Today we begin our 27 hour marathon journey home. To get from the wilds of the Amazon back to the Pacific Northwest requires us to take a canoe ride to the Napo River followed by a two hour boat back to Coca, all so we can take four plane flights. If only we could find a way to add in a train ride as well!

We are spending our last few hours in Ecuador reflecting on the many wonderful experiences we have had in this gem of South America. We have had the privilege of seeing so many incredible animals, meeting so many kind and generous people and experiencing the culture of Ecuador. Ecuador is a beautiful country full of life, vibrancy, and people who truly care about the natural world as their equal as evidenced by one of our most joyous observations – the animals here do not think of humans as a threat or predator, rather, they are innocent, trusting, and are genuinely curious or indifferent to us which allows us to experience interacting with them in a personal and unique manner. This type of interaction on a large scale is incredibly rare in our world.

We were able to immerse ourselves in the experience and truly disconnect. On multiple occasions we could not remember nor did we care to remember the day of the week or time of day. Given the demands of work and society that is normally impossible to accomplish, which has made this a truly refreshing experience.

Writing this blog has allowed us to distill our daily events into concise recaps (unless Jay is writing, then the posts are not-so-concise). We will enjoy looking back on these posts in the future. Thank you for sharing in our travel and for all of your comments (we have read them and appreciated them all and tried to answer any questions) and we hope you enjoyed following along while we experienced the wonders of Ecuador!