The fact that it remains one of the wilder and most undeveloped places in the world, with the potential for danger (snakes! poisonous plants! Jaguar!), the intense humidity and the density of the vegetation all make for a dramatic experience. If you have to take malaria medicine to visit, then it has to be a unique place, right? Doug and I Ioved our time at an ecolodge off the Rio Napo, with birding as a primary focus, when we were there 12 years ago. This time we stayed at a lodge run by the indigenous Sani community a little farther down river. We enjoyed the mix of activities that included trekking through the forest to learn about plants and animals and a visit to a Sani community to learn about their culture. I feel blessed that we were able to visit again, and very much enjoyed watching the kids and our friend Tiffanie, visiting from Colorado, relish their first experience in the Amazon.
Getting There
Our adventure began with a flight from the highlands to the town of Coca on the edge of the Amazon Basin. From there we got on a large power canoe for a 3-hour ride down the Rio Napo, then took a 15 minute walk into the forest along a boardwalk, and finally a hand-powered canoe trip across a lagoon to the lodge. It is a gorgeous trip, although it was striking to see a substantial presence of the petroleum industry along the Rio Napo. We noted none on our last visit.
The Amazon Basin is a magical place, with particular attraction for the biologists and nature lovers in our family - that is to say, all of us!
Getting There
Our adventure began with a flight from the highlands to the town of Coca on the edge of the Amazon Basin. From there we got on a large power canoe for a 3-hour ride down the Rio Napo, then took a 15 minute walk into the forest along a boardwalk, and finally a hand-powered canoe trip across a lagoon to the lodge. It is a gorgeous trip, although it was striking to see a substantial presence of the petroleum industry along the Rio Napo. We noted none on our last visit.
The Amazon Basin is a magical place, with particular attraction for the biologists and nature lovers in our family - that is to say, all of us!
Canopy Tower
Once at the lodge we wasted no time getting fit with rubber boots and beginning to explore. A quick canoe trip across the lagoon and a “blackwater” channel – so called because tannins from the tree leaves make the water dark like black tea - brought us to the canopy tower. Climbing the 30-meter high canopy tower was worth it as we had close-up views of a Great Potoo with a chick folded in its wings, as well as an impressive spider, bullet ants, and the tree canopy itself.
Once at the lodge we wasted no time getting fit with rubber boots and beginning to explore. A quick canoe trip across the lagoon and a “blackwater” channel – so called because tannins from the tree leaves make the water dark like black tea - brought us to the canopy tower. Climbing the 30-meter high canopy tower was worth it as we had close-up views of a Great Potoo with a chick folded in its wings, as well as an impressive spider, bullet ants, and the tree canopy itself.
Exploring the Forest
Over the next few days we took several short hikes around the lodge, canoe trips on the lagoon, and took a boat across the Rio Napo to visit the Yasuni Reserve. We learned about many types of plants and trees. Every hike started with a warning not to touch anything… and every explanation of the plants or seeds we saw seemed to include the phrase “this is medicinal in my culture”. Some of my favorite plants were the “walking palm” which moves 1 cm a year by putting out new roots that allow it slowly shift closer to the sunlight; a grove of trees that has a symbiotic relationship with ants that eat any competing vegetation, and the spiky palm which has big tall roots that can be used as a drum. And of course the striking flowers.
Over the next few days we took several short hikes around the lodge, canoe trips on the lagoon, and took a boat across the Rio Napo to visit the Yasuni Reserve. We learned about many types of plants and trees. Every hike started with a warning not to touch anything… and every explanation of the plants or seeds we saw seemed to include the phrase “this is medicinal in my culture”. Some of my favorite plants were the “walking palm” which moves 1 cm a year by putting out new roots that allow it slowly shift closer to the sunlight; a grove of trees that has a symbiotic relationship with ants that eat any competing vegetation, and the spiky palm which has big tall roots that can be used as a drum. And of course the striking flowers.
