On Sunday morning, Jeff and I got up early to head out on a trip to the jungle. There were five of us leaving from The Secret Garden Hostel, Jeff and I, Maria and Julia from Norway, and Rebekka from Switzerland. Paul (the tour guide) gave us a ride to the bus station, and we got on a bus headed to Tena - a city near the jungle about 5 hours from Quito.
The scenery on the ride is really interesting, it changes from green mountains, to dry sierra, to cloud forest, to jungle. A lot of the road was paved, but it still gets pretty bumpy. Also, occasionally all you can see out the window is steep drop offs, which make the ride more exciting if you're watching. At one point we got to a bridge that was closed, so the bus headed down a dirt road, which lead to the river the bridge goes over. When we got there, we saw three cars stuck in the river. I thought that was nothing we could do, but the driver clearly didn't agree, because he just drove right through a deeper part of the river on the side of the cars. I guess that's why I'm not a bus driver in Ecuador.We made it to Tena, met up with our guide, and went for lunch in town. One more girl, Betsy from New Jersey, joined us there. We got rubber boots and ponchos from the office of the tour guide, and then jumped in the back of a truck for the ride out to the jungle.
We got out, put on our rubber boots, and walked about 20 minutes into the jungle. When we got to the place where we were staying, the first thing we did was change into swim suits for a dip in the river. There was a rope tied up so you could swing out and jump into the river. The water was crystal clear and the water was nice and cool.
Back at the camp, the kids (there were a bunch of them there - children and nephews and nieces of out guide, Fidel) did a traditional dance. Fidel told us about some of the things Shamans do, and showed some examples. Then we had dinner and Amazon tea (made with lemongrass from the jungle). Jeff played with the kids for a long time - he was basically a human jungle gym. We played cards by candlelight, and then headed to bed.The second day in the jungle we walked around learning about various plants in the jungle. In summary, everything in the jungle seems to be either really tasty, or poisonous/hallucinogenic.
Eventually we headed out on a hike through the jungle - we went up and down a whole bunch, and climbed the tallest hill in the area. We also had a pit stop where we used palms to make headbands and hats, and the guides used some kind of fruit to paint our faces.
The second night we stayed in a cave in the jungle. When we got to the cave, the first thing we did was change into suits again and take a "shower". There was a small waterfall near the cave that you could get to by climbing up some rocks, and that's where we showered.
Also, there was a swing set up across for the cave - it was a stick tied onto a vine hanging from a tall tree. You could sit on it and swing out over the river, which was really fun.
We had dinner around 4:30pm, and then hung out around the cave playing cards and writing Spanish, Quitchua, and English translations of words. There was just one little girl there, the others had left during the day to go to school. 
Fidel told us not to go down near the river at night, because there were big snakes that were poisonous. Didn't have to tell me twice. After it got dark, there wasn't much to do, so we went to bed shortly after 8pm. We slept in hammocks set up in the cave.
On the last day of our jungle trip we hiked from the cave back to the place where we'd slept the first night. Along the way, we stopped and fished in the river. Jeff and I didn't catch anything, but Rebekka did.
Back at the camp, we had fish for lunch (not the one Rebekka caught, though), and then it was time for Jeff and I to go. Nixon, one of the nephews of our guide, helped us hike back to the road. We got a ride in a truck into town, and then went to catch the bus back to Quito.
We got back late - too late for dinner actually, and ended up having slim fast snack bars for dinner (we'd brought them from home for the plane ride.) Then we had tea on the terrace before going to bed.
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