Slideshow -First day on the Amazon

CeibaTops1

At 5:30AM Sunday October 22, we were awakened by a knock on our door and at 6AM we boarded a small boat to Indiana It was s0named because a resident when to school in Indiana in the US and when he returned the town named itself.) The town was having a market day. Some of the villagers laughed at this weird group of tourists. Mangy dogs wandered among the stands.

We boarded a two wheel wagon with a cloth roof pulled by a motorcycle for a wild trip along what appeared to be a sidewalk to the Napo river, a huge tributary of the Amazon. In fact, it was a sidewalk, a bicycle path and a road for these vehicles (I’ll call them “surreys” though in place of a horse was a motorcycle.)The surrey careened past pedestrians, bicyclists and similar vehicles, passing numerous houses painted with political advertisements for mayoral candidates. We were being transported to a another boat on the Napo.

We were let off in a desolate place near a primitive dirt-floor house and several indigenous people nearby – or possibly mestizos. We began to wonder if we were going to be dinner for someone.

Walking a short distance, we then saw our boat waiting on the river. We were greeted by a Pedro who turned out to be the boat pilot. Twenty minutes later, the next surrey arrived. Gradually the rest of the group arrived. Apparently Juan had trouble hiring surrey drivers.

We boarded the Explorama boat on the Napo R. and motored to the Napo lodge for a breakfast of French toast with cane syrup and the usual array of fruits and juices, some of them unfamiliar. Here we saw a capybara, some trumpet birds and a yellow-tailed Oro Pendula bird. A light rain started.

We began the hike toward the canopy walk. We saw a viciously thorny palm tree, many epiphytes and a monkey pod tree on the way. The rain intensified.

We began our journey on the 13 separate suspension bridges connected by several “ stations” – partially covered platforms in the trees. Only 3 people were allowed on a suspension bridge and only 4-5 on a station at a time. The bridges gradually got higher, reaching 118 feet above the forest. A few people, including Nancy, had acrophobia and did not look down. The apprehension was increased by the slippery surface of the bridges and their swaying as we traversed them.

Drenched, we plowed through puddles and mini-streams to the ACTS research lodge where we wrung ourselves out, rested, observed a poison dart frog in Juan’s hand and then proceeded on the long hike through the downpour back to the Napo lodge. Robert remarked that this was “soaking the rich.” Many of us were shivering during our lunch at Napo lodge.

After lunch, we observed a medicine man describing his healing herbs. He performed a healing ceremony on a member of another group. A friendly green parrot decided to talk to Juan who talked back to him. It was hilarious.

From Napo lodge, we sailed for 1 ¾ hours down the Napo to the Amazon and then upriver on the latter, passing Indiana and numerous Amazonians fishing and their huts and boats on the way back to Ceiba tops.

Some of us took a water slide into a pool and frolicked their while two gorgeous red macaws flew overhead. Mike went bird watching and missed the macaws.

A great dinner was followed by a music and dance performance the indigenous youngsters in a group called Indiana Mia. Juan MC’d the event. The dances were emulations of rice growing and harvesting and making the liquor popular in the area.

Surprisingly, Mary Lynn met a Santa Barbaran ex-colleague, Carol Pichon – the 2^nd night in which she encountered Santa Barbarans. Juan pointed out a leaf-mimicking frog and a millipede near the lodge.