After having a blast while spending three days off the grid, miles away from any civilization, we returned to lodge. After assuming that I would not be doing much the next two, I was proven wrong. Day 8 was a little quieter compared to the following day, but it was still a ton of fun. We met Todd’s daughter. What made this interaction special was that Todd’s wife grew up with one of the tribes in the area. We learned about the story about how they met and the difficulties of their families accepting each other. It was really interesting to learn about their story, and the questions that the Arizona State group asked made the conversation a lot more interesting. Later that day as the sun set, we took a like hike in an effort to find some scorpions walk around. Even though no scorpions were out we were able to see many species of bugs that I have never seen before. I wish I could remember the names of the bugs, but it was so cool to see so many different kinds of bugs I may not ever see again.
We began day 9 of our experience riding down to a local stream. This began a really eventful river hike. The stream was filled with crystal clear water with beautiful waterfalls along the way. The creek had some unexpected challenges, as the water get surprising deep. It was awesome seeing the many organisms that swam in the creek. The creek spider was my favorite, as I saw one hunt down a smaller bug. At the end of the hike we found a place with a waterfall with water deep enough to jump in. A few cannonballs and belly flops later we were off. We were treated with a surprise, as two covered canoes were making their way upstream against the rapid whitewater of the Rio Napo. They led us downstream to an awesome town on the side of the river called Puerto Misahualli. It was filled with shops, restaurants, and monkeys. I stopped by this bread shop where I bought 2 large pieces of bread and an Oreo cake for- wait for it- $1. The bread was amazing, and the Oreo cake was just as good. We stopped by a few shops which had awesome souvenirs and gifts. Towards the end I got my first taste of American food on the trip. I ordered spicy wings l, fries, and a salad for $7. Man I will miss Ecuador food prices. We left the island, and we stopped on a bank off the river to get the opportunity to hold a boa constrictor. It was a great last day in the Amazon.
On day 10, we traveled from the eastern part of the country, over the mountains, to the pacific coast of Ecuador. We began our journey to Quito for a flight on a bus ride where we stopped at a few places on the way. We stopped at a gas station. We found a small hunt that was serving fresh empanadas for only $1! I was starving at the time, so I ate 2 cheese and 1 chicken empanada. I surprisingly liked the cheese one better. Afterwards we headed to an area in a valley. It consisted of a restaurant, ponds, and some of the most endangered trees in the world. We hung out there for about a half of an hour, as we breathed in the fresh air and fed the fish in the pond. After that we headed to our second of three appearances at Quito’s airport. Our third flight of the trip took us to Manta which was the closest airport to our last destination on the trip. Our flight was great, but the highlight of the day was walking down the steps of the plane after landing in Manta. It was so cool walking on the runways after landing, as it was something I never done before.
