My halloween was spent crawling through a bat-filled cave

Photos of my last trip can be found here: http://picasaweb.google.com/rebeckyrose/ViajeAlOrienteTripToTheJungle#

Now I can say I have seen the three main ecosystems of Ecuador. I live in the Sierra, I have been to the coast, and I just returned from the jungle, known as El Oriente here.

The trip was a good time, I would have to say the highlight was our Hostería called Hakuna Matata. Amazing food, a huge freshwater pool, secluded jungle chilling...a fully stocked bar didn't hurt either...Otherwise we spent our time tubing down el río Napo, a tributary of the Amazon river, and did a little cave hiking, which involved driving about an hour to a teeny tiny village where seemingly all the family, numbering some 20 people, accompanied our group on the journey. Kids, grandpas, and everyone inbetween was with us in the cave, which took about an hour total to navegate. We had flashlights, and bats flying in our faces most of the time. When we came to the opening which was also a small waterfall, I stood under it and let the chilly water refresh me.

After that excursion we came back to their home and were treated to a traditional meal, which included yucca, palmito (heart of palm I think we call it) fish, and of course some random bugs cooked in a banana leaf. Honestly, they were good.

It was nice to get away and enjoy such a wonderful accomadations, and now here we are on election day...I am planning on heading downtown in a few hours to find a bar that will be playing CNN so I can take part in the festivities (I am an optimist...but we will find out soon enough) On that note, GO OBAMA!