Ecuador - Visiting the Amazon



View of the lagoon from the Napo Lodge

After visiting the Galapagos Islands we had a day back in Quito to plan a bit and see some more of the town before heading off to the airport again for our early flight east to Coca and the Napo Wildlife Lodge for 4 days and 3 nights. The Napo Wildlife Lodge is in Ecuador’s part of the Amazon and offers a chance to stay in comfort in the jungle and explore the area via the narrow rivers and on foot. There is a lot of wildlife to see in the area. We were met at Coca airport by our guide from the lodge. She drove us, and a few others that were on the same trip, the short distance to the Napo River port.

Relaxing in the speed canoe

To get to the lodge required cruising on two boats. The first was a 2 hour motorised canoe cruise down the Napo River. The boat was long and thin with one seat on each side and enough space for about 20 rows. It had really comfortable leather chairs that made it feel luxurious as we sped up river. At this point the Napo is very wide with long sweeping curves and the occasional mud bank in the middle. The boat eventually turned into a small tributary where we changed into a modern wooden canoe 4 rows of two seats. There was an indigenous man paddling at the front and back of the canoe with the occasional help of our guide.

Paddling to the Napo Wildlife Lodge

Motorised boats are not allowed in this part of the Napo National Park for environmental reasons and also not to disturb the wildlife. It took about 1.5 hours to be paddled to the lodge. Along the way we saw lots of different types of birds and a family of Giant River Otters. They were difficult to spot but easy to hear as they made loud, strange noises. They were really big, about as long as a person. I don't think we've seen an otter in the wild so this was a great first. Unfortunately it wasn't possible to get a good photo of them since they were mainly behind vegetation all the time. The river was just how you would imagine a river in the Amazon Basin to be with muddy banks, lots of green vegetation and trees on either side and the various noises of the jungle.

Individual rooms at the lodge

At the top of the lookout tower

 The trees shaded us from the sun but in the parts where the sun shone through it was hot even though it was the winter. We were in the rain forest and after a while it began to rain as it does everyday. Luckily for us the company carries very good waterproof ponchos that were given out each time the guide thought that the light rain would turn heavy.  Eventually the river came out into a large lagoon where we could see the lodge at the other end. Each 'room' was a round hut with a straw roof. They were well equipped and had a good mosquito net around our double bed. The first trip from the lodge started after breakfast at 07 the next morning. We were a group of 6 and were again paddled in a long canoe down one of the many small tributaries off the lodge's lagoon.




Squirel monkies queueing to cross

They stopped paddling when we heard movement and rustling in the trees. After a short time the noises revealed themselves to be a troop of about 60 Squirrel Monkeys making their way through the jungle via the tree tops. We watched from the canoe as they crossed the river from above. They were in a line above our heads walking up the trunk of a palm tree that leaned conveniently half way across the river and then leaping across the river and landing in another palm tree on the other side. It was great fun to watch. The canoe then came to the end of the river where we all got out and walked for about 20 minutes through the jungle to a man made viewing tower. The tower was built by the side of a giant tree that was 38 meters tall. The viewing platform was built onto the top of the tree which gave a fantastic panoramic view over the top of the jungle canopy. We got our binoculars out and waited patiently for the birds. Every so often the guide would point and we would try to spot the what he had seen.

A huge Kapok tree by the tower

Bird watching from the canopy tower

We were there for about two hours and saw a lot of colourful birds that we have never seen before. For those that are interested, here is a list of some of them: Greater Yellow-headed vulture, Snail Kite, various parrots and parakeets, a Hoatzin, a Great Potoo, Ringed Kingfishers, a White-fronted Nunbird, Gailed Barbets, a White-throated Toucan, a Many-banded Aracari, Crimson-crested Woodpeckers and several Yellow-rumped Caciques . We also saw a couple of sloths moving characteristically slowly in a tree but they were too far away to get a good photo of.

View from the Canopy Tower

We returned the same way back to the lodge and by now the sun was high in the sky and it was beginning to get hot. After a couple of hours of free time and lunch we were ready for the next excursion. It started to rain heavily about half an hour earlier so it was decided to delay the start of the excursion another half an hour in the hope that the rain would ease off. The wildlife is more difficult to see in the heavy rain as they tend to keep still. The rain eased off a bit but not very much. Everyone was keen to go out even if we didn’t see too much so we set off using the lodges excellent rain ponchos. We saw a few animals despite of the rain such as a vine snake, another sloth, a caiman and some song birds.

Gekko on the night walk

The rain had eased off before our night walk around the area of the lodge. We all set off with head lamps eager to see what the Amazon had to offer at night. There were lots of different jungle noises all around us and soon we saw various insects, a huge dragon fly, large spiders and ants and a green lizard. It was then back to the lodge for dinner. The food in the lodge was prepared by the local indigenous community and it was excellent.


