Catching up

Sorry we haven't updated in a while. You would think that we'd have the time given our lack of gainful employment but the competition for the laptop is fierce and the days have been full so we're way behind. Anne Nelson's site is much more up to date so I would encourage you to check there if you want to know what's going on now. I am happy to report that we got new photos uploaded today from Aguas Calientes and Buenos Aires.

Banyos and Puyo were highlights of our Ecuadorian experience. Our first morning there, we got back in the van with Pablos for a one hour drive to Puyo. I was a bit like riding with a car full of kittens, you jsut know some bad shit is going to happen. The terror de jour was driving through long unlit tunnels without our headlights. That was met with a chorus of screams, some in excitement, others in horror. Then we rode a terravita (translated: small cage of death on very high cable going very fast) across the Rio Verde. The kids loved it so much they did it twice. At $1 per ride, it was best adventure value I've ever seen. From there, we followed the river out of the mountains and into the jungle at Puyo. We visited two zoo's and a botanical jungle preserve. There we learned about the many uses for tropical plants and the lifestyles of two indigenous tribes, the Huarani and the Shwaar. You would recognize the Shwaars, they are the head shrinkers. Our guide was a hippy biologist from California who married a Shwaar woman and opened the preserve with donations from the US back in the 80's. Subsequently, it was confiscated by the government who neglected it for years during legal battle. The park was returned to it's rightful owners in the late 90's and has since been restored. The town of Puyo wasn't particularly noteworthy and I'm glad we decided not to spend the night there. Instead, we headed back to Banos for a second night and from there on to Quito.