An early morning hike was in my plans I wanted to check out the scenery. I step outside and I find a distant mountain peak covered in snow. The ride in the buss the day before was overcast and rainy so it obscured the mountains. Tracy (Bristol, England) apparently had the same plans so she joined me for a couple miles worth of hiking up the hill. Just as we were about to turn around and come back we found a little foot path that followed the river back to the lodge. Really nice pathway but I lost count just how many spider webs I caught with my face. I figured, I would never get the spiders out of my hair. After a delightful breakfast it was time for the walk back down the hill to the bus. A scheduled 4 hour ride to Tena turned into a three hour ride even with a 25 minute delay for road construction. Apparently there is a small problem with landslides. With the extra time Peit and I were able to walk around Tena and then go have lunch at a local hotspot. We were scheduled to be in the jungle for the next 2 days no electricity and no access to a local 7-11. Well they don't have 7-11 here so we have to settle for a minimaxi. So the hunt was on for a beer supply that was worth drinking. You can't seem to find good tequila and good beer in this country. So I had to make do with a few six packs of club. It does the job but nothing else. So Peit (Darwin, Australia) and Mickel (Denmark) and myself emptied their shelves of club. With the 30 minute ride into the outskirts of town and I mean outskirts we arrived at Delphine and Estella´s home. A very simple and yet very nice lodge slash farm with no electricity for miles around. Nestled in the mountains close to a creek this place was great. A short hike to get an amazing view from the cliffs over looking a large river and a little information about the local flora was first on the list. Second was to get the bathing suit and go for a swim in the pond that the family had made by damming up the stream. Damn howdy, that was that nice. A pristine setting with no noise other than that provided by the jungle and the sighs of relief from road weary travelers. After cooling off for a while it was time for a candle lit dinner. It was a lovely dinner cooked for us by our hosts. Traditional fair with all ingredients grown there on their humble farm. After dinner we went through the introductions and a nice little performance by the children. It was a rock concert literally. The kids banged rocks together to make music. It was really cool. Flintstones here we come. Delphine was kind enough to share with us some of his personally grown tobacco. He hand rolled us cigars rolled in banana leaves. Wow what flavor... The best cigars I have ever had. Of course with it getting late, road weary and a little buzz skirting our sanity. The pot insinuations and jokes came out then the giggling and laughing began. And a bit of who could smoke the roach to the bottom without smoking their fingers. I can say it got a little hot on the tips... Dude, I got the munchies...
