Welcome to the Jungle: Our last-minute adventure to Tena, complete with karaoke & caves

It was pretty much a done deal as soon as Sophie, Jess, & I got on the bus to Papallacta on Friday morning and started wondering out loud if we had just let the “tired Thursdays” get to us when we had decided not to go to the rain forest in Tena for the weekend—about five minutes on our way towards Papallacta (for hot springs, hiking, and potentially snow) we had decided to get off the bus in Baeza and change to a bus to Tena. The fun part of that bus ride was definitely the guy sitting next to me who looked like the winding/bumpy road was getting to him more and more all the time…

There were already 12 people from our program there whom we were meeting, which was cool. We got into our riverfront hostel in the early afternoon and immediately headed across the river to the Parque Amazónico to see the animals and to swim.

After seeing the rope swing that some of our friends had swung off of earlier and realizing that we had no chance of clearing the rocks below, we decided against following in their footsteps and instead followed our mini guide for the day, a 10-year old girl names Rocillo whose dad is the main guide at the park. She took us to the river and explained a lot of the plants and animals to us, which was so much fun and super interesting. The rain forest is so beautiful and anacondas aren’t too scary when they’re in a cage…to be frank the toucans were more aggressive.

Friday night we all headed to this karaoke place to enjoy the fact that we had 15 of 29 people from our program present. Needless to say, when you start with “Gangsta’s Paradise” it’s going to be a good time. We were the only people singing and definitely the only gringos in the place…so the natives got a kick out of our exuberance. My favorite was probably when we all sang “Let it Be” together—you have to love the Beatles.

Saturday morning we tried guayusa, a tea made from leaves only found in the Amazon. Later on, we headed to the caves in Jumandy. They were so cool!!! We got super mineral-muddy but it was a $3 guided tour plus spa treatment basically because it’s so good for your skin. That was hands-down my favorite part of the trip, squishing around with 14 amazing people and plastering mud all over us (much to our awesome guide’s entertainment).

We needed a shower...

The most remarkable part of caving was, however, when we were coming out the back end. Felipe and I were ahead of the group, scrambling up mossy boulders into rainforest and then when we got the top we had the most mind-blowing view of the surrounding valleys and forest. To say that everything was green is an understatement…I really was speechless. I’M IN ECUADOR!!!

In our most mature move of the day, Dave, Felipe, & I decided that since we were completely covered in mud we should run down the hill back to the complex as if we were on a hunt or something…I almost fell so many times but it was pretty hilarious scampering down the hill to the spigots to rinse off before taking advantage of the pool and water slides below.

When it came time to go, our group broke up because some people were going to hitchhike and some of us were going to head back to a nearby town and eat before catching our 5 to 6-hour bus home to Quito. The best part was that once those of us had spent two hours eating/waiting for a bus in Archidona and were passing by the caves again, we ended up picking up the last group of hitchhikers. Oh, the irony.

It was a great trip; and to say that I am very happy we changed our mind is an understatement. It was, however, pretty funny when we would dig in our bags for clothes because we thought we were going to Papallacta and so we had fleeces, knit caps, sweaters, etc., and to say Tena is hot and humid is to say that the north pole is moderate. Luckily we had just enough clothes to last through our roughly 24-hour stay in the region.

The sad part was that it was our last trip before our internships. The happy part is that we had so many people to share it with. I can’t believe that next weekend is my last in Quito before I head to San Clemente…I’m so nervous and excited but I really have no clue what to expected.

Oh, and so you have an idea of what great movies we see dubbed on the buses, this weekend was: Face/Off, First Blood (aka Rambo 1), Rambo: The First Blood pt. II, and Nowhere to Run. Thank goodness for action movies when you’re winding through the most beautiful nature you’ve ever seen in your entire life.