Tena – 
Exactly at 7.45 we get picked up by taxi – again we have a cookie breakfast today… but after the quite exhausting rafting yesterday we couldn’t think of getting up even earlier. I really hope that the snacks will give us enough energy to survive the day…
We stop at a junction and José, the ranger and our guide for today gets in. A little later we reach a gravel road which leads into a forest. We move forward quite slowly because we have to cope with a steep ascent. “I wonder if it gets cold here at night”, mutters Verena. We seem to have gained a few meters in altitude and have in the meantime driven through some fog.
The gravel road ends at a clearing and a “rock/clay road” follows. Manuel, José’s father, and his horse are already waiting for us here. We load our clothes on the horse and continue only with the absolutely necessary (We have taken each 2l water with us and also receive some isotonic drinks from José. We will need them for sure) slowly up the gravel path. Not at all easy, because the rain of the past days made the ground quite slippery. It takes quite a while until we reach the Mirador: A great view of the landscape is our reward. But we are not even remotely in the jungle. We keep walking and see the first inhabitants of the forest: Some leaf-cutter ants cross our path.
