Amazon Adventures and Chocolate Dreams Exploring Ecuador
By Glenda McCaleb
EPIC ESCAPES the road less taken
Amazon Adventures and Chocolate Dreams Exploring Ecuador
By Glenda McCaleb
After several trips together, Carol and I decided it was time for something different— something with more adventure, more mud, and maybe even a few bugs. Ecuador called to us with promises of jungle treks, winding rivers, and chocolate straight from the source. We didn’ t just want to visit; we wanted to experience. So we traded in our usual city strolls for hiking boots, ponchos, and a healthy sense of adventure.
We started in Quito, Ecuador’ s high-altitude capital city nestled in the Andes. The city is a mix of colonial beauty and buzzing modern life. We wandered cobblestone streets in the Old Town, ducked into centuries-old churches, and admired views from the TelefériQo cable car that took us up the slopes of the Pichincha Volcano. It was charming, but our boots were itching for the wild.
A short flight and a bumpy drive later, we arrived at the edge of the Amazon Rainforest, where the real adventure began. We joined a guided trek into the lush, green maze of trees, vines, and wildlife. The air was thick with humidity and alive with the sounds of insects and birds. Our guide stopped to point out a tree teeming with lemon ants and encouraged us to taste them. Hesitant but curious, we tried them. Tangy. Citrusy. Not bad, actually. Definitely better than what came next.
Grubs. Large, white, wriggling grubs. Barbequed over a fire and handed to us on skewers like jungle-style kebabs. Carol made a face. I made a bigger one. But we both took a bite. Smoky, nutty, chewy … and surprisingly not horrible. We earned serious jungle cred that day.
Canoeing down the Napo River was both peaceful and surreal. The rainforest canopy leaned over the water, and we felt like we were drifting through a National Geographic documentary. Occasionally we passed tiny villages tucked along the banks. One afternoon, we visited a local community to learn how they live in harmony with the forest. The people were generous with their stories, sharing traditions, food, and even laughter over our attempts to use a blowgun.( Neither Carol nor I hit the target, but we made a few dogs bark.)
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S plash!
Glenda McCaleb Carol Snow