Our first full day in Baños took us to Puyo, which is the gateway to the Amazon. And that’s as close as we got to the Amazon. An issue with vaccinations, plus having a baby prevented us from going all the way into the Jungle. It’s an experience that I would like to have some future trip for sure.

Anyways, off to Puyo which was incredible! The drive took us all along a valley and a vast river. So many waterfalls as well! The animal rescue center, Yana Cocha, we went to first was really beautiful. It would be so fun to return as a volunteer for a couple of weeks. There were so many different plants and flowers. The vegetation was unreal. Thinking back on it reminds me of the Garden of Eden. We walked two loops (in the rain!!) and saw a lot of monkeys. Oh gosh, they are cute and Holly and Greta want one as a pet. And every time they told someone that they want one as a pet, Conor and I cringed because this is an animal rescue center and some of the monkeys were rescued from being pets. 

One creature we saw that I had never heard of before is the Zorro Vinagre or the jungle dog. Apparently this is the only one in Ecuador in captivity and it was pretty special to see it. We had a great time! 

When we were done we went into town to get Almuerzo (lunch), which was very traditional. Soup followed by chicken, rice, beans, a bit of salad and juice. It hit the spot