Changing my mindset!!

In my last story I decided to start from the beginning, but now I want to write about my last adventure through the jungles of Ecuador, because the sensations and emotions are still alive!

I spent a lot of time of my life thinking that several things weren’t for me, because I couldn’t afford them. But one day my mind made a switch, and I began to think that “I have to find a way to make my dreams come true”, and that day was the first day of a new life of adventures and a completely new way to face my life. I am convinced that if we want to find excuses, we always will. But behind the excuses there is fear in breaking our own structures, our mindsets, and of course there is fear in facing the unknown. But if we really love something, and we have a strong passion, the things we believed unknown, become a real part of us. We start to discover that we are stronger than we thought, and that all these unknown scenarios that we believed were unconquerable, become natural ones, because they are part of our essence, they are deeply connected with us.

I am a lover of the rainforests and its biodiversity, so after my mind changed its way to think I decided in 2018 to travel to Costa Rica, alone, with my camera to do what I love the most, photographing and exploring the jungles. So, I bought a plane ticket in several installments, I went to the Bank and I asked for a Loan. And when the time came, I took my plane… and that is a story I will tell you about in my next tale.

So, after my first experience traveling alone through Costa Rica, and knowing that I was capable of sorting out any problems or circumstances I had to deal there. I decided to jump into a new adventure. And this time I chose to immerse myself, alone in the jungles of Ecuador, but I was still paying the loan, so I couldn’t save enough money for my new adventure. But I decided to do it the anyway…

Some people can think that I am a little crazy, and maybe they are right, but the fact is that I went there, and I met wonderful people that helped me out, and with that help I not only survived but also I had amazing experiences.

Pachijal.. the little town into the paradise..

The first place I visited was the Beautiful town of Pachijal. A tiny and magical town immersed into the Chocó Forest at 500 meters above sea level. The region has extremely high rainfall, and the forests hold great biodiversity. The Chocó is one of the most vulnerable and biodiverse ecosystems in Ecuador, with less than 2% of the original vegetation remaining and the fastest deforestation rate in the country.

I was in Pachijal for 9 days. Living with a beautiful family, exploring the jungles, and taking amazing photographs of its biodiversity.

I had the fortune to stay at Nestor’s family house there, and it was an incredible experience to share time with these beautiful, humble and generous people, to learn about their culture and to listen to their stories, so different from mine, but with big values about life. Now I can say that they are my family.

And that’s one of the magical things that I learned and discovered about traveling alone. It allows you to be part of the community, to be part of them. When you travel with a group of friends you share your culture with them and you stay in a circle of knowledge and habits typical of your culture, but when you travel alone it is different, because you start to share life with them in a different way , with their habits and traditions, their rhythms and their stories. Traveling alone allowed me to live with families, living day to day with them. And not just as a tourist in an expensive hotel. I deeply believe that this kind of experience can change you in a deep way. The perspectives which you see life will change completely.

I explored the jungles during the day and during the night looking for creatures to photograph. Walking into the forest with the local people is always a great experience. They have a deep knowledge of the environment. I tried all the fruits that they gave me to try, just directly from the jungle. I learned a lot from them.

I knew some nearby towns such as Mashpi and Los bancos.