The road between Macas and Puyo was on the whole new, and much better than we had anticipated, except for a small number of sections that still had to be made. Those sections were simply river gravel and rocks laid over what I assume to be the old dirt road. There were only a few sections of the unmade road and probably not more than a few miles in all. One of the more interesting bad parts of the road was the river crossing in the town of Sucua. there used to be a suspension bridge crossing the river, but that obviously collapsed some time ago as the remains are still lying on the ground and in the river. The replacement bridge is only one lane and hence impatient bus and truck drivers simply drive through the river - I presume until it is too deep.

Throughout the day we passed through many villages, they almost all seemed to have a basketball court, and a basic soccer field. The terrain was tropical, with the road winding its way in and out of many small and larger rivers. The Rio Pastaza is the largest river along yesterdays route and is crossed by an interesting canter lever suspension bridge. We stopped there for a break and Nina suggested I try some of the food that an old lady was cooking on a primitive barbeque grill, it was wrapped in leaves of some form. On opening this item I was sorry I had agreed; it was a mix of mangled bits of chicken meat, skin and bone together with a orange/yellow root vegetable - the vegetable was ok.

Once in Puyo Nina decided she wanted to visit a local park, Parque Pedagogico Etno-Botanico Omaere. The guide book claimed this park would give us some information on the housing and customs of two amazonian tribes, the Shuar and Waorani. The guide was an American expat biologist and he gave us a very interesting tour that covered many local plants and their indigenous medical uses, plus a two dwellings one built in the style of the Shaur and the other in the style of the Waorani. It was quite interesting to hear about the different cultures of the two peoples. The Shuar build permanent houses that may last more than 20 years, whereas the Waorani move to a new location every year or so. Hence their houses are less substantial.