We set off after breakfast with Pierre, Wilson (with machete) and Elvis (the bird spotter!) to hike to Rio Pachijal. Siena's hand had swelled up alarmingly over night and when we showed it to Pierre he sent Sandro (who had spent 7 years with a medicine man!) off into the forest to get some plants - which must have had some powers because Siena almost fainted when the 2 saps were applied - although whether it had any effect on the swelling is debatable.

The walk itself was great - Finn and Derry out front with Pierre, who called them the cats they were so agile. After walking for about an hour we arrived at the river where we spent 15 minutes chillin', taking in the river and photos. On the way back we discovered that we definitely have two kinds of children- those who ascend (Siena) and those who descend. Both Finn and Derry complained big time on the way up until Derry got her second wind and accelerated up to the top. Siena, who had been unwilling all theway down, had reached the top with Elvis at full speed with Pierre a full 10 minutes behind! I wasn't surprised they tired, after 2 hours of arduous walking and clambering in fairly adverse conditions! Pierre was full of praise for them, their attitude and energy surpassed only by their general fitness - thank goodness for the swimming I say !

Lunch was fantastic again - the kids aren't totally enamoured, but they are all trying it - genuine Ecuadorian food, cooked well, in huge quantities (e.g pasta as a starter - a normal full size portion - then followed by chicken with rice. Alan even got to carve, clearly the household head prerogative. Sadly I was ¾ of the way through it before I realised it was upside down.

After lunch we chatted for a while with Pierre - what he's done is truly impressive - real humanitarian values - creating something unique, not just for commercial gain but also to help the ecosystem, educate people and generally create a full experience around the huge biodiversity of the Ecuador ecosystem.

More hummingbird watching (empress brilliant) and hammock swinging on the veranda and a piece of reportage filming from Derry & Finn helped us chill in the afternoon.

Finn was sufficiently motivated by the whole experience to write a rare piece in his journal which boldly stated that the food was RUBBISH!After our chillout, Derry was rewarded for her morning efforts by a horse ride on Lucas, led by Wilson on the lead rein. Happy girl!

The evening held the same pattern, with far too much food, including an ever different array of blended fruit juice, and a brief chat with some other guests. Seems like the birdlife is best in the early morning so we agreed to a 6.30 start with our guide Julia tomorrow....