Another early morning departure. Our flight from Quito to the jungle oil city of Coca lasted all of 25 minutes. It was amazing to see, in the clear sky, the brownish peaks of the Andes give way. Eventually, it was as though someone took a deep-pile dark green carpet and covered the hills. Then, the hills disappeared, and the broccoli-coloured immensity of the rainforest arrived.
We landed at Coca and the intense heat and humidity was a slap in the face. We've never experienced such heat and humidity and it was initially debilitating. We didn't want to do anything except find a shady corner to curl up and sleep. 
Coca is a bustling city on the edge of the Ecuadorean oil industry. It is full of buildings that appear to be newly built, but in a hap-hazard way. Cars are everywhere, and bars and restaurants abound. It's a happening town. Apparently, this is the place to be when the oil workers are finished their stints in the hinterland. Pablo tells us that there's lots of oil in them thar' jungles, and there's now a serious decision looming for the people of Ecuador. If they go get the oil, there'll be jobs for lots of people, good paying jobs, and prosperity for the nation. But, the rainforest will be forever changed, and not for the better. There's also a booming tourism industry in the forest, and people, especially the local aboriginal people, benefit from these jobs, although they are being exposed to more and more influence from the modern western world. Tough decisions ahead.We boarded a motor canoe for a 3 hour ride on the Napo River, a huge tributary of the Amazon, and into the heart of darkness. It was an eerily wonderful trip, reminiscent of Apocalypse Now. The speed of the canoe created a nice breeze, so we temporarily forgot about our heat-induced misery. We passed other tour boats, oil barges, and many dugout canoes along the way, indicating that, despite the jungle appearance, the hand of human beings was very much a reality in this green, thick world.
Upon landing at a dock along the river, we hiked for about 20 sweat-soaked minutes along a boardwalk trail: many of the boards had rotted away with the humidity, so the walk was treacherous. Then, we boarded dugout canoes and went further in country. The vegetation was lush, green and dense. We arrived at our lodge, settled in and enjoyed some cold beer, a much appreciated and very temporary relief from the heat. A wonderful dinner awaited us. Despite being in the middle of a vast jungle environment, we were not removed from our creature comforts, although the Sani Lodge itself would never be labelled as luxurious. But that's the appeal of the place. It is run by the locals, and is good, basic, solid and clean. They specialize, however, in absolutely delicious meals, bordering on the gourmet. Nice decision, that: put all the emphasis on the true experience, make the accommodations plain, but go nuts on the food. That's the way I'd do it !
After enjoying our dinner, Pablo introduced us to our local guide, a personable young man named Luis, and announced that our first hike would be in 15 minutes !! It was pitch black out there, and I was ready for a cool shower and bed. But, off we went, first in the dugout, then landing at a dock that I swore wasn't really there. Flashlights revealed a veritable Garden of Eden in the darkness. Burning red caiman eyes stared at us, and we tried really hard not to rock our canoes. Spiders, insects, millipedes, nocturnal monkeys and a highly venomous coral snake all said hello. Our favourite were the leaf-cutter ants, blazing a trail like tiny green sailboats up and down tree trunks and across the path. It was amazing. And the noise was constant and electric, like a billion buzz-saws or generators whirring into the night.
I had to shake my head often. Where the hell was I ??? Not in Newmarket, that's for sure !!
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