Days 1-3, February 13-16

On February 13th I left Boston to begin my Ecuador Adventure. I am sharing this trip with 21 educators from Massachusetts. Our first day was a long day of travel. We flew out of Boston with a connecting flight in Houston before arriving in Quito, Ecuador. Our first night was spent at the Hotel Isabel Reina in Quito. After a quick 5 hour sleep, we were back on the road to head into the Amazon.

Our drive into the Amazon was an interesting one. The roads were windy with many changes in elevation. The bus ride took over 5 hours, but we did stop for lunch along the way. Our lunch started with soup made from chicken, plantains, and yucca followed by rice, lentils, and flank steak. They had a wonderful hot sauce that complimented the soup and steak well.

We arrived in Tena by the Napo River late in the afternoon. We then took long boats down river to the Bosque Protector, an animal rescue center. Our boat ride was rather eventful as we were stuck for a few moments on rocks in a rapid and we almost tipped over in another rapid. We went into the rapid sideways and a wave came over the edge. A few of us, myself included, got a it wet.

When we finally arrived at the rescue center, we were able to tour the AmaZOOnica to see and learn about what animals they were helping. The birds were numerous, ranging from parrots to scarlet macaws. Many of the birds were pets that were found in restaurants or left behind in homes or hotels. Some of the birds had their wings clipped and were unable to fly so they have no chance of being able to leave the center and return to their natural habitat. We saw many other species of animal as well. There were many turtles, some in pens but many were roaming about the trails in the center. In addition to the turtles were saw woolly monkeys, spider monkeys, cayman, and more.

I will update about the school visit the next chance I am able to access wi-fi.