Last night the wi-fi started stuttering and I decided to rather go and join my hard working riding-buddies, sitting on the deck overlooking the river having Sun Downers :
But what I still wanted to say last night was that we had a “little navigation problem” when we tried to get to the hotel. We never book accommodation ahead of time, (mostly as we are not 100% sure which town we are staying.) Yesterday, while we were having our two prawn dishes and being interviewed by the Local Press, and decided to look outside of the town for accommodation (FYI “Shrimp” is the 4th biggest export of Ecuador after Oil, Gold, Agriculture (Bananas and Flowers being the 2 main ones,) and then, Prawns,) we decided to travel 20 km to some fancy Amazon Lodge. We don’t book on Booking.Com but rather like “roof-kykers” ( no English translation can explain this term in the space I have on this Blog) look at what is available, then we then go to that hotel we liked on Booking.Com where we saw their address and Rates, ride their and then impress the poor Receptionist with our Good Looks and get HUGE Discounted Room Rates.
Back to the Navigation Problem. I used the Amazon Lodge’s own websites Directions using Google Maps and started riding towards the Hotel, but Millsy put the name of the hotel into his GPS and off we went. When we got to a very big river I turned left and did not cross the bridge, Millsy’s GPS Lady wanted us to cross, I won the argument which took place in front of an Ice-cream Shop, well, Pie also won the discussion on ice-cream so late in the day. After 20km we got to a little harbour (well there were canoes and two little motorised Canoes,) and many people sitting on cheap plastic chairs in the river, drinking beer, with kids in blow-up-toys floating next to them. A lady told us to park the bikes and take the boats. Once again, the message to “park the bikes and take the boat to your hotel” was lost in translation and we decided our bikes won’t fit on the boats to take us across where clearly there should have been a bridge. So my “friends” were angry with me for riding to the wrong side of the river and we had to ride back the 20km up to the bridge, cross it, and then ride another 20km to our hotel.
We did do this and when we arrived on the other side we spoke to another lady selling sweets and potatoes and rice which told us out hotel was on the other side, the side I took them too, but there was no road and only accessible by boat. We now put our trust in the Good Professor Google and she confirmed this plus to `’stick it to us” she showed us a photo of what we were missing out on, as she knew, we won’t do another 80km back-track. The lady from the Rice\Sweet “shop” then told us the hotel next to her shop, which we all could see was closed, was an alternative if we were desperate, which we were, so she took us into the grounds of the hotel via a back road (as the main gates were locked,) and negotiated 5 rooms for us, with Fan, plus wi-fi (almost) and then they chucked some Chlorine into the pool and told us we could swim. There was a fridge somewhere on the building-site and cold beer appeared, and later, some beef fillets and chips appeared.
I told my “Friends” I needed to hear them apologise after they thought I was wrong leading them to the wrong side of the river, they refused to apologise as the job of Navigation belonged to Peens, and as he was fishing, 500km away he did not do his job and it was decided unanimously that he was to blame.
Our rooms were cleaned while we swam and mine even had an “entrance” to get to the shower, disguised over a black bath:
Last night was the 1st night I slept well. During the night I woke up thinking my ceiling fas was very noisy and I will be de-capitate during the night, but this morning I discovered the noise was actually the hardest rain ever I was hearing.
We had our breakfast near the river-look-out spot and the lady had to carry our food using an umbrella. Breakfast was the best coffee so far on the trip, then lots and lots of fresh fruit, then came a little pan-cake with jam on the side, and just as we wanted to get up the Eggs arrived:
Next to the eggs were two flattened pieces of green banana which they dip in flour and fry in oil. It did not taste like bacon, or sausage, but if you closed your eyes it did taste pleasant, like nothing you have ever tasted, but pleasant.
After breakfast we tried to leave but then two ladies from the hotel came to say goodbye and wanted a photo, which we obliged:
but then more and more people came when they heard we were at the bikes, and then they showed us the local news-paper on their phones and there were Millsy and Tex from the article the journalist did yesterday, with lots of writing and their photo, I guess she did some research from looking at this Blog which definitely impressed the local people.
