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We´d both been looking forward to our trip to the jungle so it was quite easy to wake up early for our journey to La Selva our jungle lodge, lying deep in primary rain forest of the Ecuadorian Amazon Jungle and on the shores of lake Garzacocha.
The first stage involved a short flight from Quito to Coca in the east of Ecuador.
Arriving at the departure gate of VIP Airways with our streamlined backpacks we were through check-in, security, passport control and at the departure gate in under 5 minutes! In actual fact, check-in, security and passport control were all one person and were all housed in the departure lounge - VIP a pretty small operation, but great service nonetheless.
After initial delays due to the temporary closure of Coca airport - a daily occurence apparently due to fog and bad weather - we watched our prop plane arrive, get unloaded/loaded and prepared for boarding within minutes. If only it was like this everytime! Anyway, take-off - 30 minutes - land. (Although Av still managed to fit in a quick snooze!)
In Coca we walked off the aeroplane, into pouring rain and straight out of the
"airport" into our waiting taxi and were whisked off to the nearby port for the next stage of our journey - a two and a half hour canoe ride up the Napo River.
Arriving at the port we had to wait a while for our backpacks to catch us up and get loaded on to the motorised canoe. While we waited we were entertained by a couple of very colourful toucans who were intent on taking chunks out of Av´s rucksack and a small monkey who was more interested in drinking beer from a crushed can left in a rubbish bin!
For the next two and a half hours we navigated along the Napo River - Ecuador´s largest river and one of the main tributaries of the Amazon river - trying to avoid huge floating tree trunks and driftwood, shallow water, sand banks and other river traffic.
Despite getting absolutely drenched it was a great introduction to the jungle, however it was sad to see oil companies along the way with tankers on barges and large areas of rainforest cleared for this purpose.
Arriving at our drop-off point down the river we were met by a
couple of the local guides from the lodge, who helped carry our bags for the 10 minute walk to reach our transport for the final stretch of our journey to the lodge.
Walking along a raised path made from the trunks of palm trees, through the forest itself, Jorge, our guide, picked up a huge millipede and explained to us the differences between these and centipedes (millipedes have 2 pairs of legs per segment of their body, whereas centipedes only have 1 pair and centipedes are poisonous but millipedes aren't. Millipedes also emit an almond smelling odour when they feel threatened, which is actually cyanide - who said they weren't poisonous!!)
Reaching the end of the path, we came to a small jetty and a very wet dug-out canoe. We climbed aboard and sat in the puddles of rain on the seats (as if we weren't wet enough already!) and were paddled by the local guides down a smaller river, finally emerging onto Lake Garzacocha where we had our first view of the lodge we'd be living for the next 3 nights. To say that this is the most peaceful place on earth is an understatement... the only sounds
were the rustling of the trees and the occasional bird-call breaking the tranquil silence.
On entering the main lodge we were welcomed by all the staff and given a plate of exotic fruits and a cocktail each - all delicious! It was then time to get ourselves settled into our accommodation and enjoy a couple of hours of relaxation, but not before being issued with wellies for the forthcoming treks in the forest.
Later in the afternoon we all met up again with Jorge and our local guide, Marcelo, and were taken across a different part of the lake, again in the dug-out canoe, and then on a short walk through the forest and back to the lodge. On this occasion Jorge found a small frog and demonstrated how it's colouring and markings, designed to make it look like a dead leaf, give it incredible camouflage on the forest floor - when he put it down it blended in so well with the dead leaves you could only see it when it moved. Unfortunately the wet weather was still persisting, which meant we became absolutely soaked through (our clothes still weren't dry the next morning due to the
humidity!). It also meant most of the creatures in the forest where sheltering and hidden from view so we didn't see any other beasties that evening. However we did hear Howler Monkeys bellowing in the distance - about 3kms away!
The next morning we were up early in the hope of seeing a few more animals. However Suzz hadn't slept very well so was suffering from lack of sleep. And her mood wasn't helped when she attempted to put on some insect repellant and managed to bathe herself in the stuff!! Unbeknownst to her, the top of the bottle hadn't been pierced so when she tried to get some out nothing happened. She then gave the bottle a good squeeze and it exploded in her hands, drenching her from head to foot in repellant - her screams brought Av running, thinking something was about to eat her alive! Oh well, at least it kept the insects off her (and everyone else) that day!
Anyway, we started the day with a short walk to the observation tower, which is built around the trunk of a huge tree and is about 35m high. On the way we saw a few
Black Masked Tamarind Monkeys jumping through the trees above us. These monkeys are very inquisitive and curious and followed us as we made our way through the forest, albeit from a very safe distance up in the trees.
Suzz's fear of heights made the climb up the observation tower pretty slow, but we eventually made it to the top and had an amazing view across the canopy of the forest. Again, it had started to rain so we didn't see that many creatures. However, the guides had brought along a tsuper-duper telescope with them and they managed to spot a couple of Howler Monkeys sitting in the trees in the distance. They didn't look too happy and were obviously willing the rain to stop, as they don't like getting wet! We also saw a few Toucans and a couple of other types of birds in the trees but there wasn't much other activity.
