Author: Kathy

Our first excursion into the rain forest was at night, our first day on The Manatee (www.manateeamazonexplorer.com).  It was a great success.  It would have been even better if it hadn’t been cut short because someone was afraid of snakes.

We left The Manatee and took the motorized canoe to a local farm.  Wow, our first walk and we saw some really cool stuff!  Giant termite nests in trees, bullet ants, a wolf spider, millipedes, a centipede, ginormous banana plants, walking stick insects, cool flora, really awesome spiders, a tailless scorpion, tree frogs, army ants and a giant tarantula. Read more →

Our recent trip to the Ecuador Amazon Rainforest was one of the most rewarding trips we’ve ever been on. If you have the opportunity, take this trip or one like it. We were on a riverboat for 7 nights; the others who arrived the same day we did left after 4 nights. I was so glad we weren’t leaving with them…I wasn’t ready to go! My adventure was not over!We are staying in Cotacachi (elevation 8,400’), so the first leg of our trip was a 2 hour taxi ride to the Quito airport. We were greeted at the airport by a member of the Southern Explorations team (www.southernexplorations.com). She got our boarding passes for us and directed us toward the security line. This was the second time we’ve used Southern Explorations for a trip, and we’ve had excellent service both times. Read more →

In Ecuador, the Carnival celebration is a little different than in other countries. Before the Spanish came along, the indigenous people had a celebration that was held at the second moon. People threw flour, flowers, and perfumed water at each other, in a celebration to honor their chief and to say thanks to Mother Earth.

After the Spaniards came along, the Catholic tradition of Carnival was merged with the indigenous tradition. The result is a crazy fun couple of days! Read more →