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We had 99% humidity overnight which meant we had to wipe everything down inside the motorhome because it was wet. Even our water canisters were dripping wet on the outside! By now Kirsten was in cleaning mood so whilst I was preparing our breakfast she also swept out.
Back on the road again we had even more potholes and road damage to contend with. We only managed 20mph (30kmh)! We pulled off to get to the Amarun waterfall but the gravel road was really bad. We scraped the underside several times so I turned around and parked up because the road was getting worse, if that's possible!! We took it in turns to walk down to an area with nicely laid out paths. It looked like they normally charge an entrance fee but there was no one around. We didn't stay long and then only just managed to drive back up the steep, rocky road to return to the main highway!
We kept trying unsuccessfully to get an internet connection but then suddenly got 3G right on the road! So I just pulled to the side, put on the 4 way indicators, so we could get emails etc, and check out possible places to stop.
We stopped at two different places en route because we'd have to drive back this way again, seeing as the only other route is blocked so we might stay at one of them on our return. But we chose a different place for that night - Aguaventura. It cost $2-50 per person to see the waterfalls and no charge to park up for the night on the large carpark.
It was 5-10pm when we arrived so we quickly put on our bathing stuff and walked down well laid out but slippery paths, using the many hand ropes and rails to get down to the waterfalls. We went for a refreshing swim under the waterfall! We didn't have long because it gets dark by 6-30 pm. We had quick bowl washes once we got back and then went for yummy chicken, boiled potatoes in their skins and salad, along with Mora juice. Afterwards the owners took us 200 metres away to see a big tarantula!
The next morning we walked along the whole path in our hiking boots and then got changed to go swimming at the Jumping Jaguar waterfall. The water was colder than yesterday and we also climbed over slippery rocks, up a chute, to get to the waterfall pool and used a bridge for photos and videos. After taking cold showers we watched small tamarin monkeys feeding on fruit. We had a super time there and decided to stay again on our way back - which turned out to be the worst possible decision! But that's in a future report!
It was 2-30pm by the time we left and didn't take long to leave the mountain area behind. We drove along a very good road at around 400 metres above sea level. There was a lot of traffic but it was easy driving. We stopped in a small town for the night at the El Eno river where everyone goes swimming. We were sweating buckets as we were now well and truly in the Amazon area of Ecuador. So we fetched a bowl of river water to put our feet in to cool us down!! It worked!! Unfortunately we didn't sleep much due to barking dogs that only shut up once the thunder and lighting came and it poured with rain. Or maybe the weather drowned out the sound of the barking dogs?!!
We drove through the busy city of Lago Agrio the next day and picked up supplies from the market and a supermarket. We continued along a partially bad road - tarmac interspersed with gravel stretches - and finally got to the ranger station for the Cuyabeno Fauna Reserve.
We talked to Mr Modesto and asked about tours. We got his name from iOverlander but unfortunately he doesn't have a licence to do tours and can only take people when the lodges are full. The National park office was closed but we spoke to two people who said we could only get tours by contacting one of several agencies in Quito who organise them. But ... there's no internet or phone connection here! So we'd have to drive 20km back along the road to the town of Tarapoa and phone up at 10am the next morning.
As it happened we didn't need to do that because one of the men managed to get a connection and we booked a whirlwind 30 hour tour to the Tucán Lodge starting at 6am the next morning! It was a bit of a whirlwind that night aswell because we spent almost 3 hours packing everything we needed and sorting the motorhome out. At 10-30pm we drove to a different spot at the ranger station where we could safely park whilst we were away and ended up getting zero sleep!! Hopefully our last minute trip is worth it - but that's for the next report!
