Today we headed to Quito. Sad to leave the Amazon area but looking forward to being dry and having less bugs! We had a great breakfast and headed towards Quito. Our plan was to stop at the AmaZOOnico rescue center and check it out before heading to Quito.
We drove to a riverside town and hired Pedro to take us down the river to AmaZOOnico. He had a traditional flat bottom boat with an outboard. We had a great trip on the water and stopped first at an organic Chocolate (Cacao) farm. The proprietor showed us how they pick the fruit, ferment the beans, roast the beans, peel the beans BY HAND, and manually grind the roasted beans. We will never again question the price of a handmade artisanal bar of chocolate! He then took the cocoa that we ground, added water, lemon tea, honey and sugar, and made delicious chocolate; we all ate it on some bread. Absolutely delicious!
We then got back on the boat and headed to the rescue center. They take in animals that have been illegally trafficked, or removed from unhealthy situations. We saw parrots, spider monkeys, tapirs, turtles, and many other species. Unfortunately our guide had the personality of a loaf of bread! He is volunteering for a year from Spain and I'm guessing he regrets his plan!
After we left the refuge we got back on the boat and headed to where Pedro lives. He showed us his traditional hunting gear, a 3 meter long blow gun! Everyone got to try it. Abby, Peyton and Simo all hit the target on the first try, Chris took 2, and Eileen and I celebrated our tremendous distance capabilities rather than accuracy! Pedro then took us to a lagoon area nearby and baited a stick to attract caimans. Very creepy. We are in no hurry to explore unknown murky water on our own. Abby and Peyton fed the caiman and the rest of us watched.
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What an amazing experience! Sounds like a phenomenal trip!
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