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three gringos in the jungle |
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The News -
Sintaxis Stories
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This year we decided to spend our holidays in Ecuador. It's impossible
to see everything in two weeks time. That's why we tried to see as much
as possible. Also a trip to the jungle had to be made. More or less
short term Iooked for something nice in the internet and I got to a page
of a language school in Ecuador -- Sintaxis.net
Hoping that all would work I was really surprised getting an answer in
German. David Zünd - a voluntary worker from Switzerland - was my
contact person. He arranged everything for us and made also the contact
to the general manager Enrique Guzman.
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Finally the departure time arrived. Due to some problems with the
booking process Chri's plane left already at 6 a.m. from Vienna to
Frankfurt. Toni and followed at 8 a.m. From Frankfurt we flew on the
same plane to Caracas in Venezuela. A bit stressed and confused we
looked for the desks where we would get the tickets for our connection
flight. Having arrived there they were already waiting for us. So we
went on to the check-in because there had already been a call for the
flight. We didn't care that much. From the right gate we were sent to
another gate where the plane wasn't leaving as well. We had to wait
quite a long time and got a free meal because the flight crew couldn't
be found. Time passed and the appointment made with enrique had to be
changed to the next day. Finally we could board the plane. Very tired we
tried to fall asleep in the cold air plane. After arrival we had to
pass the boarder controls. Exactly at midnight we managed to step out of
the airport building. Ecuador!
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The next day we met the General Manager of Sintaxis and talked about
all the details of our tour. Then we said goodbye and drove to the old
city of Quito by taxi. There we looke for something to eat first before
exploring the city. Because it was Saturday the streets were crowded and
streets market open. Lots of shoes t-shirts ans even fridges and
washing machines (that were carried by a single man) could be bought. We
also visited the Basilica del Voto Nacionale. This is an unfinished
cathedral which stands up a hill in Quito from where one can enjoy an
amazing view over the city. Through a window one can even see the virgin
monument. It became more and more dark and we became hungry. "La
Mariscal" is a small touristic centre in the city with several bars. So
we went there to eat. Finally we became very sleepy and the bed in the
"Hotel Cayman" was our last goal for this evening. |
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The next morning we packed our backpacks and
took only a part of our luggage with us. Our bus to the jungle left at
11 p.m. The time until 11 p.m. we spent at "Mitad del Mundo", so at the
equator line. There is a smal touristic center for all the tourists that
want to take a walk on both halfs of the globe. The time there was
pimped up by restaurants, bars and several performances of localy known
artists. Well, we had a lot of time there. For lunch I tried a
speciality from the north of Ecuador: "Cuy" - guinea pig. It was a new
experience to eat something like this but overall it wasn't that bad. In
the evening we returned to the city and went to a bar. We intended to
spend the time drinking some beers but on Sundays there isn't any
alcohol served in Ecuador. Finally it was time to get on the bus. 8
hours bus trip were in front of us. Sleeping was not that easy at all
but we tried. |
| In the early morning the Bus arrived in
"Lago Agrio" which was the meeting point for the start of the jungle
tour. In a hotel we had breakfast and could refresh us a bit. After othe
people of the jungle tour group had arrived one of our guides came to
pick us up. We heard that we still have 2 hours of driving ahead before
arriving to the real jungle. The bus drove including a stop caused by a
military controlto the Cuyabeno National Reserve. After having a snack
we drove in a boat 28km up the river to our jungle lodge. On the journey
the group got to know the jungle very well. Plants, apes, fishes,
dolphins and a lot more... We even couldn't manage it to make so many
pictures and above all we wondered how our guide called Jairo could see
all that. We as Austrians were in a group consisting of a couple from
Australia, 2 swiss friends, one brothers and sisters and one single
traveller from England. The boat captain was always waring his
sunglasses (during night and day time) but he managed it to bring us
from one point to the other. |
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Having arrived in the lodge we went to our
rooms. Because they were built very naturally it can happen that
sometimes there is a frog or a spider in the shower. But don't worry!