We were fortunate to see a number of animals. On our first full day our guide found an Anaconda in the reeds along the lagoon. The guides directed the front of the canoe into the reeds, and we took turns balancing at the front to get a good look. Luckily no one fell in. That snake was BIG! It was in the same spot during our whole stay, presumably digesting something big. On our night walk we saw an Amazon Tree Boa. No picture of that one, but it was impressively large, and quite beautiful as it slowly wound itself along the tree trunk. We saw five species of monkeys: White-fronted Capuchin, Squirrel, Spider (much larger than those we are used to seeing in zoos), Howler, and Woolly monkeys. Although Doug has a special dislike for monkeys, during his separate birdwatching time with a guide he also saw the world’s smallest monkey – the Pygmy Marmoset – as well as a Gray-bellied Night Monkey. His doubled dislike for rodents inevitably led him to also see what was probably a Peruvian Tree Rat in the wee hours of the morning while waiting in the tree canopy tower for dawn to arrive. The rest of us enjoyed watching the monkeys, especially the young ones, swing through the trees and we could hear the howler monkeys’ earie call often when we were in the forest. We also saw lots of ants and termites, including some leaf cutter ants that were busily cutting up one of the trees in the lodge courtyard and transporting it through the lodge property into the forest. I hadn’t thought about bats, but we saw them a number of times. During our night canoe ride to look for Black Caiman there were huge bats (we’re talking wingspan of at least a foot) flying around. And we saw several during the day, roosting on tree trunks and on a stick in the lagoon. We saw a number of frogs and toads, but sadly Gabe missed the one poison dart frog our group spotted. We saw a ton of parrots (Mealy and Yellow-crowned) at the natural salt lick that is along the Rio Napo. We saw some beautiful kingfishers (Green and Amazon), the Hoatzin which looks and sounds more like a dinosaur than a bird, and Doug was able to add a couple rare birds to his life list, including the Orange-breasted Falcon and Harpy Eagle. While it was cool to see a Black Caiman, what I most enjoyed about our night time canoeing was the night sky. The sky had so much more depth and so many more stars than we usually get to see.
Wildlife
The Lighter Side
We had the opportunity to try our hand at a few “traditional” activities. We practiced using a blow gun to shoot darts at a banana (must mention here that mom surprised all with her 3 for 3 success), throwing a wood spear, and piranha fishing. Our guide had a prankster side to him, and he enjoyed engaging us in some silly activities. He put a spike from a palm trunk on Lucia’s forehead, and turned Tiffanie turned into a character from Avatar. Our secondary guide, Enoc, had a gift for weaving palm leaf threads into grasshoppers and adornments. They also went the extra mile to offer us unique experiences… including a rather dubious climb alongside the Rio Napo to get some limes for us to taste, with several limes floating down the river before attaining success. There are no pictures, thankfully, of us trying to climb a tree to practice avoiding an attack by a pack of peccaries (wild pigs), and fortunately we didn’t end up needing that skill. We also had some fun culinary adventures. The mushrooms we harvested on a hike and the Piranha Enoc caught during our otherwise failed attempt at Piranha fishing each showed up for dinner. Tiffanie and I tried lemon ants (they were pretty refreshing, actually, and so small you didn’t notice you were eating ants); and we all liked a spicy plant that grew along the lagoon.
We had the opportunity to try our hand at a few “traditional” activities. We practiced using a blow gun to shoot darts at a banana (must mention here that mom surprised all with her 3 for 3 success), throwing a wood spear, and piranha fishing. Our guide had a prankster side to him, and he enjoyed engaging us in some silly activities. He put a spike from a palm trunk on Lucia’s forehead, and turned Tiffanie turned into a character from Avatar. Our secondary guide, Enoc, had a gift for weaving palm leaf threads into grasshoppers and adornments. They also went the extra mile to offer us unique experiences… including a rather dubious climb alongside the Rio Napo to get some limes for us to taste, with several limes floating down the river before attaining success. There are no pictures, thankfully, of us trying to climb a tree to practice avoiding an attack by a pack of peccaries (wild pigs), and fortunately we didn’t end up needing that skill. We also had some fun culinary adventures. The mushrooms we harvested on a hike and the Piranha Enoc caught during our otherwise failed attempt at Piranha fishing each showed up for dinner. Tiffanie and I tried lemon ants (they were pretty refreshing, actually, and so small you didn’t notice you were eating ants); and we all liked a spicy plant that grew along the lagoon.