The rain stopped just after breakfast and we took of riding into the most amazing smells. Something went wrong with my music and as we started the ride Cold Play was my 1st song, with the catchy words of “What a Beautiful Day” and it was, only that this song was now on Repeat and I had to listen to it for many kilometres before Pie wanted an Ice-cream and we could stop and I could Forward the song. We stayed next to the river and passed through little villages, never going straight, just left-right-left-right.
Speaking about the river, this was not just some normal river, this river eventually flows into the Amazon river, on the other side of the Andes Mountains. Look at this map of the rivers, but let me 1st just give those good with Geography a little pointer of our position, the blue spot is our position Last night. In line with Manaus.
But look at this, you will notice that all these rivers flow East, that means that the Andes Mountains is not the Continental Divide as rain falling on its West flows into the sea on its Eastern Side. Note the purple line on the map, that is the flow of the river we were on from Quito to where it flows into the next river, which is where we slept last night :
OK, all the Blonds can join me again, the lecture is over.
Todays ride reminded me of our ride after we crossed into Laos from China, (Laos sis a little country above Thailand, and it is in-between Vietnam and Burma,) we snaked through the jungle with the people staying on the road, chickens and dogs eating the Flying ants with the people showering with the rain water while wearing a cloth around them, any way, it was a day I will never forget, you can go back on my blog and read it, but those people, like these today stay on the main road, in houses that are on poles, and they do subsistence farming and as you pass their houses there are stacks of wood, or bananas, or bags with potatoes which somebody in future would come and buy from you.
Above are bags of Papachina (like a potato) this family harvested and waiting for the agent to come and buy.
It comes with free dental-floss.
At our little ice cream stop they also sold a type of “Wine” made of fruit, you are guaranteed 2 headaches in every bottle.
I am desperate to make space between my Riding Jacket and my body before we reach the real cold stretches of road which we will reach before we reach the most souther tip of South America, (if there is space I can wear a few extra layers of clothing.) So on this trip I told my riding buddies I will not eat one ice-cream, instead, I will eat three small nartjies when they eat ice cream. This sounds very clever, but at the rate they eat ice-cream and the Laxative Power of too much fruit, this “Rule” might needs adjustment.
Yesterday we had a short day, mainly because we are getting old, and spending hours concentrating in the mountains in tight hairpins, going up and down mountains on small roads, with bad road surfaces, and pot-holes, takes a lot of FOCUS and the going is very slow. But today’s short day is to be blamed on the rain, it broke us today. When I put on my Rain-Suite today I realised that the last time I wore it was 3 trips ago in Colorado, when we were riding in the sleet, but I have never ridden in rain like this, ever!!! But we are in the Rain Forrest. So we stopped for an early lunch, the visibility was so poor I missed the guys and pie had to chase me down and turn me back. So stopping at this Families “Restaurant” was pure luck.
Below is our Blind Interpreter who also dabbles in the kitchen:
Below is a Yafri, (like a Jack Fruit almost,) which we thought we bought a slice but as we were leaving thew lady ran after Rocky to give him the other 80% of our fruit.
We ate two portions of the smoked sausage, served with beans and rice.
This is not 3 Ply, but there is a lot of Sand-Paper on this roll:
Not having accommodation ahead of time today almost worked against us as it turns out today is Independence Day, so also a Long Weekend here as back in RSA, so after trying 2 places which were full we stumbled onto this place, and while waiting to hear if they have space for us, we had coffee and dripped onto their fancy floor.
They did not have enough space for us, but said they could help, so as I am writing this I see couches and mattresses being carried in the direction of the one room that they have open, another interesting night of “Level Le” (Spooning) awaits us.
Look at the size of this river, can you imagine what it looks like if this river fills up!!!!
As I am writing this there are some customers from the restaurant coming into my private space, me not happy, they chat away to me in Spanish pointing, me still unhappy, avoiding these rude people, and now I see there is a volcano getting ready to erupt:
Very cool Dad!! Geniet!