It's not usual and they are not poisonous. Then we drove on the lagoon
where we could observe some dolphins. Afterwards we took a swim in the
nice river and it was amazing. When we returned to our lodge in the
evening our guide showed us a snake in the darkness. Dinner was served
in the open dining-hall. It was always very good. There were several
groups and every group had its own guide. We all went to bed quite early
because we were really tired after those tiring long days. While
sleeping we were protected by a mosquito net. The climate was really
humid and warm. |
The next morning, the next adventure. A
jungle walk was planned. With rubber boots and rain coats we were set
out in the deepest jungle. Jairo went ahead and explained us the
development of the plants and trees. We saw also some jaguar tracks on
the humid ground.The benefit of some plants and animals were explained
for example ants as a natural mosquito protection or bark against fever.
A ride on liana is couldn't be omitted as well. The walk continued
through a small everglade which was harder to cross than we had thought.
We were lucky that our boots were high enough to prevent the water and
the mud from getting in. But some of us couldn't keep the balance and
fell to the ground. That also happened in our groupe. In the rain forest
we didn't even notice that it was raining pretty heavy. But when we
came out of the forest we noticed and put on some rain coats.
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The atmosphere wasn't bad at all despite the rain because afterwards we
went fishing some piranhas. Rain stopped but we weren't that lucky in
fishing and instead of fishing we more or less only feeded the piranhas.
The few piranhas we caught we had to throw back into the water again.
It became dark and we prepared us for the night walk in the jungle.
Equipped with pocket lamps we walked one behind the other into the
jungle. Several never seen beatles and spiders we could see more or less
early. The Australian guy was even so courageous to let a spider sit on
his face. The walk went on across the jungle accompanied by strange
noises. With respect and a bit afraid we went on until Jairo discovered
something that made us hush. There was a banana spider sitting 2 meters
away from us. This is one of the most dangerous spiders worldwide. After
taking several pictures we finished the night walk and drove back to
the camp where we found a Cayman in the middle of the lodge. There was
also a tarantula walking around and some very courageous guys took it
from the ground. (Tarantulas feel some kind of fluffy.) After diner we
spent some time sitting together before everybody went to sleep. |
The next morning we drove to a village of
native people some km away from the lodge in even deeper jungle. After
arriving we first tried to hit a fruit with a very big blast pipe and
played with the ape (pet) called "Nacho". Unsuccesful we followed a
inhabitant which showed us how they make bread. After harvesting a root
she cleaned it in the bakehouse which was a cottage with 4 not airtight
walls made out of wood. The root was brayed and the juice was squeezed
into a jar (with this juice later they prepare a soup). The rest was
baked without any other ingredients over the open fire and then tried
with jam or tuna and wow: it was just great! After this snack we left
the village. On the river we ate the food we took with us from the
lodge.
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The trip continued to another village where our guide Jairo had grown
up. There we should have been meeting a shaman. Because it was a bit
crowded we had to wait some minutes. Then we could meet him. We stepped
without shoes into a room where he was waiting for us. Jairo translated
the biography of the shaman to the groupe. Then he wanted to show as a
ritual. He showed it with a Swiss lady. She was aloud to sit in front of
him and he took away all the bad energy she had inside her. He said
that maybe she will be really tired afterwards (back in the lodge she
first went to sleep a bit). |
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Afterwards we returned to our lodge. After diner we went for a swim
again and could enjoy the amazing sunset. We spent the last evening
together drinking some drinks and enjoying the time. Just before we went
to sleep Jairo told us that the next morning we will observe birds.
After a short night we met pretty early in the morning at the boat. We
could see several birds and we also met some small apes that we usually
saw every day. It was a nice, unforgettable time which passed really
fast. These impressions are just unforgettable. After a boat ride back
to the street in the Cuyabeno Park we put our luggage into the bus and
drove back to Lago Agrio where we took another bus to Quito accompanied
by some others of our jungle groupe. After passing 2 military and police
controls we arrived earlier than we thought in Quito and walked back to
our hotel. After puting everything into the rooms we went to eat
something. Afterwards we went to bed where we began to dream about the
jungle experience we had made...
At this point I want to thank (in my name but also in the name of
my friends) the Samona Team especially our tour guide Jairo. And also
many thanks to the really good kitchen team in the lodge. Anyway, the
biggest thank goes to David Zünd and Enrique Guzman from Sintaxis. They
organized the trip to the jungle and made it possible for us to get to
know the amazing Cuyabeno National Reserve. Thank you so much, it was
really great!
(If you would like to know how it continues with the "three gringos" you can read on on our homepage www.rover-gm.at
Josef Handler
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