Some Jungle Photos...more to come!

Jungle-Monday and Tuesday

Monday-I knew I shouldn’t have waited to write…now I’m forgetting all the rich details, but I’ll attempt to remember…

Early morning again, 6AM breakfast of granola, yogurt, homemade bread, mermelada and eggs. Lots of fuel for an 8km hike. I’m actually glad we got an early start, because it was oppressively hot and humid. The air felt so thick, even at that early morning hour. Our guide assured us that it would rain later that day (and it did!) On our hike we saw lots more wildlife and interesting plants. They say there’s a medicine for any ailment that can be found in the jungle and I believe it. Javier (guide) explained many many plants that his people have been using for thousands of years for illnesses. Also the leaf cutter ants were amazing, carrying their leaves on their backs many miles, some of the smaller ones get a ride on the backs of the bigger ones.  After the hike, we headed back to the lodge for a delicious lunch of shrimp, rice and tomato salad. Then it was resting up in the hammock and swimming in the lagoon. We did another 8KM hike later in the day and got caught in a huge rainstorm. But the amazing thing was that…we hardly felt a drop as the rainforest canopy was so thick. But even though it was just 4:30 pm, it got so dark I could barely see. We waited for the rain to subside and hiked out back to the lodge just before the real darkness set in at 6:30pm. One thing I really noticed on my Amazon trip was how the noises change according to the time of day. SO noisy! I’m realizing that Quito is kind of absent of noise. But in the jungle, the birds are up so early, then in the afternoon it’s the cicadas and the evening is the toads and frogs and bugs. Amazing.

Tuesday-Time to go! We departed in the rain in our huge motorized canoe. It actually got a little chilly because the rain was beating us from the sides as we zipped down the Napo River to Coca to catch the flight back to Quito. All in all, it was a trip of a lifetime. So much nature, so close. At times I felt as if I were inside a National Geographic Magazine on the Wonders of the Amazon. The lodge was so comfortable too. Great meals and accommodations. Check them out at Sanilodge.com

Jungle-Day 2

Day 2 was an early of a morning…5:15am breakfast in order to leave on our paddle canoe to see the illusive pink river dolphins (which we never did see). Our guide told us that the pink river dolphins ended up in the Amazon river during the last ice age, then when the Andes formed, the dolphins got trapped and adapted for their fresh water habitat. On our journey to the lagoon to see the dolphins, we did see at least one hundred parrots flying in pairs for morning feedings, giant caimans (river crocodiles) and lots and lots of other migratory birds who come down to the Amazon for their winter break.

Probably the highlight of this day was piranha fishing with homemade fishing lines. I wasn’t successful, but my companeros caught a bunch! Luckily the guides knew how to release their saw-like jaws from the hooks. (I actually went for a swim while everyone else was fishing…I was assured the piranhas weren’t interested in me-and they weren’t! Not one piranha bite J)

Next was a cultural visit to the Sani Isla community. Then women of the village are slowly but surely organizing themselves to sell beautiful jewelry made of jungle seeds. They also cooked a typical meal for us. (I’ve tried it all before as I’ve got friends from the jungle, but the rest of the guests might have been slightly horrified at the roasted tree larvae) But there was also roasted fish, roasted hearts of palm (wrapped in banana leaves and roasted over the fire) baked yucca and plantain. The women spread the food out on a giant banana leaf and we ate with our hands.

After the community visit, time for hammocks and reading back at the lodge. The day ended with a delicious shrimp dinner and cards.

Day 1-Welcome to the Jungle

Welcome to the Jungle…Part 1 (Slowly, but surely. I WILL catch you up on my jungle adventures. I plan to post one day at a time! (I was without a computer for 4 days, hence the drawn-out posts)

I’ve been in the Amazon, traveling for the founding of Quito holiday. (Lots of short little breaks are wonderful for recharging my batteries!)

