I
woke up at about 8 and made my way to Sarah's room to ensure she was up and
ready for our hike. We chatted a bit before I went to get some coffee and chat
with Sami. Sarah, Marcus and Sonja joined me and we chatted for a while before
we decided to get going.
We
got our things together and headed to the tienda for a few munchies before
heading along the Rio Ayampe up into the valley. Before long we were in the forest,
walking along the “path” and crossing the river every 30 meters or so. It was
an overcast day but it was still very warm and humid so wading through the
river was actually rather pleasant but we were a little slow due to the uneven
path (when we could find one) and the stony river bed.
We
Kept going with Blanca and Bruno following (or leading) us the whole way. They
are two dogs that have adopted us and follow us wherever we go. At some stages
I wish I had a panga so I could make the path clearer but instead we just
pushed our way through the bushes.The whole trek was along and through the
river which ran through a valley and there was always a dense jungle all around
us.
We
kept walking (with a few breaks) for about 5 hours before we hit a road and
followed it to the adventure farm. The road appeared to be unused for a while
and also all signage seemed to be very old but we continued. We eventually
arrived at the entrance which had a chain across it and decided that there was
nothing to be seen and that the farm seemed like it was no longer running. We
turned around to make our way to the main road to catch the bus back to Ayampe.
We
walked for a total of 6 hours covering about 16km before we hit the road and
waited for the bus or anybody willing to pick us up. The road wasn't very busy
but did try to hitchhike with the few cars that passed by. Eventually a truck
came passed and the driver was kind enough to stop and pick us up. We weren't
far from Ayampe so we left the dogs that wouldn't come when we called them to
get into the truck.
Sarah
tried to chat to the driver a bit but his accent was very difficult to
understand. We arrived in Ayampe and jumped out and made out way back to Al Paso
for some much needed refreshments and a snack.
We
returned to the hostel hobbling a little from bruised feet (I later realized it
was a thorn in my foot) and sore legs. Here I grabbed a cold shower and felt
very refreshed. I made my way to the common area where a Sarah, Markus, Sonia,
Sami and I sat chatting for a while before we decided it was time for a drink
and some food. We walked towards the only 3 places in town and found one closed
and the other was turned down as we ate there many times already so we headed
for more pizza.
The
food, drinks and conversation was good as always and we decided to call it a
night at about 9 as it had been a long day. We made our way back to the hostel
and to bed where I began my next book (Politically Incorrect - Peter de
Villiers autobiography). I didn't make it far into the book before falling
asleep.