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.