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Punto Ahuano- 9:44 PM
I slept pretty well last night, despite the fact that there were birds and insects making noise all night. Thank God for ear plugs!
We got up at 7:15. I woke up with a couple more bug bites- one on my finger and one on my ankle. The one on my arm is pretty swollen, which I fully expect the others to end up looking like, too.
We went to breakfast at 7:30. We sat with Judy and Jose. I had eggs and fruit, as usual. We came back to the room to change for the day. I put on a tank top, black cropped workout pants, and my green lightweight jacket. We also put on our rubber boots that we've been borrowing from the hotel so we wouldn't ruin our shoes.
We met up with our group around 8:30. We took the motor canoes about 20 minutes up the river to the spot where we would begin our hike. After getting out of the boat, we took our life jackets off, picked up our walking sticks, and headed up the trail. We were divided into two groups- one group was going to do a more flat hike; the other was going to go up to the summit to get a great view of the landscape. I, of course, chose the more challenging hike.
Along the way, Carlos, the local guide, pointed out different plants and trees. We saw a rubber tree, a "monkey comb," and learned about trees that have the "roots" above ground. Carlos also pointed out the "bullet ant" whose bite stings like a bullet. The hike was a mix of flat and steep climbs through the mud, which was a nice challenge.
Along the hike, we got to do a short basket zip line, walk across a suspension bridge, and climb a vine. When we reached the summit after about 1 1/2 hours, we took some pictures and tasted some ants that had a lemon flavor. Yum!!!
The hike back down to the boat was pretty quick. We were in the boats only about 5 minutes up the river where we stopped to get on our log rafts. We were given the option to wait her get in the motor canoe or take a traditional log raft, built today especially for us, back to the hotel. Being adventurous, I of course wanted to be on the raft, even though it meant getting my butt very wet in muddy river water.
We left our shoes on the boat and 5 of us and our guide Jairo got on the raft. The water was cold but felt nice. Jairo paddled us down the river next to the motor canoe. It was very relaxing to be on the raft and it felt nice to be partially in the water after sweating during the morning hike.
We got back to the hotel after about 35 minutes. We got back to the room and laid out our wet clothes, even though we were pretty sure they wouldn't dry in the humidity very well. We put on our swim suits and headed to the pool.
I read on my Kindle for a while until it started to rain. We then took cover near the bar and hung out with Kristina and David from Kansas City. After a while, I decided it was time to shower before going to the animal rescue center.
After my shower, we met with the raft of the group at 3:00 to get on the canoes to take us to an animal rescue center that shelters wild animals that have been rescued from people's homes.
Our guide was a young German girl who was volunteering for a year. She showed us macaws, parrots, toucans, a cayman, monkeys, an animal that looked like a warthog, an ocelot, and type of mini jaguar. They all appeared to be in good health and were well taken care of. Of course, during our visit, I was bit by a bunch of mosquitoes. I hate having sweet blood!
We headed back to the hotel around 5:00. Dinner wasn't until 7:30, so I enjoyed a nice nap and read my book in the safety of my room. We headed to dinner at 7:15 and I was nearly first in line! I was really hungry, and have been a lot this trip. We have about 6 hours between meals and I'm used to eating every 3 hours. My snacks just aren't cutting it!
I had beef, potatoes, veggies, soup and cake for dessert. We sat with Dee and Sue from Phoenix and chatted with them about teaching. Sue is a retired principal so it was cool to hear stories from her experience.
After dinner, I used the internet briefly and headed back to the room to pack. We have a 6:30 AM wake up call tomorrow and we are heading back to the highlands- 9,000 feet in elevation, to be exact. And I am looking forward to saying "Adios mosquitoes!"
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