Jungle Fun

Cuyabeno National Park is in the heart of Ecuador´s share of the Amazon rainforest; located in the North-East of the country, close to the borders with Colombia and Peru. It´s a short 11-hour bus journey from Quito.

 The Lodge is only accessible by boat and the journey there was a splendid 2-hour introduction to the area. The boat took the group of 6 very close to the trees, where we got a clear sight of 4 separate species of monkey - Flying Monkeys, Yellow-Handed Titi Monkeys, Squirrel Monkeys and Capuchin Monkeys. The boat driver killed the engine and we drifted closer to the trees while the monkeys went about their ordinary tree-swinging business just above our heads and alongside us. We were shown, through binoculars, a Boa Constrictor sleeping off a large meal before getting much closer to a juvenile Anaconda. Huge butterflies that are bigger than I even knew existed ambled by as we made our way upstream. We found a group of tiny bats on the underside of a branch, which then flew just over our heads once disturbed. By the time we made it to the lodge, we´d already seen more than I expected to over the whole 3 day trip.

If you look closely, you´ll see a monkey...

After a welcome siesta, we took the boat out for a night ride.

We quickly saw some Toucans for the first time, although from a distance. The boat was parked up in the centre of a large lagoon (apparently, the Caimans and Piranhas stay around the outskirts), and we all dived in for a swim. The water was lovely and the area gorgeous, which made for a perfect evening dip.

After drying off and enjoying the sunset from the lagoon, it was time for a Caiman hunt. The Caiman is most closely related to the Alligator and is a pretty fearsome-looking beast. We were only able to spot a juvenile on this occasion (more impressive was yet to come), although we did also encounter a Boa Constrictor, Fireflies and huge Bats that ate the insects as we sped home. Before we made the return, we enjoyed an amazing night sky (including Venus and the Southern Cross). Without any light pollution or clouds, the whole night sky was there for us to enjoy and it was a truly remarkable experience. The wildlife was not quite finished there; when we returned for tea, we were sharing our hut with several Tarantulas, crickets and one huge moth.

The next morning was dedicated to a trek through boggy jungle, which allowed us to see an unreal amount of wildlife. Termites, deadly Bullet Ants, Lemon Ants, the highly poisonous Ruby Poison Dart Frog, a scary Wasp which lays its eggs inside Tarantulas, a huge Millipede and Stick Insects were all seen up close. On the way back, we spotted juvenile Pink River Dolphins. Unfortunately, they are a little more shy than their salt water cousins, so we could not get extremely close.

This little guy is much deadlier than he appears...

In the evening, after our nap, we headed out again and got a better look at some River Dolphins. We saw many more extremely cute Squirrel Monkeys. After another brief swim, we set off on a night walk. While out by torchlight, we saw a monstrous being which looked like a huge spider, but is apparently more closely related to a scorpion. Our excellent guide, Jairo, kindly placed this horrible thing on to our brave volunteer´s face. We spotted many species of spider, including a female Tarantula. We saw huge locusts, Grasshoppers and Locusts. Before we returned, Jairo had us stop and turn out our torches for a minute or so. It was so dark that I wasn´t sure if my eyes were open, and it allowed us to truly appreciate the magical noises of the forest. We rode back at speed with no lights, so that all we could see were the bats and insects doing battle around the boat.

We met at 06:15 the next morning for a spot of pre-breakfast bird-watching from the lodge´s own tower built for that very purpose. There were long periods of inactivity but it was made worth it by the colourful jungle birds we did see, including a Hawk and a Toucan. After breakfast we got even closer to a Toucan, when there was one perched on the top of our hut.

We visited a small, indigenous community in the morning. We watched a woman make bread from Yuca, which was a fascinating process. We then got to eat it for our lunch, and it was very tasty too! Afterwards, we shot darts from a long tube at at mango. I was amongst the closest of our group, getting one stuck in the stand. A member of the community then showed us how it should be done... A visit to the local shaman turned out to be a painful experience for one of our group. Poor Chad volunteered for some ´treatment´, which seemed to consist of being scratched and whipped with an extremely spiky stick. Afterwards, his back was very red and covered in welts. The ride home involved a speedy Anteater and more monkeys, including Noisy Night Monkeys, which are nocturnal, live in couples, look like Owls and are remarkably cute. 

That evening, we went out in the boat during an absolutely torrential tropical rainstorm. It was wonderful to see, although it was very painful on any exposed skin. While it was still raining quiet heavily, we were the only people in the lagoon so we went for out third, final and most exciting rainforest swim. Afterwards, we found an adult Caiman close to another lodge. While we were watching it, Jairo disappeared before returning with chicken meat. He then fed the chicken to the Caiman. It ended with its jaws snapping only inches from out faces. Jairo´s bravery gave us what was my highlight of the trip. Getting so close to that magnificent beast was incredible.

On the way back to our bus, we saw yet another species of monkey, which was the Woolly Monkey - the second biggest species of monkey in the Amazon. The Cuyabeno National Park provided us with a wonderful experience and a great taste of the Amazon. Our lodge was a very comfortable place to stay with excellent food. Jairo was a great guide - so knowledgable and enthusiastic. It also helped that we were with a great group with a great attituite so we got on very well with all of our fellow explorers. The three days went by so quickly, so we were sadly back in Quito before we knew it.