March 3rd & 4th - Monkeying around

March the 3rd was spent doing chores around Quito. Laundry, supermarket shopping, that kind of thing. The afternoon was nice though as Chloe and I went shopping to the market – I actually enjoyed shopping with a girl! We ate at the ‘G-Spot’ that night (yes, that was the title of the restaurant) for cheese burgers and chips, although as I was hungry Hilde recommended I went to Aladdin’s for a kebab which was lovely. We watched Juno that night (which was hilarious) before getting an early night to be ready for the Amazon! Oh and I didn’t take any photos at all. So…

As I had packed my bag last night, I could roll out of bed last but still be first down for breakfast. The bus journey to Tena was uneventful except in my head. I was having doubts about me and Chloe. I hoped the thought wasn’t true but I started thinking that we may have just been friends who got caught up in the excitement of a possible romance in a strange foreign country, thousands of miles from our usual comforts. Plus, as I found out the night before, Chloe isn’t properly over her last boyfriend. I just was thinking that if we had had our drunken kiss at home, without being forced into spending 24 hours a day together, then things may have gone differently. But after two weeks I knew I really liked her – I just wasn’t sure in which way.

The hostel in Tena was heaven. The décor was beautiful, with tree trunks as the table stands. A beautiful stream ran beside the dining area, complete with a very tiny set of rapids and the most petite beach ever on the other side. I took a walk around the grounds and it was just stunning.

A few of us then took a walk to a nearby river which was (unsurprisingly) amazing. It made me realise that I was actually standing in the friggin Amazon! I honestly could not believe how lucky I was. Some parts of the river had mini rapids which had a Jacuzzi effect – although some parts were stronger than others!

But the best part was the animals. The parrots were pretty cool and crazy, flying around landing on the bananas (and were an extremely close second to the blip for a photo of two parrots kissing). The Toucan was wonderful and so pretty (third in the blip ranks). He had beautiful colours in his feathers, soft eyes and was so comfortable around humans – what a bird.

I also loved the Monkeys and have given them the blip prize. I was so excited when Hilde first pointed them out to me that I was almost left behind as I just followed them about. When I saw them later again I started following them all over again, especially the cute baby ones. They were walking around the beams in the dining area and were very entertaining. They were truly astonishing creatures.

It was raining most of the afternoon as I wrote in my journal and chased photo opportunities with the animals. It was a nice atmosphere with people, reading, writing, playing cards or playing pool (Sally and I wooped Tara and Maïté). The electricity cut out which made for a very romantic dinner with candles lighting our way. Afterwards a few of us sat around discussing the differences in cultures, education systems and people of our respective countries and the European Union – it was so nice to have intelligent conversations with people of the same age but having had such different experiences. A wonderful part of the travelling experience.