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.
Although Ecuador is a rather small country with only a percentage of 0.2% of the earth’s surface, over 25,000 plant species can be found here. José is completely in his element: He discovered already the first interesting plants, whose juice can be used e.g. for dyeing in neon orange or whose leaves can be used as improvised toilet paper. Even the berries of the “toilet paper plant” are edible (but don’t taste particularly good ).
While we are still walking along the muddy path at a leisurely pace, Manuel has already caught up with us. The horse running beside him adapts to his walking speed. Wow… How can an old man have that much energy? We hardly started the hike and are already gasping for air.
While Manuel continues to follow the path, we take a turn into the jungle. José opens a path through the jungle with a machete. I am really glad that we received rubber boots for the hike. This would not have been possible with normal hiking boots. The loamy ground often gives way and we have to try very hard not to slip and fall. After a while, we reach the stream that flows through the canyon. From now on we have to wade through water, climb over trees and abseil. An extremely exhausting but fun experience. We are often standing chest deep in the water – definitely a good decision to take a drybag backpack as a daypack . Several times we abseil down smaller waterfalls – always refreshing . Time goes by fast – after another “bath” in the canyon stream, we reach a wider spot with a larger boulder: The perfect table for lunch! We all set the table with some large leaves and José pulls some Tupperware out of his backpack. They don’t last long: I probably have never gulped down my food that fast. I didn’t even notice how hungry I was.
We rest for a while until we have to move on: We should be at the clearing before sunset – walking through the jungle at night can be dangerous for inexperienced people like us. I have completely lost all sense of time. Funnily enough, José is asking for the time right now – nobody took a watch or a mobile phone with them. The recording time of my last camera picture, however, could help. Unfortunately, I haven’t changed over to Ecuadorian time yet and still have GMT+1 in it. After some arithmetic (7 hours time difference) we come to the conclusion that we are quite well on time.
The ongoing journey is no less exciting: We come across a waterfall, where we have to rope down 15m one after the other. At the end a natural pool is waiting for us… REFRESHING!
But apparently, we look quite exhausted. Several hundred meters farther there is still a bigger abseil point about 30m. But we decide on José’s request to rather climb up again… and in retrospect, I believe he is glad that we have judged ourselves correctly: Not only does our energy decrease drastically, but also the climb up to the side of the canyon with the help of the rope is difficult. The ground is extremely slippery here and it takes a lot of effort to slowly get up the steep (that’s a good 60% ascent!) forest floor. More than once we have to take a break to regain our energy. I think the additional 30 meters we would have had to climb when we had visited the next waterfall would have finished us off. In the meantime, José tells us about another group that he had led through the jungle, which had overestimated themselves far earlier to the point where we had reached. It took them until 2 o’clock at night to finally reach the campsite.
Reaching almost the top of the path José instructs us to wait and approaches a nearby tree branch. He swings out with the machete, reaches for the ground and throws something far into the bushes. “A venomous snake”, José tells us when we ask what that was. A bite from it would be lethal after 3 hours without treatment. “Are there other dangerous animals here as well?” There are probably still some things in the jungle to watch out for – also a subspecies of the coral snake, or “20-minute snake”. The real killer here, however, seems to be the berries of a bush that looks almost identical to the “toilet paper plant”. You can only really tell them apart by looking at the color of the fruit pulp. “You don’t have more than 10 minutes after consuming them”. Alright. I definitely won’t eat anything I find on the way. When we finally reach the path at the top of the canyon, our legs are as flexible as rubber. However, it is more pleasant to be walking up here. Along the way we stop again and again and José shows us interesting specimens of flora and fauna: There are some plant species here which have milk-like liquids that have an antiseptic and pain-relieving effect. Even bites of bullet ants could be treated with it. I also would have never thought that apart from the resin of a local tree also rubbed-on termites (interesting lemongrass smell by the way) give a mosquito protection on the skin.
After about one more hour we arrive at the camp. Time to rest and enjoy the view. While we set up our tent, José and his father prepare dinner. A delicious smell leaves the hut. Hungry! This hike has really stimulated our appetite. We have a tasty paella-like dish with rice, chicken, potatoes and lots of chili. Tastes similar to a dish my grandma makes (Kritharaki with chicken) .
It turned dark quite fast – time to go to sleep, even if it is “actually” early… Tomorrow we have a long hike ahead of us again. Shortly before we crawl into the tent, we see a light approaching from afar. José welcomes the hiker who walks through the camp with a flashlight. Does he want to walk through the jungle at night to get to the city in the morning? I’m not surprised by the people who live in the jungle anymore – how can you be sure-footed in the middle of the night?
