I made my way to the end of the road to where it joined the Curaray river somewhere in central Ecuador with the idea of getting someone to take me into the jungle for a week or so. By chance there was an American girl, 2 Austrian girls and a Swiss bloke all wanting to do the same. We ganged up found some locals and went up river into the Amazon bit. Progress became slower and slower as the water level dropped and all of the fallen tree trunks protruded above the water. We had to unload the canoe and lift it over the tree reload and do it again and again. There was some rain and river rose enough to go full throttle over the tree and sort of ski jump back into the water. Much quicker progress with a penalty. About 5 days out the base of the canoe came away from the sides and water seeped in quicker than we could bale it out. We were nearing the Jivaros Indian settlement we were headed and decided to patch it up with sacking and build another to get back – the canoes were dug outs. The river level can rise at least 10 metres after a period of rain. This was confirmed later that day when we rounded a bend and there 10 metres up was a canoe wedged in the branches of a tree. It seems that it broken it's moorings some way up river as our guides recognised the different design. It was quite a task to retrieve this vessel – which was much bigger than ours - down from the tree and clear it from all the beasties which had made it home. The jungle was fantastic, more impressive were the huge number of insects, all of which were hungry. I took 11 rolls of film. Getting back to Quito with the help of two Germans I was waiting in “casualty†in what turned out to be an ear, nose and throat centre. I was helped to another hospital where I had injections in the sole of my feet (remember those cartoon syringes with the 2 chrome rings for the fingers and a big plunger – well it was one of them). I'd contracted some kind of infection from the river water and the poison needed draining. I did yelp quite vigorously as the needle entered the swollen flesh underneath the arch of my foot and when the anethsetic took effect the heel was slit with what looked like a lino knife to let the pus out !