Amazon

I'm not young and I went east. To what the folks in Ecuador call the Oriente and the rest of us call the Amazon. My friend Rocio, where I am staying in Tumbaco, drove us. The place we stayed was about a five hour trip. The highest point - to get us over the Andes and into the Oriente - was 4,000 meters. The change in topography and vegetation was astounding.

On the way there I got to watch young boys playing marbles, an obvious benefit of not being seduced by the computer. After all, what few social skills I have with my same sex I learned on the playground around a marble ring.




Last night we stayed in the Jardin de Aleman (outside Mishahualli) and got to have breakfast with an assertive parrot.




Today went on a motorized canoe on the river. All rivers flow to the Amazon which is what defines the scope of Amazonia.




One feature of the trip was visiting a reserve that was caring for wild animals who's owners no longer wanted them or were at risk living in the wild.




All day was with the guidance and care of Bolivar (his sister is named Bolivia) who teaches at a nearby Colegio and has a Ph.D from a Bulgarian university. He was the only indigenous person (Quechua) in his international cohort, even though there were others from throughout central and south America.




The only way to get to La Casa del Suizo is by boat. A truly lovely escape in the middle of the jungle.




There are consequences to serving tourists like me. Because all (?) the boats on the river are serving tourists, very rarely are they available to meet the needs of locals.

Sunday evening and back in Tumbaco.

Location:La Casa del Suizo, Rio Napo, Amazon