Leaving the tower we then walked further into the forest, stopping occasionally for Jorge to reveal another secret about the jungle and the people that inhabit it. On one of these occasions we stopped to watch as Marcelo hacked away at the trunk of a
fallen palm tree, only to see him minutes later extract two beetle larvae! Jorge did ask for volunteers to taste these morsels, quickly adding that they tasted a bit like a mix of coconut & clam (!) but, surprise surprise, there were no takers so it fell on Jorge and Marcelo to devour these local delicacies. One of the very few sources of fat in the jungle we were reliably informed!
Before we eventually returned to the lodge Av did get an opportunity to swing from one of the many vines hanging from the canopy, although he didn't have enough time to change in to his Tarzan outfit... thank God!!!
With a few hours to spare before lunch, we decided we'd try our hands at piranha fishing. Marcelo brought out a couple of fishing lines (basically a hook tied on the end of a line, which is then wrapped around a flat piece of wood) and a bag of bait - chopped up steak by the looks of it! We then spent the next hour or so standing on the jetty, happily casting our lines into the lake and waiting for a bite. One moment feeling a tug
on the line, the next having to re-bait the hook after discovering the piranhas had snuck up, munched the bait and gone without us even noticing!!
We did manage to snag a few of the little critters, although most of them weren't very big so Marcelo would help us unhook them and throw them back in the lake. The few that were big enough for cooking were sent off to the kitchen and included in the menu for lunch (NB there's not a lot of meat on one of these things so it was a good job this wasn't all we were getting for lunch!).
In the afternoon, with the weather brightening up, we had the option of going kayaking or swimming in the lake or having another go at fishing. Having seen the teeth on the piranhas we'd caught earlier we both decided that we didn't really fancy taking a dip with the fish, just in case they decided that humans might be worth eating afterall, so opted to continue fishing!
After casting for a while Av's line became taut and would not budge - Av was adamant that the 'fish' shouldn't get away so enlisted
the help of Marcelo who grabbed a rowing pole to haul the monster in, but alas it was not to be as the line and hook came back empty.
Av asked what it could have been and Marcelo said something in Spanish which Av didn't understand, so reverting to sign language Av pointed to where some turtles had been sunbathing earlier and to his surprise Marcelo nodded. "Wow! I hooked a turtle... wait 'til I tell Rob back home".
It later transpired that the whopper Av hooked was actually the bottom of the jetty!!!!!
After dinner that evening we boarded our dug-out canoe and headed out on to the lake with a powerful searchlight to look for caiman. It wasn't long before we saw red eyes beaming back at us from a distance. However, everytime we tried to approach for a closer look they would disappear into the blackness of the lake. After about half an hour or so Jorge signalled it was time to head back to the lodge and to our waiting beds.
Our final day in the Amazon started with another early morning trek through the jungle. With the weather slightly better than the
previous days, we were lucky enough to spot more Tamarind Monkeys along the way and also a small group of Squirrel Monkeys. Unlike the Black Tamarind Monkeys, the Squirrel Monkeys are very shy and are far more wary of humans so they soon disappeared into the dense canopy.
After an hour or so of walking we came out on the shores of another lake and boarded a dug-out canoe to explore the jungle waterways. With Jorge at the helm, wielding and thrashing his machete at anything remotely in our path, and Marcelo, the lone paddler, at the rear we made our way through narrow channels winding through dense and overhanging greenery. At every turn there was something new to gawp at. Trees, plants, birds, more birds, monkeys. We were even lucky enough to spot a troop of Howler monkeys up close in the trees by the riverbank. As one of the largest monkeys in the jungle, they are easily spotted. For this reason they tend not to retreat when seen but instead ascend higher into the canopy where they are better camoflaged and just sit still. So it wasn't long before they spotted us and promptly disappeared.
Further
along the way, whilst navigating a particularly narrow spot, we got beached on a submerged tree trunk (one of many) and nearly capsized the canoe in our attempts to get through! All good fun though!
After exploring the waterways for most of the morning we returned to dry land and then trekked back to the lodge, spotting a long trail of leave-cutter ants along the way (the trail went on for at leats 300 metres) and stopping along the way to disturb some bats nesting in a hollowed-out tree and to greet a docile wombat caught by Marcelo.
With our jungle trip almost over and our tour of South America coming to end it is true to say that we saved the some of the best 'til last.
The following day it was an early start, with a quick breakfast and a return journey via the route we'd arrived.
This jungle experience has shown us what the Amazon is all about and put into perspective what we stand to lose if we continue to abuse this planet. Being able to walk in the jungle and canoe down the rivers in such a fantastic place is truly
humbling. You firstly appreciate how diverse the flora and fauna are, but more importantly how delicate and fragile the environment is. Climate change, logging and oil exploration, especially in this region, are destroying one of the most beautiful places you will ever see - simply a unique and amazing place, so vast but yet self sufficient. It is quite easy to see why there are plants and animals that are yet to be discovered.
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