I'm feeling sick from my malaria tablets but catch a local bus to Tena, on the border of the Amazon jungle. It's a 6-hour journey and the most bizarre experience. Throughout the journey a myriad of people climb on and off the bus selling everything from ice pops to chicken soup. They ramble a rapid monotonous stream of words describing what they're selling. It's tiring to watch/listen. The driver also has the radio blaring out local tunes so loudly I can't hear my ipod. It's a painful experience.
Tena is a ragged little town on the edge of the Amazon, the last post of civilisation before the jungle. It's another hour's truck ride on rough dust tracks to reach the tiny Quichua community of the Wayusa Yaku, where I'll be staying for the next three days.
This area was made famous when in the 16th century Spanish conqueror Francisco de Orellana travelled from Quito into the eastern jungle (Oriente) in search of El Dorado, a mystical stash of Inca gold hidden in the jungle. While he didn't find gold, he did discover Ecuador's Rio Napo which combines with Peru's Maranon to form the Amazon.
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