Dark green Parrots on the Clay-Lick

The next morning we were again up very early and off back down the river to watch the parrots at the local clay lick. They arrive at around the same time every day and land in the trees overlooking the clay lick and wait until they feel it is safe to “lick”. The fruits that the parrots eat are very acidic and they can’t digest them. The parrots know that they will get sick unless they eat some clay. Certain cliffs in the Amazon have exposed areas of clay. The clay helps to neutralise the acidity of the fruit. At this particular Clay Lick there were probably about 200 parrots of varying types. It was quite a sight to see them suddenly descend from the branches of the nearby trees and perch on the cliff and lick the clay. The cliff was part of the river bank and we viewed them from the boat. Later that day we visited an inland clay lick but unfortunately we didn’t get to see them “lick”. They were in the trees but a bird of prey was flying around and so the parrots didn’t feel safe enough to land.

Demonstrating the traditional traps

Phil trying a blowpipe

In the afternoon our group visited a small village showing how the indigenous people used to live. They danced, showed us various working traps that they used for catching animals and they showed us how to use a blowpipe.

Iren hard at work

Paddling down a small tributary

Each time we went out on an excursion in the canoe we had the same two indigenous paddlers; one at the front and one at the back. They were incredible paddlers. They paddled as though they were machines only stopping if they saw something that they thought we interest us. We like paddling our kayaks at home and since there was a spare paddle in the canoe we asked if we could have a go.

One of many Yellow-rumped Caciques

A small Caiman trying to hide

We tried our best but soon found out that we had no chance of keeping the same rhythm as them. After just a couple of minutes our shoulders would burn and we would have to rest. Paddling canoes with tourists everyday like they do certainly turns them into impressive athletes.

 
The lodge also had a viewing tower for bird watching. It looked out over the lagoon and the jungle. It was very serene to spend some time up there in the late afternoon with the binoculars looking out over the lagoon watching the birds and listening to the jungle sounds.

Walking through the Rainforest

The last day was again an early start and we paddled back to the main river, transferred to the comfortable motorised canoe and were delivered back to the airport in time to catch our flight back to Quito. Our trip in the jungle had been wonderful and more than lived up to our expectations.
 
The next part our trip is to stay with a family in Quito and attend a Spanish Language School for a week.

Ecuador - Galapagos

Bartolome Island, Galapagos

We arrived in Quito, Ecuador, after a 15 hour flight from Oslo via Amsterdam. Unfortunately Phil’s luggage didn't come with the plane due to some difficulties with the  luggage system in Oslo. Luckily it arrived the next day. We were glad that we had two days in Quito before leaving for the Galapagos. The main reason for visiting Ecuador was the Galapagos Islands. This is another place that we’ve always wanted to experience and to see the special wildlife on these islands. The Islands became famous of course after Charles Darwin. They lie 960 km (600 miles) to the west of Ecuador and are entirely volcanic. They came into existence 4 million years ago and were never connected to mainland South America. Therefore all of its wildlife had to somehow cross the long stretch of sea from the mainland. This explains why there are mainly sea birds and sea mammals in the archipelago. The animals on the islands are not timid as is normal in other places. This is probably due to their lack of predators.

Iren snorkling

Charles Darwin visited the islands in the 1830’s and observed that the species differed according to the local conditions on each island. There are for example several similar species of finches that differ in the size and shape of their beak. Some have thick beaks so that they can split seeds, whilst others have long, thin beaks that are more suitable to catch insects. Darwin later attributed these differences to the process of natural selection.

A Frigate on Seymour Island

The Galapagos Islands are expensive visit and so we were particularly pleased to have found what we thought were reasonably priced tickets to fly to the Galapagos from Quito. However, we felt cheated when we checked in for our LAN flight and were told that we had to pay more than $300 extra because we were not from Ecuador. We tried to argue, but to no avail. There were several other people complaining about the same thing. To keep costs down we decided not to go on a cruise which is how most people visit the Galapagos Islands. Instead we stayed in Porta Ayora on Santa Cruz, the main island, and made day trips from there. This worked out very well as Iren felt a bit sea sick from time to time and was glad that she was not on a boat for the whole week.

Phil and a Giant Tortoise

 We arrived in the afternoon after our flight from Quito via Guayaquil. Our first experience of the wildlife was to visit the Charles Darwin Centre. One of their main efforts is breeding giant tortoises for conservation. We tried to spot the oldest tortoise there called Lonesome George, the last of his particular species and over 100 years old. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to see him as he was hidden away in the vegetation. Perhaps he was unwell and hiding since we saw in the news a couple of days after leaving the Galapagos that he had died. 

Iren walking along Tortuga Bay

Heron on Tortuga Bay

The next day we went to Tortuga Bay. A 30 minute walk led us to a beautiful long white beach. We walked on the sand to the end of the beach and saw our first group of Marine Iguanas. They are peculiar creatures and look almost like prehistoric dragons. They were completely unfazed by our presence. After a while observing them we walked on to a safe part of the beach, more like a lagoon where there are no strong currents. We enjoyed the peace and quiet there swimming and dozing in the shade. 

Baby, mummy & daddy Marine Iguana

Caldera

In the afternoon we hired a taxi to take us to the “Highland attractions” on the island. The vegetation was green and lush and very different from the desert like conditions of the lowland. We saw two calderas. These are formed by the collapse of the magma chamber under a volcano. We were reminded of the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania although these craters were much smaller. Another feature of previous volcanic activity are the lava tunnels.

