Jungle Adventure Amazon

Upon arriving in Quito, there was a carnival atmosphere and we learned that Fiestas de Quito, the annual city festival, was taking place. Nevertheless, we organized our jungle tour first before plunging into the historic center on St. Nicholas' Eve. We watched a parade, listened to two concerts, and drank Calzano de Naranilla, a warm fruit-rum-cinnamon drink.

Finally, we headed to the jungle in Cuyabeno. We first took a bus to Lago Agrio, a hectic border town. On the fast drive, Marina spotted a huge rising plume of smoke, and it quickly became clear that it was coming from a volcano. Later, research confirmed that the Reventador volcano was indeed active! From Lago Agrio, we took a two-hour taxi ride to Puente and then a three-hour motor canoe ride to Nicky Lodge, our accommodation for the next four days. After Jonas discovered the first baby tarantula IN our room, we were always on guard against any nature invasions. We spent the following days observing animals from the boat, taking mini-walks at night and during the day, and visiting a family living in the jungle. Our highlights included seeing an anaconda, a very fast sloth, pink river dolphins, and "walking" trees.