I like mornings the most when I am on the road. Kids make their way to school in bright, fresh uniforms and you can smell wood burning fires heating breakfasts. In the jungle, mornings mean high activity both for humans and animals, a time to be as active as possible before the heat sucks the day away (that begins at oh, 8 a.m.). On most days at a jungle lodge, you get a wakeup knock on the door at 5 a.m. Hey, you want to see the birds or what?
I am back in Coca after a whirlwind week in the jungle. I must have taken over 30 different boats, all of them canoes. I am sending out much gratitude to all the men and women who helped me this week. So many kind people paddled me around lagoons and up small blackwater rivers, cooked me delicious food and slowly explained the flora and fauna of the Amazon basin. They carried my backpack, put big green leaves on the ground so I could sit without getting muddy, pointed out butterflies, monkeys, toucans and caiman, and patiently answered all my questions and asked about my life.
My jungle days are far from over, but it´s crunch time. Hitting a few more lodges then heading to whitewater mecca Tena.
Sunday is the big election here: si o no on the new constitution. Seems as though si will take it. The country is totally dry for three whole days...no cerveza for me at dinner last night. It´s okay. I will take the opportunity for clarity and will myself ponder: Si o No? By the way, voting is mandatory here for every single citizen. They all must migrate home (so many people here work far from home) to be present at a voting booth on Sunday. I wonder how that policy would go over in the states?
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