No Joy in Geoffville

After kicking around Quito for the better part of a week, with a brief sting in the boring city of Otavalo, we have ended up deep in the Amazon basin on the northeast border of Ecuador. We took the night bus last night, 11 1/2 hours then a mini bus 3 hours, then a small motorized boat 2 hours to get to the campsite. Its a series of connected, open air, thatched roofed cabins. They have 1/2 high walls and a small semi enclosed area for a toilet on the back of each one. They all have double beds with mosquito netting that tucks under the bed. There are two outside, cold water showers and no electricity. Privacy is not an option here. We are one American, one Canadian, A French couple, an Israeli couple, a Danish couple and a young single Swiss girl. Quite the multinational group.
The bus trip painfully slow. It left at 10:00 PM and was supposed to get in at 6:30 AM in the town of Lago Agrio. There was a thick fog for most of the drive. So much so that the driver really had to keep his speed in check. A rarity for Ecuador. About :00 AM this morning, we came to a dead stop. I could see the lights of vehicles in front, beside, and behind us. The next 2 hours until daybreak were the only true sleep that I got last night. The roads were so bad that the constant bumping up and down of the bus made for a very fitful rest. The bus seats, although comfortable, are not meant for sleeping.
When daylight finally appeared, we got a chance to see why we were stopped. A river had washed out the road and 2 buses were stuck in the middle of it. Traffic had backed up for 1/2 a mile on both sides while we waited for a bulldozer to arrive from who knows where. One bus had been fortunate enough to almost make it across and all its passengers were able to get out. The other was smack dab in the middle and all the people were stuck inside, looking forlornly out the windows at the crowds that now stood on the river bank. We of course took a picture.
The bulldozer went to work clearing a new path through the river next to the buses and soon all the traffic on the other side of the river was crossing to our side. Some strange Ecuadorian ritual must have been done to decide which side went first. Once that had cleared, we were the second bus to go across. The water came up to the wheel wells but it was a relatively easy crossing. Not sure what happened to the stuck busses, as we roared on up the road at regular breakneck bus speed. I guess the roads wash out all the time in this area.
Finally back on the road we had another 2 1/2 hours to go to reach Lago. Of course, we had no idea how far it was. When we got on the bus, they said that there was a bathroom at the back. They were right, it just did not work and the door was bolted shut. After I don’t think I can adequately explain how badly I had to pee. I tried to go while the buses were stopped but with everyone standing around, a severe case of stage fright set in and there was no joy in Geoffville. Now imagine that condition after 9 hours on a very bumpy bus. I also forgot to mention that I had eaten Indian food the night before and so I was emitting a steady stream of gas all night long and the pressure of it was also pushing on my bladder. Pain, pain, pain. And the ride kept going and going and going.
Currently I am lying in a hammock listening to the sounds of the jungle and conversations in 4 different languages and am damned happy that the last 24 hours are over. We are making friends with the cockroaches, tarantulas and other numerous insects that inhabit our cabana and all is right with the world.