Tarzan and Jane survived the Jungle (Adventure Rowing Tour in Cuyabeno NP)


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South America » Ecuador » East » Cuyabeno Reserve
December 3rd 2010
Published: December 3rd 2010
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27. oct. - 1. dec.

(English version and jungle tips below)

Tarzan in Jane sta prezivela junglo. V glavnem eden izmed pricakovanih highligth-ov najinega potovanja je bil SUPER!!! V Quitu sva si rezervirala turo z Ecomontes Tours (recommended) in sicer 5 dnevno VESLASKO TURO AVANTURO v narodnem parku Cuyabeno na severu Ekvadorja. Tura je organizirana za maksimum 4 osebe, vendar za ta termin ni bilo drugih prijav, tako da sva bila na koncu samo midva plus vodic.
Z vodicom sva se dobila pri Puente Cuyabeno (vhod v narodni park), do kamor je 10 ur nocnega, zelo napornega busa (ampak sva prezivela...naporen je bil tudi iz drugih razlogov, ki jih ne bomo omenjali tukaj :P). Ko sva stopila iz busa, naju je ze cakal najin vodic Hugo in tura avantura Tarzana in Jane se je zacela.
Prvi dan sva prezivela v Lodgu Cuyabeno River Lodge, kjer sva dobila svojo cabañico s parimi domacimi zivalcami (pajki, scurki,...). Po zajtrku smo sli na ene 3 urni sprehod po primarnem gozdu, kjer nama je vodic razlozil malo o vrstah dreves, zdravilnih rastlinah, mega konstrukcijah gigantskih mravlj in termitov in imela sva sreco, ker smo naleteli na prvo veliko skupino opic, ki smo jih
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Hammocks for relaxing
zasledovali ene pol ure. Po kosilu siesta z obveznim dezjem...kar je super prav prisel, glede na to da sva komaj dihala tako je bilo vroce. Sledil je se en potep, ki smo ga raztegnili v temo, zvecer pa vecerja potem pa iskat kajmane (manjsa vrsta krodokodila). Kajmane je najlazje iskat ponoci, ker vidis oci, posvetis vanj in se mu potem pocasi s kanujem priblizujes ... je kar nor obcutek, ko veslas v popolnni temi z eno ubogo lucko in sploh ne ves kam te reka pelje in se parkrat zabijes v kaksne veje, ki visijo cez reko, hehe. Kajmane smo vidli, vendar je ponoci zelo tezko dobiti kaksno sliko.

No naslednji dan se je pa zecela veslaska tura - vsa oprema (gas bomba, stedilniki, hrana za 4 dni, sotori,...) so sli v kanu, se ena klopca za naju in najin kapitan/vodic Hugo na repu. Veslali smo vecino s tokom, tako da je bilo malo lazje (beri: malo lazje, ker reka ni kaj hitra in tok je bolj za okras, tako da so zulji na rokah nekaj vsakdanjega). Najboljsi del tega, da veslas, pa je v temu, da imas moznost slisati vsako zival, ki je v blizini vode. Tako smo
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First mariposas (butterflies) ... Anja just loves them
vedno ko smo kaj zasledili, kot manijaki obracali kanu in sli zasledovat papagaje, opice, kace,...Po enih 5 urah in srecanju z nevem koliko vrstami pticov, opic in ene zelo nevarno zelene tanke kace smo prisli do prvega kamping site-a, kjer smo postavili sotore, sli na en kratki sprehod in potem lovit piranje za vecerjo. Fora je da smo ujeli samo eno piranho in pa vse ostale vrste rib (soma, neke podobne piranji,...). Zvecer se vecerja, par pikov komarjev, ena nasty tarantela in pa spat.
Drugi dan smo morali priveslati do Laguna Grande, ki je kot neko jezero sredi tega narodnega parka. Obcutek, ko prides do lagune je res nor...kot bi bil na blejskemu jezeru in bi bila vse okrog tebe jungla, popolna tisina z izjemo pticov (in pa kaksnega motornega kanuja polnega turistov :P). Posebost te lagune je tudi, ker tukaj lahko vidis roza recne delfine, ki pa so blizu izumrtja. Toliko srece nisva imela (sva sreco porabila za kite v Puerto Lopezu). Drug kamping site je bil malo bolj "luksuzen" (beri: ni bilo treba spati na tleh, ampak smo imeli na razpolago streho in lesen pod). Kot naroceno je po kosilu prisla ena ploha, da smo se malo shladili
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Walking around
(ker drugace je vlaznost in temperatura ubijalska). Zvecer smo pa odveslali na sredo lagune gledat najlepsi soncni zahod ever - malo romantike in pa res nor razgled!!
Tretji dan smo se zbidili ob 5.30 in sli naokoli po laguni iskat ptice (zgodaj zjutraj na najboljsi cas). Veslali cisto potiho in v fotoapart ujeli papagaje, papige, green kingfischerje,... na zalost pa nobene ANAKONDE 😞( !!! Po zajtru pa naprej po reki ... po kaksni urci nas je pa ujel pravi amazonski dez ... naliv kot iz skafa ... mi pa sredi reke ... v kanuju pokrriti s ponchoti veslali naprej (jah kaj moras ... zato se pa rece tura avantura). Na poti smo sli mimo enega Lodg-a tako, da smo se raje ustavili na enmu pircku in pocakali da mine. Popldne smo prispeli do "comunidad" - domacinov, ki zivijo v jungli. Pokazali so nama kako se pripravi Pan de yuka (kruh pripravljen iz korenin drevesa yuka), malo se spehodili naokoli, spoznali Nacho-ta - domaco opico in sli naprej do kampinga. Tokrat smo spali, kar na recni pesceni plazi, zakurili ogenj, pojedli in se dopravili spat.
Zadnji dan smo naredili se en sprehod po jungli, spoznali drevesa CEIBO (najvisja drevesa v tej
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A HUGE ant house (don't know the name in english)
regiji - zrastejo do 50m (400-500 let), sli na obisk k lokalnemu Shamanu in pocakali na motorni kanu, da nas odpelje domov. Najvecja fora je ker sva mislila da bomo nas kanu vlekli za sabo, smo ga pa kar nalozili v drugega skupaj z vso opremo.
Na poti nazaj z motnim colnom sva sele ugotovila, da sva izbrala res dobro turo, ker se okrog plujes z motornim kanujem sploh ne slisis ali vidis pol zivali, ki so v gozdu... tako da sva bila res zadovoljna z najino odlocitvijo.

