S 0.07750° W 77.65583°
Day and night you can hear the jungle sounds … This is truly a unique place! How cool is it to take your Spanish lessons in the middle of the jungle on the Napo River ?! Ok, grammar remains grammar and conjugating verbs is not my favorite activity, but it is sooo beautiful here! Every morning we have Spanish lessons from Juan, who does his best to attract more attention than the mosquitoes and flies 😉 After 2 weeks our poquito Español has already become a poco Español, so it is heading in the right direction! But just as much fun is discovering the Ecuadorian life in La Selva.
Travelling Classroom in the Jungle
We usually travel by boat across the river and when we move across the road we sit in the back of a taxi. You feel the wind through your hair, you are shaken all the time, but how nice it is. Jaime knows everything about the jungle and sets off with us every day. In addition to sailing over el Rio Napo, we have visited a butterfly garden and animal rescue center, we have visited indigenous families, we have made chocolate and much more.
One of the highlights was our trek through the jungle. It is so nice to see which animals live in the jungle and how people make smart use of nature. We have seen monkeys and caimans, eaten ants, tasted ‘blood’ from a tree, hurled through the jungle like Tarzan & Jane and especially enjoyed the impressive nature. In the dark it is all even more exciting, so we went out in the evening to spot wild animals. Unfortunately the sloths did not show themselves, but spiders abound!
And yes, if the river is at your feet, then we should enjoy it … we are going down the river in a tube! Super fun to lie in the water in the middle of the jungle and enjoy the Amazon. And if you think the week is over, the highlight is coming. With a nice walk we came to a waterfall where we could swim. This was a perfect end to the jungle week and a good refreshment after the nights of going out in the local disco. In any case, it is a must to visit the locals. Moreover, you suddenly speak a lot more fluent Spanish after a few beers 😉
The week has flown by and we are flying to Manta, it’s called the Traveling Classroom for a reason! On to new experiences with this experience in the pocket.