I traveled to Sani Lodge, deep down the Napo River. a tributary of the Amazon. Just some background on Sani Lodge. This community of Kichwa indigenous people is called Sani Isla, hence the name Sani Lodge. It’s one of the only lodges in the province completely run by the community. EVERYONE, from the bar tender, to the house keeper to the chef to the excellent guides are indigenous. Sani Lodge was built about 12 years ago with lots and lots of funds from the oil company, in return for drilling there, or using their territory so the pipeline can pass through. Oil companies have so much money, that building a luxurious jungle lodge is just pennies for them. The community agreed and the lodge was built. However, it took much longer for them to get the lodge up and running, there are so many logistics. Many outside consultants from Quito and the US came to help them get their feet off the ground. Now they have a very smooth operation. I was impressed every step of the way. They have an impressive website, if you’d like to check it out-www.sanilodge.com

Saturday, my friend Heidi who teaches 4^th grade at Academia Cotopaxi and I boarded the plane in Quito for our 30 minute flight to Coca the provincial capital of the Amazon province, Orellana. I noticed on our flight that really the only people on there were tourists and men. Lots of folks work in the oil industry or as tour guides….two competing interests. We got to Coca, were met by a man from Sani and we then boarded a long canoe with a double motor on the back, sunshade and comfy seats for our 3 hour motorized canoe ride down the Napo River to the lodge. The Napo is so very wide at most points, kind of like a highway. On both sides of the river, the gigantic jungle just towers over. Although it was steamy and hot, going about 35 miles an hour created a nice (coolish) breeze. Our driver was amazing, he would go really fast and then slow down for some reason that none of us could see (probably a sand bar) and then navigate around it. I enjoyed seeing the trees, thatched roofs of different communities along the way.

After three hours on our big canoe, we disembarked at the entrance to Sani Community, walked about a mile through the jungle, then boarded a smaller canoe and were paddled down a very small river/lagoon/lake to the lodge. Along the way we saw turtles, scarlet macaws, parrots, squirrel monkeys and caimans. After such a long journey, we were finally to the land, and greeted by the bartender with passion fruit martinis. It was a bit bizarre but a nice effort to make us feel welcome! Heidi and I stayed in the camping area across the lagoon, but camping luxurious style with mattresses, running water and platform tents.

Saturday, day 1 they went a bit suave on us and only took us for a few miles hike through the jungle to the tall tall jungle tower built on the Ceiba tree. The ceiba tree itself is spectacular, kind of like the giant redwoods in California…the indigenous people believe that the ceiba tree is sacred-it connects the ground world to the spirit world and only shamans and other really strong people can come near it because it has so much power. Absolutely massive. We climbed up and up and up and up until finally reaching the tippy top of the platform, where we could view the entire rainforest. As you’re climbing you notice all the different layers of the forest. Once at the top, our guides set up a long viewing scope and we were able to see a troop of red howler monkeys. Babies on their mom’s backs, the big males, all just hanging in the trees. These monkeys get their names because they mark their territory by making a deafening howl. It can be heard several miles away, which we did from the camping area. It almost sounds like thunder.

Climbing down the tower, the light was noticeably changing, just because the layers of plants was so thick in each layers. By the time we got down it was almost dark at 5:00pm, not because of the sun but because of the thick tree canopy.

After a delicious dinner, we went on a night hike. I felt as if I were in one of those nature shows of the wonders of the Amazon at night. Armed with rubber boots and head lamps our guides showed us so many cool creepy crawlies at night. We saw the camouflaged walking sticks, and leaf bugs. Also the orb spider with its 4 foot web-I saw a fly get trapped in the web and then the orb spider went to work wrapping it up, probably for a snack later on. The bright green chameleon was also fascinating to see, just as still as could be with lots of knobs on its body. And then there were the teeny, tiny tree frogs, less than in inch long.

The sounds in the jungle at night are just an orchestra of nature, the tree frogs, toads, all the bugs even interrupted by the screaming red howler monkey. These sounds sung me to sleep my first day.

(Day 2 coming soon!)