A night in the jungle is not exactly a quiet night – you can hear rustling and animal sounds everywhere. There are a lot of critters here that are nocturnal. Paired with the tent interior, which is isolated from the outside world, the whole place feels quite trippy. Eventually, nature calls and I crawl out of the tent entry. Whoa, cold! The sleeping bags are really needed. During the day the sweat ran down from all my pores. Arriving at the outside toilet a spider greets me, sitting on the toilet paper and I have also found some crawling things between my feet before: A dead scorpion or the skin of it? I should be careful where I step – under a UV lamp you could see the critters glowing by the way…
27 comments
This adventure looks right up my alley! I’ll have to check this area out!
You did! Waow! It’s my dream to sleep in the rainforest! How lucky you are!
I loooove jungle treks, so definitely adding this one to my list. Thanks so much for bringing it under my attention!
I love being one with nature and sleeping in the jungle sounds so fun!
What a great adventure! Loved your pics and post, very inspiring!
I love rainforests. These pictures are beautiful. I’ve slepy in a rainforest but not in a tent. The sounds un a rainforest are like no other!
this is exactly my kind of travel! Would love to try!
Wow.. you are much braver than me! I’m not sure I would ever be able to do this.. i don’t mind the outdoors but man! venomous snakes AND bugs.. hmm I’m thinking count me out haha!
That experience must be unforgettable. The truth is that insects scare me a little haha, but I love nature and it would be incredible an adventure in that beautiful place.
Wonderful Post!
Jungle adventures can be so exhilarating! Visiting a rainforest is one of the items on our bucket list and this helped us really understand what its like!
I would love to join you for such expeditions. Sleeping to the lullaby of raindrops falling on tree leaves is the best feeling ever!
This sounds epic! I love all your pictures and the post was so interesting to read. I have spent a few days travelling through jungles and rain forests so it really brought back a lot of memories for me! Glad you had such a good time
I would love to go to the rainforest one day, looks like such an amazing adventure.
This seems an amazing experience! Thanks so much for sharing with us. The only jungle I’ve been to was in a Bali and it’s pretty different
So…with the toilet paper plant, you’re gonna lose control of your bowels to a natural laxative, is what you’re saying lol. Well. If you were blocked up before the journey, now you’re not. Also, wtf is a 20 minute snake?? Like, seek help in 20 mins or you’re meeting your Maker? Yikes. That’s the scary thing about forests for me. The snakes, whether poisonous or not. Ugh!
Haha, no – you can use the leaves of the plant like toilet paper, that’s all. You just have to keep in mind that there is another, poisonous plant that looks quite similar (as I described in the post) . And yes, the 20-minute snake is indeed scary. José had brought some sorts of venom antiserum with him, yet it was something that roughly binds/counteracts different bites of certain species but not subspecies – meaning: it buys you time, but you’ll really have to visit a hospital ASAP.
Camping in a rainforest must be an exhilarating adventure! It wasn’t really on my bucket list but I feel it probably should be on my list after reading your post.
An awesome unique adventure indeed. The pictures are great.. brings the place alive
You crack me up with toilet paper plant lol. And it looks like a fun trip! Love hiking and camping from time to time just to disconnect from the chaos of the city. But that spider on the toilet paper would send me running outside even with my knickers on my knees lol.
I find you so brave for sleeping in the rain forest! I’m more scared of the bugs than of any other perils, because it’s a higher chance of encountering the first than the latter.
Wooooow. I have huge respect to those that can sleep and take adventures like this. It looks really good and something that is life changing.
This looks like my kind of adventure! I loved your pictures and it was overall a very exciting read. It must be an unforgettable experience!
Love to read your experiences. We have been to hundreds of forests and just love it. In those, there have been many wild encounters with snakes, pythons, tigers, elephants and hugest of spiders. The chilling thrills are exciting.
This sounds great – definitely more inspiring than some 4*-hotel. On the other hand, we got parasites under the skin just from hiking in the Peruvian jungle, so….but hey, no risk, no…adventure, right?!
Indeed – fun starts right at the border of your comfort zone
There is nothing quite like getting to grassroots to experience nature and the earth’s natural wonders. I bet camping in the rainforest is such an exhilarating experience. That said, as a wimp myself I’m not sure I could do it with all the critters and wildlife surrounding me…I wouldn’t sleep a wink! Ha!
Jaz
Yikes! Even living in Arizona, I can’t handle scorpions. You’re a brave soul! =)