La Selva Lodge, Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador

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Now we have an experience to rival our Galapagos trip.

Although Ecuador has just 2% of the Amazon Rainforest it is the most bio diverse region.

The La Selva area has over 600 varieties of birds, 7 types of monkeys and countless varieties of trees, plants, insects and other assorted creatures.

I have adopted collages as a way of grouping some of the experiences we crammed into our days at La Selva.

Each day started at 5.30am and wound up shortly after 9pm with us collapsing into bed!

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Photos

La Selva, Napo River
Directly east of Quito. We flew to Coca then travelled by water to the lodge.

Getting there
Just a 30 minute flight from the 10,000 ft of Quito to less than 1000 at Coca.
Motorized canoe 75km down the Napo River. (Just one the Amazon's 33 main tributaries.)
Finally paddled for 30 minutes through the rainforest to the lodge.

La Selva Lodge
Spectacular setting overlooking the lake and surrounded by a very active rainforest.

Our room, "Tapir"
Too bad we didn't see one, but the room was lovely. We sat on the little porch at every opportunity. We expected swarms of mosquitoes but fortunately they have plenty of predators.

Dining area
We ate breakfast and dinner with our guide Dan. It also served as an opportunity to grill him about what we had seen that day.

Birding.
What an amazing display of birdlife. Both permanent residents and migrants from the north and south.

Toucan
We just had to get a toucan photo at the insistence of 5 year old grandson Tom, who has a stuffed one.

Cream woodpecker
I loved this little bird, so beautiful!
Amazing shot with a smartphone eh!?
Well, to be truthful, it was taken with the phone assisted by our guide's spotting scope.

Parrot clay lick
Hundreds of parrots gather here for an hour or so each morning to eat essential minerals not found in their diets.

Tarantula
The resident of a hollow in a tree right by the main lodge.

Looking for wildlife
We were very fortunate to be in a group of just 4 guests with 2 guides. One a local, the other English speaking. Both were amazing at spotting.

Insects galore
Our guide Dan helpfully pointed out the ones safe to pick up.

Arapaima
This prehistoric fish (photo from Google) is common in the lake. It grows to 6' in length, surfaces to breathe air and stuns smaller fish by whacking them with its tail!

Swim with piranha?
Just very briefly!

Caiman
Also common in the area but well fed enough to not be interested in careless swimmers.

Observation tower.
You climb over 200 steps to the top then cross a bridge to the observation deck high in the branches of a 300 year old kapok tree.
A great vantage point to see all of the life high in the canopy.

Our guide Dan on the viewing platform above the forest
He had an amazing ability to spot and name birds. He said he can identify over 500 species.
That is the spotting scope used to magnify the phone photos

Dario
Even better at spotting than Dan. He was born locally and would typically scout out an area before our walk.

Strangler fig
You can make out the palm it has encased.

3 toed sloth
This is quite a special photo. Dan had never seen a sloth out in the open like this one in over 12 years of professional guiding. He said they come down from their tree once a week to poop!

Tropical treats
In and around the lodge.

Cultural visit
We made a 1/2 day visit to a local village where we were treated to some traditional fare including juicy grubs, nicely roasted! Yes, we tried them!

blow pipe
The locals used these until recently to hunt game. Much longer than I expected. I had a go but “couldn’t hit the side of a barn!”

Canadian volunteer dentists
It was neat to meet and talk with a group from McGill university who were providing free dental treatment under very trying conditions to the local people.

Red Titi
A family of 5 of these curious and confident monkeys came close to our porch to check us out.

New Decade
Marlene chose La Selva as the place to celebrate her special birthday.
It did not disappoint.

Comments

[Tim Wilson]

WOW ...
another amazing adventure for you 2 adventurers, this may be the best yet ! Did you enjoy the roasted grubs ? Happy Birthday Marl !

[Bruce]

Amazing experience
Wow you sure do know how to pack in the travel experiences into your life. Truely inspirational when we think of all 5he countries you have told us about. We are just off to NZ .......again.......

[Garry]

Happy Birthday
Nice way to celebrate life - great blog!