad, and heated half a baguette. We enjoyed a lovely NZ Pinot Noir and counted the moments. It’s 50 degrees F here today. Ah, winter in Colorado! Continue the journey, friends:) We’re listening!
Beautiful photos! Love it!