Into the amazon

When we arrived at Nueva Loja it was already dark.  The town had a feeling of a midnight truck stop along the side of the road. But then with a lot more houses and shops.
In the morning the town looked very different. There was now people everywhere going on their business.
We had to do a bank stop. Let me tell you about banks in Ecuador. Ecuadorian banks have the same online services as in Europe, but the Ecuadorians don't trust the internet so they go to the bank directly.  That often results in long waiting lines.
The bus picked us up in the morning for a ride to the Cuyaveno river, an arm of the Amazon river. The way there was signs of civilisation popping up.
Houses build on poles, to keep the snakes out. They were rarely painted and only a handful had windows.
In front was sometimes a brand new bike or car. Somehow it felt like it didn't belong in the landscape.
Alongside the road there was an oil pipeline, electricity lines and grass. Odd how something so simple as grass can be a symbol of humans. The grass was not originally from here and was used to feed the cows. It followed the road all the way to the river.
At the river we switched transport to a long canoe like motorboat. The river was brown and long just like you would see in a movie. The view and feeling was simply amazing.
After a two hours ride we arrived at the Samona logde. Basically a few huts build on poles, powered by solar panels.
After a meal and some rest we headed out again by boat.
We arrived at a lagoon where we got to swim and watch the sunset.
Swimming in the Amazon. ..check.  The feeling of swimming in the Amazon is like no other.  A complete sense of freedom.
When the night came we returned home. Shining our lights at the shore looking for some wilflife in an ever increasing rain.
No luck tonight but the tension was set.