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Published: November 16th 2011
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The trip to Cuyabeno Reserve was a long one - a 6am flight from Quito to Lago Agrio, a 2 hour wait to be picked up, a 2 hour bus ride to the ´port´(pick up point on the river with a covered shack for eating lunch) and then 2.5 long hours in a long motorised canoe boat to finally arrive at Nicky Lodge, deep in the Amazon jungle.
The scenery along th river was spectacular along the way - masses of tangled vines wrapped around huge trees, a spotting of the occaisional bird or monkey, and a smattering of houses and buildings along the shoreline, all with their own boats for getting from A to B.
We made our way along what seemed to be a complex route of rivers and finally took a dramatic 90 degree turn through a small inlet, and arrived at the lodge. There is a main building which comprises the kitchen, dining area and social area, complete (to my joy!) with 7 hammocks for relaxing in, and right by the water.
The huts are quite basic and built in the local Quechua style with open windows, thatched rooves, mosquito net covered beds and
showers and toilets (although I am sure the latter isn´t authentic!). They also had 2 hammocks each out the front for more secluded relaxation.
There is no electricity at the lodge apart from solar powered stuff to charge camera batteries (and if it rains all day = no electricity!), and each evening at sundown the staff place a candle on the porch of the hut and also one inside so you can see your way around. Dinner is also eaten by candlelight which is great (and any after dinner activities!).
The staff at the lodge are all from the local Kichwa community. This is great as it brings a small tourism trade to the area, and also jobs for the locals, whether it be as guides, drivers, cooks, or general help around camp. Our bilingual guide was Jacob, and his sidekick was Luis, who was our official naturalist guide. Together I don´t know how they spotted all the animals they did but I guess they have been doing it all their lives!
A typical day started off with a 5.45am wake up call and we´d go out on a boat for bird and animal watching. I have
to admit that the Galapagos has spoilt me for animal watching - the animals in Cuyabeno were nowhere near as plentiful, realiable or photogenic as those in the Galapagos - but I can´t say they weren´t different and varied!
We saw lots of gorgeous big macaw birds, flying in pairs or just sitting in the trees. We saw more toucans (yay!) although these were white and different from those I had seen in Costa Rica. We saw hawkes and eagles and vultures, and then lots of smaller colourful birds.
We´d then usually have breakfast and set out for a ´short hike´ - I quickly figured out this meant 3 hours slogging it in the jungle in the humidity and undergrowth, and after it had rained for 24 hours, mud and water up to our knees! Thankfully at the lodge they lend you wellies and a rain poncho, both very handy when you have venomous nasties like the ´bush master´snake which can kill you in under 3 hours, and even with an anti venine!
After lunch we´d usually have a snooze in the hammocks which was much deserved, and in the afternoon we´d head out in the boat
again to see what we could see, and this usually included the pink dolphins. These are interesting creatures - I had no idea they existed until just before I went, and so I was fascinated to see them. I had read they could be quite rare, so I was surprised to see them on each occaision we set out to - which was every day! They are larger than grey dolphins and don´t breach the water as much, but you can still see the tops of their bumpy heads as they come up for air, and hear them too - which was my favourite part!
The best moment for me was when we paddled the canoe upstream just wearing our swimmers and life jackets, jumped off, and floated down the river to our lodge. We had spotted some river dolphins before doing this and they followed us down. Best of all, a grey coloured baby was with it´s mother and they breach a lot more than te pink ones do. They came about 3 metres away from us and came up regularly. Amazing!
Another highlight was pirahna fishing. Firstly, to clear up the swimming & pirahna issue...you can
swim in the river (which is not the Amazon itself - yet) but only in the middle where the current flows. We were warned to stay away from the banks of the river where snakes, sting rays (yes, mantas!) and electric eels like to hang out. Jacob swims every day and is still alive so it must be true! Pirahnas live in lakes off of the river where the water is murky and stagnant.
We headed out in the canoe with fishing lines and some chicken as bait and were taught the technique for how to catch a pirahna. It dawned in on me that catching a pirahna is one thing - but what do you do with it once you have it??
It didn´t take long to find out as Franklin, our boat driver caught one. Jacob pulled the hook out of its mouth and showed us its teeth, and proved how strong they are by giving it some twigs to chomp through! He accidentally let it go when it thrashed, and it landed at my feet which were not protected by my Havaianas!! A couple of frantic minutes ensued (yes, with a bit of screaming), and
Jacob finally caught him, kissed him and let him go back in the water. I did catch one myself but he let go of the bait before I could get him back into the boat.
Nightime usually held another ´short hike´and also walks in the dark to see what insects and snakes and spiders we could spot (oh joy!). I was already worried enough about my flimsy mozzie net and what happened if creepy crawlies got into my hut. We saw some big spiders, lots of crickets, bullet ants, etc. On the night I declined to go out with the group they saw a big snake and I am glad I wasn´t with them! Thankfully I didn´t encounter any nasties in my room, even through the big hole in the ´wall´behind my loo!
We didn´t see any anacondas which I was disappointed by (I´m not sure why - they are just a massive snake!!) and one night we went out looking for caimans (a cousin of the crocodile that grows up to 3 m long) but alas, none to be found either.
I really enjoyed staying at the lodge - the early nights and early mornings were
good, and I enjoyed the time being alcohol free. The food was good - although not typically Ecuadorian - I think it was tourist food!
Another highlight was on our last day going to visit a Kichwa family and see how they lived, and to learn about the food they eat and hw they prepare it. We watched the making of Yucca bread (or Amazon pizza) from picking of the Yucca, to peeling, to grating and squeezing the liquid from the pulp and then finally cooking the ´bread´which looked more like a pizza base! We had a tour of the family´s plantations and learnt about how they use certain plants, and got to meet their variety of animals. I noted that whilst some of their food production methods are quite basic, that they do have satellite TV - so some luxuries are available in the Amazon!
Afterwards we visited the local Kichwa community and again learnt more about their way of life, including schooling of the kids, and the recent development of oil companies coming to reap the benefits of the local environment, but also about how they are giving back in the forming of health clinics and
the like.
The others at the lodge were good company - a variety of people from all arond the world, including a group of 9 spanish language students who had come out from Quito on an excursion. In total there were never more than about 14 people there but I think the capacity is about double that.
All in all a great and very different experience. I´m really glad I did it, even though the trip back was as painful as the one there! It was made worse by another 2 flights to get to Santiago, Chile, where I am now. More to follow shortly!
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Eric Rubin
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Yikes nasties
Anj. Glad Vick wasn't with you in the Amazon otherwise I would have heard the screaming from Australia.The only way she will see the Amazon is from the window of a 5 star hotel. Have fun !!!