After dark, we lounged in the thermal hot springs at the base of this waterfall. |
Banos is on the edge of the Orient, or the Amazon Rainforest. For those of you who know me very well, you won’t be surprised to know that before coming to Ecuador, I had decided that I would NOT visit the rainforest. Why? Because something lives there and slithers through the brush and dangles from the tree branches above my head. You guessed it… snakes! No thank you!
However, after much consideration, I decided that I should not let my life-long, heart-stopping, totally irrational phobia prevent me from experiencing this amazing ecological place. So, before I could stop myself, I signed up for a Jungle Tour the first chance I got. Agreed, this 12-hour introductory trip into the edge of the rainforest was pretty tame and is more like “Amazon Lite”, but it was a big step for me.
First, we visited a village of the Shuar people where our faces were painted and we participated in a traditional dance. |
![]() ![]() |
Then, they brought out some monkeys (and a huge snake) for us to hold. No pictures of the snake. I had been warned and I made sure I was very far away! |
Next, we took a canoe ride down the Rio Pastaza in a dug out canoe. |
![]() ![]() |
Some typical Shuar houses along the river |
![]() ![]() |
Houses are elevated off the ground, but the ground floor has hammocks for relaxing. With Elias (Seattle), Laura (Salinas, California), and Melissa (Miami) |
Gusanos, or worms, are a great protein source when fried. I didn’t get to try them, but I would have! They gave us some homemade hooch instead. |
A perfect place to relax in a hammock!
![]() ![]() |
As the sun was setting, our final activity of the day was to swing high above the rainforest. I really enjoyed the entire tour, but the swing was the most fun of all! |
It was spectacular! I will definitely return in the future to explore more paths in this area. |
Lyssa
WOW! Good for you, Becky!!! Totally awesome! : )