Leaving Hacienda Leito Las Llongonates, we traveled down the mountainside with many tiers of lush green valleys and sparkling waterfalls.
Our first stop is the Rio Pastaza.
And, Sylvia & Virginia stayed on the balcony to watch us.
Back in the van, our next stop was for a visit to the spectacular Rio Verde Falls, better know as El Pailon del Diabo (The Devil's Cauldron). Below, the raging waters of the Rio Pastaza tumble down the mountains at Devil's Cauldron waterfalls on the descent from Banos in the mountians to Puyo in the rainforest. At first it's lovely to notice that the staircase adjacent to these waterfalls was designed to blend in with the tropical landscape. But consider the name—in English, the Devil's Cauldron—and the evil tricks the steep steps can play. There are 4,444 steps descending a staggering 2,427 ft.
These steps are made of smooth, oversize pebbles that provide little traction, and when you're looking down, they blend together, creating an optical illusion of a stone slide. They're also slippery from the constant mist from the falls and even though there's a metal railing to save you from any spills—but don't count on that too much—it too is drenched with water droplets. Here, Sylvia and I stop for a picture near the falls.
And then the bottom with the swirling water.
The walk down and back took well over two hours both ways and when we finally arrived again at the top we were very glad to climb in the van for a nice ride to our planned lunch stop in the small village of Puyo. However, a flat tire prevented us from making our planned schedule by about one hour. When our driver, Humberto, became aware of the flat tire he stopped the van and had us all get out and wait on a roadside bench under a shade tree. Then remembering that he had seen a tire store perhaps .5 miles back, Humberto backed the van around some curves, out of sight, to that store where he purchased a replacement tire and had it installed.
While we waited for Humberto and the new tire to be installed, Vivian walked to the tire store and then returned to our place on the side of the road bringing with her some fruit.
Breaking it open she revealed the edible (so she said) inside.
Some of us were convinced it WAS NOT to be eaten, others tried it.
With our van ready for "on the road again", we all boarded and proceeded to the planned lunch place in Puyo. Nothing on the menu was as "exotic" as the above pictured fruit, or at least, no one ordered such an item. After lunch, Vivian took us to a "strip-type" inside-outside shop where she knew they sold "moonshine" liquor. Below, Tommy and I enjoyed sampling the various drinks, some with a mild alcohol content and one that was very, very strong.
Back in the van, and a little sleepy after a good lunch AND some rather strong drinks, we proceeded toward the tiny port town of Punta Ahuano located on the north bank of the Napo River. In the center of the town the monkeys held the attention of everyone. We were cautioned that these monkeys would take anything we set down and run with it.
After a short walk around the square, we were transported to the Napo (Amazon) River bank where we boarded the piraguas (canoes) with our allowed "small, overnight suitcase" and traveled downstream to the lodge. Leaving our "regular" larger suitcase in the van, we were told was perfectly safe as it would be locked inside a warehouse. (Didn't see any such place). Friendly Planet didn't "spring" this requirement of the smaller overnight suitcase on us until about 10 days before we departed from home. This same requirement was enforced when we traveled on the train in Peru from the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu. On both excursions we found it very difficult to make a decision of what to take and what to leave. One very glaring mistake for many was no hair dryer was provided in the river lodge and no information was provided warning of that.
Our river lodge, Casa del Suizo, is shown below and in the some of the next day's postings.
Inside our room note the colorful backpack that I purchased earlier in the "center of the world" area.
Below, the screened walls of our room.
It was a very busy day and we gathered at the appointed time for dinner to be served (7:30) and afterwards, found it rather easy to fall asleep that evening.
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