Enter Into the Jungle

the meeting of two rivers in Tena. One clear and one muddy.

 We arrived in the 33,000 people sized town of Tena in the late afternoon. This town is called ¨ the cinnamon capitol of the world.¨ The bus station was busy and a volleyball game was going on. Folks were very nice in this town and some spoke a little bit of English which is always helpful.  

This town is known for its whitewater and is popular for rafting and kayaking. It´s also a hub for folks heading into or out of the Amazon Jungle. I looked around for tours going into the Amazon, but it seemed a bit out of my price bracket. I was going to take a cultural day tour but the shop was never open. 

So, I started a tradition in 2004, that I have to take a river trip at least once a year. Since it is now 2015 it seemed like the logical thing to do to start the year off right. ! So, I signed up for a full day of whitewater rafting on the Jatunyacu River with Class III+ rapids with The River People rafting company.  It was a fun group of eight and most other folks were from Europe and one from Canada.

photo by ecudorianrivers.org

As with all things in life, it is not always sunny and filled with beautiful roses. We did witness some gold mining going on right next to the river and also some illegal gold mining from common folk that were using disel powered small machines right in the river. We also learned that up river some large mine was using arsenic to seperate the rock as it is a cheap way to do so.

It was mostly an overcast day but when the sun did come out for lunch, wow did the colors just POP.  Also, when the sun does come out it is quite intense here on the equator. It hurts my eyes and you can feel it scorching your skin. Later in the day, I treated myself to some pizza later in the day, and YES dad, it was really good! I was really surprised!

homer likes beer and discotech !