Torej skupaj sva viedla ene 20 vrst pticov, 6 vrst opic (od 7ih, ki zivijo v tem obmocju), kace, piranhe, dez, sonce, ... PRAVA AMAZONIJA!!!!


Tarzan and Jane have survived the jungle. I can not recommend enough the jungle trip we just did! Out of all the options, this one is for sure the best to explore the national park of Cuyabeno.We booked the tour in Quito with Ecomontes Tours (recommended) - 5 day adventure tour of rowing down the river in the Cuyabeno National Park in northern Ecuador. The tour is organized for maximum 4 people, but since there's a low season, we were only the two of us plus the guide.
After 10 hours drive with the bus we arrived to the Puente Cuyabeno (entrance to the national park), where Hugo (our guide) was already waiting for us... and the adventure of Tarzan and Jane began.
The first day we spent in the Lodge Cuyabeno River Lodge, where we got our cabaña with a few domestic animals (spiders, cockroaches ,...). First day we did 2 walks and after diner we went to look for Caymans (small crocodiles). Cayman is easier to find at night because you see the eyes in the reflection of the light...quite a crazy feeling when rowing in a complete darkness without knowing where the river goes and every now and then get hit by a branch or vine that are hanging over the river. We saw 2 caymans very up close - crazy feeling! (no picture though...they are super afraid of flash!).

Well the next day our rowing trip began - all equipment (gas bomb, stoves, food for four days, tents ,...) was put on the canoe, one bench for us and our captain / guide Hugo at the tail. Most of the time we were rowing with the flow, so it
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Some nasty spiders
was a little easier (read: a little easier because the river is not somehow quick and current is more for decoration, so the blisters on our hands was something very normal). The best part of rowing is that you have the chance to hear each creature that is near water. So every time we saw something, we were rowing back as crazy and could slowly approach the monkeys, etc. and had time to take some good pictures (even with our camera) - which on the other hand with a motor boat you will never be able to do. After 5 hours we came to the first camping site where we set up tents, went on a short walk and then went fishing for some piranhas.

The second day our goal was to reach the Laguna Grande (a lake in the middle of the jungle). This camping site was a little more "luxury" (read: we did not have to sleep outside, but we had a roof and a wooden floor) and in the evening we went to se the most beautiful sunset we have ever seen (it can surely compare even to the one at Koh Phi Phi)!

The
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Oreja de Elephante - its used for treating liver problems
third day we woke up at 5.30 for some bird watching - great feeling when you're quietly rowing around the trees in the water! After breakfast we continued rowing down the Cuyabeno river...and were caught by some "heavy shit" amazonian rain!! Imagine us: raining like crazy and us 3 with ponchos...just kept on going😊 (what can you do - that's why they call it the adventure tour!). In the afternoon we arrived at the "Comunidad" - locals who live in the jungle. They showed us how to make Pan de Yuka (bread made from roots of Yuka trees) and move forward to search for camping. This time we slept at the river sandy beach, lit a fire, had a dinner with the wonderful view and went to bed (praying we won't have rain tomorrow😊.
The last day we did one more walk through the jungle, saw the giant trees named CEIBO (tallest trees in the region - can grow up to 50m (400-500 years), went to visit the local Shaman and waited for the motor-canoe to take us home.
On the way back to the lodge we realized how lucky we were to did the rowing trip, because going with
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Another HUGE termite house that feel off the tree
motorized canoe you can't hear any animals, you don't stop if you see something spectacular (which you do every 5 min)... so we were really happy with our decision.

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JUNGLE TIPS:
I would have to say that the rowing trip is not for just everyone - you need to cope with not being in the most luxurious facilities, sleeping in the tents, fighting mosquitoes, rowing in the rain and some blisters... but I tell you, it is damn worth it!!
We also had the pleasure to see a couple of Lodges and here are some tips:
- Cuyabeno River Lodge is good because it is very close to the entrance so you really get full 4 or 5 days (depending on your trip). For other lodges you basically arrive there at about 3-4 o'clock, so half of a day is over (the same for the last day). But it is true that you see more life closer to the Lagoon and you get to see the best sunset! If you choose the lodge close the Lagoon, we would recommend Samona lodge (we had a beer there, saw the facilities and also met the guide - everything very good!).
For rowing tour you can contact the Ecomontes agency (in Quito - on the corner of Foch&Mera) or contact our guide directly (it is better):
Hugo Chalacan, hugo_chalacan@hotmail.com, 062 366 127 (call first so he will check the email).


Additional photos below
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Cuyabeno River Lodge - walk aroundCuyabeno River Lodge - walk around
Cuyabeno River Lodge - walk around

first encounter with mammals
the magic leavesthe magic leaves
the magic leaves

you can write on them and its stays there until the leave goes dry
night search for caimansnight search for caimans
night search for caimans

This supposed to be a Caiman ... the two red eyes!!


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