(Photo 1: Here's a bug crawling on a 2 by 4. He's a big guy.)

Another item on the bucket list -- to visit the Amazon. A trip is planned to Ecuador, part of the Amazon basin and the Napo River, one of the major sources of the Amazon River.

My flight leaves from Los Angeles, with a change of planes in Miami, and then it's off the Quito, …

(Photo 2: Fresh fruits and Veggies at Quito market)

While in Quito though I have the pleasure of visiting some markets, seeing the city, sampling the wonderful Ecuadorian cuisine, and standing on the equator. The guides put you through a series of ''tests'', while standing on the northern hemisphere side of the equator, then on the southern …

It's time to start the next part of my journey -- my river cruise on the Manatee. I arrive in Quito, meet up with my fellow passengers, and head upriver in a motorized canoe. Within a couple of hours we see the Manatee anchored next to a dense growth of rain forest. We board, meet our guides and staff, and are assigned cabins. There are only …

The next five days are spent cruising the Napo, visiting indigenous settlements along the river. Taking canoe excursions up tributaries, and walks through the rain forest. At one stop, our guide Ernesto informs us that we're going to go swimming in Piranha Lake. OK, sure, we'll do that. Now Ernesto is a fairly big guy, so I decide to let him go …

To get there you take a canoe to the shore, walk about a mile or two, and then cross a lake by another canoe -- but no motors allowed on the lake. It's a great location, nestled in the rain forest, away from civilization.

(Photo 6: Welcome to Sacha Lodge)

(Photo 7: A cayman)

The next five days are spent at the lodge, taking canopy walks, …

A couple of highlights of the trip: Catching a piranha with a bamboo pole, seeing an anaconda, several caymans, spiders, and a beautiful meteor shower. By the way, we went swimming in the lake where we caught the piranha and saw the caymans and the anaconda. All I could think of was the opening scene of Jaws, just in miniature.

(photo 10: The …

A great trip, lots of very interesting things to do, and one where I came away with an appreciation of the rain forest and it's amazing diversity of plant and animal life. This is definitely a recommended trip.

Next blog -- my trip to SE Asia -- another great trip planned by Adventure Life.

(Photo 12: Cambodia monks)