Iren entering the lava tunnel

A new species of Giant Tortoise

These are formed when lava pours down from the volcano. The outer layers cool and solidify whereas the lava further down is still warm and continues to flow until it spills out onto the surrounding countryside leaving a hollow tube. These lava tunnels can be several miles long. We visited one such tunnel and it was interesting to see how smooth the inside was. It took about 20 minutes to walk through. We continued on to visit Rancho Primicias where there were giant tortoises in the wild. They really were gigantic. We fitted quite easily into an empty tortoise shell. It was fairly heavy so the tortoises must be strong to carry it around and maybe that explains why they are so slow? We observed them eating and bathing. They didn’t seem too bothered by us being there although we kept a little distance away. Looking at these creatures they seem so old and prehistoric.

Blue-footed Boobies

A male Frigate

The next day we set off on a day boat trip to North Seymour Island. From the moment we landed on the island we saw plenty of the most famous Galapagos birds; the Frigate and the Blue Footed Booby. The male Frigate has a large red pouch underneath his beak. This is inflated in the mating season to attract the females. In addition to a great pouch he also has to build a good nest. If the female is impressed with both of these features then the male gets a mate. The Blue Footed Booby has, as the name suggest, blue feet. The blueness of the feet is an attraction to the opposite sex. In the mating season the male birds shows off his feet with a stepping “dance”.

Booby on a nest

Phil with the Sea Lions

The eggs are laid on the ground and the male and female share the incubation. After visiting the island we stopped off on a sandbank with lots of Sea Lions. This was Iren’s highlight of the Galapagos trip because the baby sea lions were so cute and playful. They would swim along side us whilst we were snorkeling. Iren would swim as fast as she could under the water and the baby sea lions would join her. Luckily the big male sea lions kept away. The males are very large and intimidating. Every so often they would make loud calls as if to say "stop playing with the humans" and the baby Sea Lions would swim away only to come back again a few minutes later.

Pup and mother on the sand bank

Waiting to steal from Pelican's mouth

We went on a bay tour the next day and saw more, Frigates and Blue Footed boobies, Iguanas and sharks. The sharks were just lying still on the bottom. We snorkeled but didn’t see that much, just a few small fish, because the visibility was quite poor. We walked a bit inland to Las Grietas, a deep pool with a mixture of fresh and salt water. This type of pool is a typical feature on volcanic islands. The locals entertained us by diving acrobatically from the high cliffs above.

Lava Cactus on Bartolome Island

Galapagos Hawk right over our heads

We set off early the next day to get to Bartolome Islands. It took 2-3 hours in the boat and there were quite a lots of waves. The island is very gold and barren with just a few plants. The Lava Cactus is only found on a few Galapagos islands and stick out of the sand like fingers. A boardwalk took us steeply up to the top of the island. It was windy and very hot. From the top the view was magnificent. The different colours of red, black and yellow were interspersed with some vivid green vegetation. These colours were contrasting against the very blue sea and sky. Suddenly, as we were admiring the view, a Galapagos Hawk was hovering just above over heads. We thought it was going to dive bomb us, but luckily it just circled peacefully showing us it's beautiful wings.

Pinnacle Rock, Bartolome Island

Tortuga Bay

We could se the lovely beaches below and we were looking forward to swimming down there. Once down, the boat dropped us off at the Pinnacle rock. The rock sticks out of the water and there were plenty of colourful fish. We could swim into steams of fish and they seemed to be just carrying on with their business and ignoring us. The water was clear so we could see the fish really well. Suddenly Iren saw a penguin whizz by beneath us and we were both so pleased that we saw it.  It swam very quickly. After a nice lunch on board the anchored boat we set off home from beautiful Bartolome Island.

Paddling in Tortuga Bay

Tree Cactus at Tortuga Bay

We spent our last day on the Galapagos at Tortuga bay. We rented a kayak and paddled around the lagoon looking for turtles, sharks and rays. We only saw turtles popping their heads out of the water from time to time. On one occasion Phil was in the boat as Iren snorkeled and he told her where a turtle was. Iren swam in the right direction and then she saw the big sea turle swimming benath her. She got so close that she could have a good look before it suddenly sped away. It moved really fast in the water flapping its limbs. After a relaxing day on the beach we finished off with another tasty fish dinner on our last night. We had eaten excellent fish every day.

A Land Iguana

Iguana and Red Sally-Lightfoot Crabs

The next morning we had to head off for the airport. We had enjoyed the  Galapagos so much. The combination of exotic wildlife, beautiful and varied scenery and a slow pace of life were very appealing and we were sad to leave. The  Galapagos is one of the few places on our travels were we had underestimated the time we would have liked to spend there. Although we had seen a lot we could easily have spent another week enjoying this very special place. We have a couple of days back in Quito before we head off to the Ecuadorian Amazon to spend 4 days and e nights at the Napo Wildlife Lodge.