Amazing Amazonia

Once the the road from Quito has crested the 13,000 ft summit of Papallacta Pass it barely pauses for breath as it snakes down the precipitous eastern face of the Andes to the steamy jungles of Amazonia. The three hour drive was spectacular thanks to the lack of traffic and the excellent state of the highway. The mountain views were stunning. The Amazon River discharges more water than the next seven largest rivers combined. It accounts for approximately one-fifth of the world's total river flow and when it enters the Atlantic Ocean its estuary is 150 miles wide. And it all starts here in the foothills of the Andes where thousands of babbling tributaries like this begin their lengthy journey to the ocean…

Here in the Amazon basin we are completely immersed in the exotic sounds, smells and sights of the jungle. The days are hot and humid but nightly thunderstorms cool the air -and keep us awake - as do the many monkeys who swarm us during the day whenever we sit down for a meal in our restaurant…

We call it “Our restaurant” because, dear reader, we are the solitary diners. The totally empty car park at our extensive eco-lodge gave us a clue when we arrived – we are alone in the jungle with enough rooms and staff for a hundred or more guests. We have the fabulous pool to ourselves…

We have our own little house, our own maid and waiter, and we even have a friendly cayman in our pond…

We are surrounded by stunningly beautiful plants…

Fabulously patterned butterflies…

And, of course, the ever present mischievous monkeys just waiting to grab something off our plates…

This is Lucas, a young capuchin who has learnt that onion juice is an effective insect repellent. He grabs one from the kitchen whenever he can and rubs himself all over. We can always smell when Lucas is near.

Now our few days in the jungles of Amazonia are coming to an end we are heading back into the mountains to soak in the volcanically heated thermal springs of Banos.