29.08.11

Tena

On Monday, 29.08.11 I wanted to take the bus from BANOS to TENA at 8.30am…..but as I arrived to late at the bus terminal I missed the direct bus to TENA.

Well…it wasn't too bad as there was another bus going to PUYO and from there were plenty of buses to TENA.

When we arrived in PUYO I bought my ticket at the office of the bus company and I was quite surprised and happy when the lady from the office drove me with her private car to the bus stop which was only 3 blocks away.

However, when the bus arrived the whole crowd of waiting Ecuadorians wanted to get on the bus at the same time. Puhhh and when I finally managed to get on the bus I had to stand in the aisle. Well as TENA was only two hours away I didn't mind to stand ….and usually people are getting off as soon we drive through the country side.

But the lady, who sold me my bus ticket came into the bus, took my hand and placed me on the front seat right next to the bus driver. Wow…I felt very special….but to be honest, I had no idea why I was treated differently.

And as usual the bus driver and the money collector tried to squeeze in as many people as possible. So they placed another family with four kids and an Ecuadorian lady behind the bus driver's seat.

The next two hours were just incredible!!! The bus driver, "cobrador" (money collector) and the Seniora were asking me a lot of questions about my travels and about Germany. The whole bus ride was so much fun that the time was just flying by and suddenly we arrived in Tena. During the trip I asked the money collector to take some photos and as well we exchanged our phone no. and email addresses.

When I told the bus driver that it was my best and my funniest bus journey he gave me a big hug and told me that he will visit me in Germany.

Then I took my backs, jumped into a taxi and we drove to the "Hostel Limoncocha" where I had a reservation for one night. After I have checked in I went straight into town to find out if I could find a three day tour into the jungle. I went to several Tour companies and two offers sounded quite interesting…..but when I returned to the hostel, Michael the German owner asked me if I would like to join a group of 5 people to the Jungle close to Limoncocha!?

Although the tour was quite expensive I agreed and three hours later I was sitting in the bus to the "Laguna Limoncocha".