What is there to see and what I did manage to capture to share with you - Amazon experience in Ecuador

The green color of Ecuadorian Amazon jungle wants to come at you; Just looking at it it creates a feeling of overflow, serious abundance of richness. It is so vivid and juicy that it makes you want to drink it, swim in it, look at it..... all the time. How come one part of the world can have it all, while elsewhere in the world people are oblivious to it; never given a chance of experiencing the paradise. In the Amazon you are bathing in pure form of prehistoric beauty. The green thick coat is craggy. The sound of jungle is crooning to your ears. End of rainy season produced water levels so high that most of the trees are half way under water. It makes river transportation so easy and risk-free. High water means to risk of bumping into underwater rocks, dead trees and other surprises.

Two species of Sloth in the Cuyabeno area. The bigger of the two is smiling at you from this photo. We caught him taking a nap. He looked at us and curled away disgust with all the interest he was getting. 

 

Yes, that is right, curled into a ball, back to his nap. These animals are active only few hours a day. Interesting fact: they go down to the ground once every week or two to poop. It is a clean animal, the poop gets covered as well! The reason for that is simple: keeping predators away form his hiding place. Even though they go from tree to tree within several miles radius, while they are asleep they do not want to be seen or smelled. Hence pooping happens elsewhere, not from the tree level. We also did see the smaller Sloth species but it was too hidden to photograph. His fur was covered with spots and the color was a bit darker than this ones.

Monkeys everywhere, 10 species I managed to see and capture some. This one I believe is a Capuchin monkey. They are said to be the most predatory, the eat pretty much anything and unlike their other cousins, their diet includes eggs and meat.

The Amazon experience - preparation

One of the reasons why I really wanted to visit Ecuador was the widely commented abundance of wild life and spectacular ecosystems open to hikers. In my earlier post I already explained what is Ecuadorian government policy and why is this country so unique. You can read about it again HERE. I am all about preservation and it inspired me to get out of the comfort of American Midwest and hop on the plain to experience it first-hand.
I planned my first days to be spent in the Amazon. For many of you travellers, the Amazon is usually on one's bucket list, and it was on mine too. I have always wanted to go and admire the Venezuelan Angel's Falls, which is relatively deep in the Amazon, 3-day canoe trip to get to its base. I have always thought that will be my first experience with the Amazon wildlife and that the adventure to get to there cannot be possibly compared with anything else.  It is still true that the particular trip is my dream and while it is still on my list, pending better political climate and my increased Spanish skills, I chose not to wait for it. I am a person that does not like to sit and wait for a long time for something that may never happen. To wait for Venezuela to pull itself together is like waiting for impossible (no offense). My decision to go to Ecuador and experience the Amazon from there was based on safety, experience and common sense. It turned out to be a spectacular success and I am happy with the way I carry my due diligence. 

How was it, The Amazon experienced from the Cuyabeno Eco lodge? First you need to know where you want to go, before you can get there.

Amazing trees are amazing, every one of them is different.

The Great Lagoon, water was unusually high even for the rainy season.

The Amazon - what it is like - a life inside of the jungle

The only opportunity to see what is inside the Amazon jungle, is to go inside the jungle. We were given the privilege and opportunity of hiking all in. During the rainy season the challenge is more complicated than in dry season because access from the Cuyabeno lodge is difficult. The lodge is located inside an ecosystem characterized by semi-permanently inundated forests flooded by black-water rivers, or igapó. And water there is truly black. As it was explained to me, it is caused by decomposition of the natural matter - chemical characteristics of the soil and the leaves and everything else that falls into water makes the water turn slightly black and makes it more acid than in other water Eco-systems. Thanks to the acidity of water mosquitoes and other parasites do not survive hence making the "water experience" so much more pleasant.  

Everything has its purpose. Eat or be eaten. If you look closely the big hopper is dead. Another species laid its eggs inside and consumed the poor b*stard from inside. All its left is this empty shell.

This poor little worm stays in a cocoon inside for many many years, and when the transformation is done and it is ready to get out, it does it only for a day - to procrastinate and die.

In Tena and moving to Macas, Cuyabeno memories

I have had a great time at the Cuyabeno Lodge. The animals were plentiful, the river was overflown and the laguna water level was so high that all of the sign posts were practically under water. It is hard to imagine that in a few months time the whole lake will be completely dry and all the trips will be made on foot.

Blue and yellow macaws flying in the direction of sunset.

Sunset over the small laguna - everything was still, no movement anywhere.

the tower observatory, view on the Amazon jungle and Great Laguna

Lago Agrio and to Cuyabeno Lodge

I did not take a bus ride to the distant Terminal Terrestre de Carcelén bus terminal in Quito. Trying my luck for the third time a day could have been two much: 4 blocks walking in the dark streets of empty neighborhoods and catching two buses on Sunday evening.. I took a taxi in the end. Being rushed to make sure I get a sit in the last evening bus, I arrived at the station way early and had to spend marvelous 4 hrs waiting for departure. I was told the terminal had all the amenities, but having arrived and checked.. all it was, was a row of food carts and a row of shopping carts in the open air, couple of benches on the side and gate entries to two bus platforms. I walked around the terminal to make sure I wasn't missing any of the promised buzz, but nope, there was none. So I plopped myself on a high chair of one of the friendlier looking vendors and shared next 4 hours with them.

Terminal Terrestre de Carcelén at night.

After small 30 minutes I was already uncomfortable and awkward. I managed to order a hot tea - which always meets a surprised faces as people in Ecuador do not regard tea drinking much. They indulge on coffee all day long, and on soda pop. Every time I was ordering a tea I had to repeat myself several times as they were not sure. What is funny, even though Spanish dictionary says a tea is simple un té, or té negro (black tea) this does not get you anywhere in Ecuador. You must specify that you want AROMATICAS and then it is all easy. Which is funny because it is a herbal tea. But you can take it from there and then say that you want a black tea. This way they will understand you easier.

Phone cabin, imagine that!

Surprisingly business is not bad for them, during my waiting time there were around 20 customers having meals and I was observing meal preparation and serving from the front line. The lady (single person operation) was very efficient and organized, as she had to be for such a limited space inside the food cart.