"Salamadra" a Ecuador Travel Page by phi78

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This weekend we went with a group of fifteen students from our Spanish school to Salamandra. Aldea Salamandra is an ecological reserve in a tropical rain forest area 140 km northwest of Quito. Friday afternoon we left somewhat rainy and cold Quito to arrive four hours later in a very humid Salamandra.

We were sleeping in cabanas, which are made with bamboo and thatched with toquilla (a type of palm leaf). We had a cabana in a chipora, the trees that grow on the river shore.There were no showers so we had to bathe in the water of the Caoni river which runs along side Aldea. Saturday we visited a tropical farm where we tasted really a lot of fruit.The farmer was just picking them from the tree or out of the ground. In the evening we made chocolate which was picked from the cocoa tree. We ate the rich chocolate with Banana, which was quite good.

In the night we all get in the back of the truck (which was an adventure itself with all the low hanging branches) to go to a local village to dance some Salsa and Merengue with the local people in a local discotheque. The next day we made a hike to the Lagun Azul waterfall. To get there we had to hike throw Tropical rainforest, climb over rocks and trees, walk truw rivers and slide down some hills. But the hike was definitely worth it. (Sorry, no pictures, we get totally wet and I could not bring my camera with me). After lunch it was time to get back to Quito.