Tena

Our next stop was Tena (pronounce it however the heck the you like, I heard at least ten different pronounciations from the locals alone). Tena was pretty much just an entry point for our jungle tour. So, as planned, we got there, found an arguably good tour agency, spent the night, complained to each other about the accommodations, and set out for the Amazon.

Something of note: Tena was built at the junction of two medium sized rivers. About two months before we got there, a heavy rain increased the water level in those rivers by over twenty feet and flooded the entire city. Workers were laying down brand new cobblestone streets on their main avenue while we where there. Laying them, hunched over, by hand, in the rain; it did not look fun...at all!

Casa Luna

On our last night in Banos, we went up to a little cafe that literally hangs off a cliff looking straight down on the little town, and had an early dinner and watched the sun set. It was another one of those awesome experiences that we are so glad we got to enjoy.

A funny thing: right at dusk, from afar, the soft glow of the electric lights make it appear as though there is hot lava flowing through the streets. Which is quite fitting, as Banos sits directly below an active volcano and is evacuated frequently.

Stairway to Heaven...

...or at least a shot at heaven, as the odds of surviving a walk down these stairs seemed slim.

Rio Verde

After a few hours of coasting and pedalling, we arrived in Rio Verde, not a town so much as a dirt road and a river. But the river produced some amazing waterfalls, and we hiked down to a very rickety, very high, very scary Indiana Jones bridge to get a great view of some of the falls. In the end, we paid a taxi-truck three bucks to take us back up to banos with our bikes.

Banos Bikes

One of the other things we planned to do, and did, in Banos was ride mountain bikes from Banos to Rio Verde. Essentially, coasting from the Andes to the Amazon. Well, it was not all coasting, I'll tell you that. But, I knew what they meant when they said "all downhill," because I now speak South American altitude, thanks to our Colca Canyon guide et al. Regardless, I'm not that adverse to exercise--especially in this form--and the trip was as it one might think: once in a lifetime!!

Banos Zoo

The animal prison, as I mentioned, was tucked into the side of a mountain, not so much just outside of town, but rather, just accross the huge gorge that ran along the edge of main downtown. The ride there and back, and the general layout of the facility were way more impressive than the prisoners on display. Which of course = you had to be there, but I'll post pics of the cute and strange animals anyway.

Where Were We...

...oh yeah, Banos, Ecuador. One of the very first things we did in Banos before we fell super-duper ill, was rent a gocart. It was the perfect vehicle in a perfect town for a driver like me. You know, one who likes to get completely lost before really knowing where he is? We took it for a few wrong turns, saw parts of the little town we never would have seen--like how part of the town is actually ready to pour its self off a hundred foot cliff, like one of the waterfalls that surround it--and then made our way up to the zoo.