Last weekend we drove to Tena with our friends Nick and Vanessa and Vanessa’s visiting cousin, Tom.  Tena’s on the other side of the mountainous and volcanic terrain that Quito is part of (about a 4 hour drive away) and has been the traditional jumping off point for trips into the Amazon.  Though Mindo was our introduction to the jungle, Tena is the kind of jungle you read about; big insects, large leaved plants, and lots of rain.  We were lucky to discover that Tena was celebrating its founding that weekend.  The two day festival had live music, tons of people, and lots of food vendors.

We stayed in the Pakay eco-lodge.  The cost of our stay at the Pakay included a fantastic breakfast of fruit, bread, spreads, and pancakes or eggs.  A great way to start the day.

Our first day, we went rafting down the Hollin and Jongachi Rivers.  River People, the guide company we used, pioneered the routes down the local rivers and did a great job of balancing safety and adventure.  After a 45 minute hike down to the put in, we were off.  The water was an amazing temperature, and a far cry from the snow fed rivers in Colorado, as the rivers here are primarily fed by rain water.  Conditions were favorable even though the rainforest was in the middle of its dry season since it had been raining hard for a few days.

The trip took most of the day.  That evening we went out in Tena, taking in the festival and even finding a cocktail bar opened by an expat.  It was a nice respite from our two choices of drinks we’re generally exposed to here; Pilsener and Club brand beer.

On our way out of town back to Quito on Sunday we stopped at “Monkey Island”, a lodge property that accepted day guests to explore the grounds where a large group of monkeys resided.  It was amazing to see monkeys for the first time, though when the forest randomly moved and rustled around you it was a bit unsettling.  One monkey in particular put a bit of a show on for us.  We all sensed she was having a bit of fun and liked the attention.  Another neat discovery were countless leaf cutter ants.  They eat mold that grows on leaves they bring under ground into their nests.  Amazing.  We’ll definitely go back to the area.