Rafting in the jungle

We went rafting for the day in the jungle. There were seven of us per raft and we travelled a total of 25km. It was exciting but there were the odd scary moments. All of us were tossed into the water at some point! We finished off the day with a few beers and some salsa! Can you spot me and Stephen?

Amazon Basin

We spent 3 days in the Amazon jungle. We spent 2 nights camping (very noisy at night!) and one night in a lodge. We trekked through the jungle with Miguel, a local guide. He taught us a lot about the plants the indigenous people use to cure illnesses. We ate many of the plants and creatures. There is a ´lemon ant´which tasted of lemon sherbert! You will also see below a picture of me eating a fried queen ant. Tasted a bit like popcorn. We also visited a sanctuary for animals which had been kept as pets or found by customs. Sadly a lot of the animals we saw could not be released into the wild again. We also did a night hike-very scary particularly as there are spiders everywhere! We saw a sloth in a tree but it was too dark for a picture. Have a look at the picture of Scott with the tarantuala (I wasn´t as brave this time around!)

Otavalo

Otavalo is a wonderful market town. It is famous for the people who live there. They have a traditional dress, which is quite striking. Stephen got some lovely photos, but at times we had to barter the price. One dollar seemed to be standard!

Otavalo

Overland

We started the overland ón the 17th sept. We are having an amazing time;great group of people and the truck is fairly comfy. We have to call it a truck, not a bus or a coach or we get in trouble from our tour leader, Andy! Check out some of the photos of our new home!

La Escuela de Espanol

We have just finished a week of intensive spanish. 4 hours a day for 5 days. We even had homework, which Stephen was not happy about. Our spanish teacher Marta, was fantastic. She had a lot of patience as we mangled her beautiful language and she was a lot of fun. On the last day the school prepared a cake and everyone sang happy birthday to a group of us who had celebrated their birthday in the last week.
Marta-muchas gracias para todos. Nosotros aprendamos muchos. Nosotros vamos a estudiar en nuestros viajes. Tu es una profesora y persona maravillosa.



Us and our spanish teacher, Marta.

Cotopaxi Volcano Bike Ride

On Saturday we took a mountain bike tour down Equador's Cotopaxi Volcano, which lies in the Andes at 5897m and is the world's highest active volcano. The route took us through a lava field with huge boulders, ejected from the last major eruption in 1877. The terrain was mostly volcanic ash and sand so it was heavy going, especially with the altitude. Hope you all enjoy the photos as much as we did the ride!

Quito,Old Town

Quito's colonial old town

The hostel we are staying in,

Mindo, Ecuador.

We are now in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. It is 2850m above sea level or approx 9000ft. Surrounding the city are volcanic peaks. On Wednesday we travelled two hours away from the city to an area called 'Cloud Forest'. We based ourselves in a village called Mindo. The people of Mindo are very proud of the area they live in and maintain it by recycling organic matter. This is unusual for Ecuador as many of the people are poor and need the natural resources around them to survive. With a guide we went into the forest and saw a variety of birds, flowers and bugs! Check out the pictures below.

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Me and a baby tarantula.

Ecuadorian women enjoying a day out at the waterfall.

Enjoying coffee all the way from Israel. We met Tseela and Erez (to the left of me) at our hostal. Really nice couple.

The village of Mindo


Children from Mindo posing for a picture.

Hummingbird in flight



We jumped from this rock, next to a waterfall.

Goodbye Farewell from Kings Lynn Bus Station on a rainy day

Well Rebecca and Stephen managed to get off from Kings Lynn Bus Station on Thursday 31st August. It was a great day to be leaving Norfolk for a trip round the world as it absolutely pelted it down. Nicola Lucas and Jonah deposited them and all their worldly goods at the bus stop and waved them off. (A few tears were had.) All looked well for their journey ahead for about 3 seconds. As the bus was pulling out it was noticed that the luggage compartment was wide open with 2 very nice new rucksacks stuffed to the brim teetering on the edge ready to fall out! Luckily a chap stood at the bus stop noticed this error and shouted at the bus driver to stop and he safely secured the luggage and shut the doors! That was nearly the end of their journey, Rebecca would have had to have cancelled, what with not even one change of nickers! We all wish them the greatest of adventures