Vilcabamba

Vilcabamba is a small town in the south of Ecuador, where people go to relax! It is set in beautiful mountains and is so quite and peaceful. The valley is called the valley of longevity as apparently people there live longer than any other part of Ecuador, many claiming to live up to 100 years old and some even 120!
All the hostals offer massajes and lots of hiking andd horse riding tours.
We stayed at a really nice hostal out of town on one of the mountains at the side. It was run by Germans and was lots of people staying there who are travelling alone through south america, so in the evenings everyone was in the bar area together playing pool or table tennis or sitting in one of the many hammocks!
We went on a horseriding tour round the mountains and through the town and then had a relaxing massaje.

This week we took the children from the orphanage horse riding at the army barracks next door. The kids were aged 2 to 5 and to start off some were scared of the horses. Most of them went on with and adult which meant i got to go to :) by the end all the kids were really enjoying it and didnt want to leave, and hopefully they will get to sort something out with the barracks so they can get to go every week.

Rainforest 3

The next day had another long walk in the forest, then in the afternoon went to a visit an indiginous house, where 15 people sleep in one tiny room. htere was a grandma there who was 90 but didnt have one grey hair and was still having to sit on the floor! we tried making and tasted (a ready made version) the traditional drink of the area called chicha made from Yuka which is a bit like a parsnip or potato but not really! Anyway its distusting so i wouldnt recommend it!
The saturday we went in canoe down the river napo. We stopped at a place which shows the traditional traps used in the jungle, and then got to try using the giant dart things that are about 5 feet long with a dart in the end and you have to aim at a bullseye. After we all got back in the river and put on lifejackets and floated next to the canoe for ages.
Sunday left at 3 am for the disastrous bus journey again! Didnt get home until 4pm!

Rainforest 2

After misahualli we went to the lodge, it was really in the forest and was so pretty, even got our own little cabin and were the only people there for one of the nights, another group was there for the other 2 nights. That afternoon we went for a walk with the guide where he explained all the uses for the plants, for medicine and other things. Made us all paranoid as there was a fly which he kept hitting away from his head as it lays eggs behind your ears or the back of your neck!
It was so hot a humid that after we went for a swim in a river close to the lodge.
That evening went for another walk this time to see insects, was quite scary as so dark and had to look out not to tread on snakes, and the insects we saw were really big and strange looking. You really feel like you are invading their home, they are everywhere and so noisy and even in the cabins couldnt escape them (there was a bat flying round ceiling)- luckily we had a mosquito net.

The Rainforest

After a horrible zillion hour bus jouney we arrived in Baños de Ambatto where we got a few hours sleep before having to do another horrible bus journey to Tena and then to the lodge where we were staying. Before going to the lodge we stopped at a village called Misahualli. Here there are tame monkeys which run around the plaza in the centre. There are about 15 to 20 tame monkeys who live in the village and are very michevious- you have to make sure your bag isnt open or they will steal things from you! Our guide gave us oranges and onions to give to them and the come up and take them from your hands. The oranges they smash on the floor until or with stones then eat them, and the onions they rub on their bodys as a natural insect repellent.