Up 7am today breakfast at 8am leave Misahualli 9am decked out in gumboots and looking very elegant, we can only take our day packs containing pyjamas, change of clothes, toiletries, cameras, insect repellant and leave the rest of our worldly goods in the safe keeping of our hostel. Travel by motorised canoe to go down Rio Napa River(a tributary of the Amazon) to a point locally known as Monkey Rock, the official starting point for our first jungle trek of approx 5 hours taking us through the secondary jungle, pretty tough going at times with the heat, humidity and especially when it rained quite heavily making it very muddy and slippery, we negotiate what we are told by our guide to be 4 quite steep hills but I am sue there are many more. On arrival at jungle hut site we have 20 mins to freshen up for lunch which is local food served in a larger jungle hut. As we settle in for lunch Gemma notices a small tarantula spider(just a small one but still far too big in my opinion) sitting very quiet and still beside her on the banana leaves which are used as a tablecloth, one of the staff at her request very nicely pick it up and throw it outside. Lunch is lentils, rice, carrot and parsnip and banana chips. We have some time to rest up after lunch and then at 4.15pm we are once again transported by canoe up river to visit a native family who demonstrate basket making to us, we also try some local mashed potato and a nasty drink made from same potato. The father demonatrates how to use a poison dart to catch prey of which I also try but am sure I would starve if having to depend on this as my weapon of choice to catch my food (guess it's a good thing I don't live in the jungle). The family have 13 children but 2 months ago acquired a television set powered by solar enery so I guess now they will have something else to do. We head back to camp where dinner is served at 7.30pm more lentils, carrot, parsnip, rice, curried chicken and dessert is tree tomato in a sugar syrup very nice. We make a camp fire and sit around and talk but everyone is ready for bed by 9.30pm it´s been a big day.
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