11/21/09
Our drive through the mountains to Villa Tunari was interesting. Our driver was crazy (no more crazy than any of the other drivers), but his signaling was immaculate. Whether passing around a blind corner on a twisty mountain road or doing 110 kph through a 20kph school zone full of kids, at least everything was properly signaled. We only almost got into three accidents.
The hotel is fabulous. It is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by jungle. There is a main building with a sitting area and bar inside, a dining area on the patio and an open air hammock room upstairs. There are guest cottages (each containing three hotel rooms) surrounding the main building. There are also two pools.
Our first trip is to the parque machia, an animal sanctuary. We saw lots of rescued monkeys and parrots. And an Andean mountain turkey. We climbed up a hill overlooking the area and got a really nice view. Two major rivers combine just outside Villa Tunari. The Rio San Mateo flows into the Rio Espirito Santo. It's only the beginning of rainy season, and both are already to big for navigation. And looking at the banks tells me they are only going to get bigger.
Later, we walk through town and stop for ice cream. It is a lot hotter here, in the jungle, than it was in the mountains. And it's only going to get worse as we travel into Paraguay. I may be in trouble.
We finish the day with a dip in the pools. One is about 4 feet deep and moderately warm, the other is a foot deep and very warm. Neither is what you'd call refreshing, but both are better than the four thousand percent humidity outside. Dinner is excellent. We all have some kind of fish. And for postres (dessert) I have papaya con chocolate (papaya covered in chocolate pudding).
I get lucky and it cools down over night so I can sleep.
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