Sani Culture and Sustainability
The lodge is located on the border of two national parks: the Cuyabeno reserve to the North, and the Yasuni on the South (across the Rio Napo). The Sani community has developed the Sani lodge as a way to maintain itself and the forest, an alternative to engaging with the petroleum industry. One day we visited the Sani Community Center, which includes the school, a meeting room, and a visitor center with a shop and kitchen. The Sani women are in charge of showing visitors around the community, and sell necklaces and bracelets made of local seeds and nuts. I had hoped for some more direct interaction with the female leaders but our guide served as translator (the Sani community speaks Kichwa) and seemed to direct the discussion some. We saw the school (four cement classrooms with aluminum roofs, and a newer set of rooms with better roofing) and the pond in which the school children raise turtles to release into the lagoon. Then we had a tour of the community garden which includes yucca root and fruit trees, as well as coffee and white cacao (not used for white chocolate) trees. Each community member has their own plot of land with a garden, and many raise coffee to be sold by the community. The women cooked a traditional meal for us which we ate served on large leaves, spread on the floor. We enjoyed yucca, roasted white cacao, a traditional fermented drink (chicha), heart of palm steamed in leaves, and plantain. Not bad, and the steamed heart of palm was quite good. Doug, Tiffanie and I also tried the roasted grubs that are an important source of protein now that the Sani have stopped hunting rain forest animals. The guide said grubs taste like chicken curry to him. Doug’s tasted like a mixture of cardamom and anise. I can’t say I loved them, but I didn’t have to spit them out. The kids might have ventured to try them if we hadn’t been shown the live grubs right before dinner was served. Overall it was an interesting visit.
The lodge is located on the border of two national parks: the Cuyabeno reserve to the North, and the Yasuni on the South (across the Rio Napo). The Sani community has developed the Sani lodge as a way to maintain itself and the forest, an alternative to engaging with the petroleum industry. One day we visited the Sani Community Center, which includes the school, a meeting room, and a visitor center with a shop and kitchen. The Sani women are in charge of showing visitors around the community, and sell necklaces and bracelets made of local seeds and nuts. I had hoped for some more direct interaction with the female leaders but our guide served as translator (the Sani community speaks Kichwa) and seemed to direct the discussion some. We saw the school (four cement classrooms with aluminum roofs, and a newer set of rooms with better roofing) and the pond in which the school children raise turtles to release into the lagoon. Then we had a tour of the community garden which includes yucca root and fruit trees, as well as coffee and white cacao (not used for white chocolate) trees. Each community member has their own plot of land with a garden, and many raise coffee to be sold by the community. The women cooked a traditional meal for us which we ate served on large leaves, spread on the floor. We enjoyed yucca, roasted white cacao, a traditional fermented drink (chicha), heart of palm steamed in leaves, and plantain. Not bad, and the steamed heart of palm was quite good. Doug, Tiffanie and I also tried the roasted grubs that are an important source of protein now that the Sani have stopped hunting rain forest animals. The guide said grubs taste like chicken curry to him. Doug’s tasted like a mixture of cardamom and anise. I can’t say I loved them, but I didn’t have to spit them out. The kids might have ventured to try them if we hadn’t been shown the live grubs right before dinner was served. Overall it was an interesting visit.
Sani Lodge
The lodge itself is lovely and comfortable. Almost all the staff at the lodge are Sani. The staff roles that don’t need special training (house and grounds keeping, for example) are rotated among community members so all benefit from the endeavor. The kitchen staff have attended culinary school, and the guides go through extensive training. Secondary guides are mentored by primary guides. We loved the collegial atmosphere at the lodge and found it to be well run. The food was excellent and all the staff took pride in their work, including the bar tender who kept a spotting scope handy to help birders take advantage of the lounge’s convenient location, and invented some yummy cocktails. We also enjoyed Maria Julia, the young trumpeter that had been injured and was recovering under the auspices of the lodge. But she seemed to run the place, often walking us to our cabin or showing up in the lounge to check out what was going on.
The lodge itself is lovely and comfortable. Almost all the staff at the lodge are Sani. The staff roles that don’t need special training (house and grounds keeping, for example) are rotated among community members so all benefit from the endeavor. The kitchen staff have attended culinary school, and the guides go through extensive training. Secondary guides are mentored by primary guides. We loved the collegial atmosphere at the lodge and found it to be well run. The food was excellent and all the staff took pride in their work, including the bar tender who kept a spotting scope handy to help birders take advantage of the lounge’s convenient location, and invented some yummy cocktails. We also enjoyed Maria Julia, the young trumpeter that had been injured and was recovering under the auspices of the lodge. But she seemed to run the place, often walking us to our cabin or showing up in the lounge to check out what was going on.
Hasta la proxima....
Our last day we got up at 5:30 to travel back through the lagoon, across the boardwalk, and up the Rio Napo. It was magical to hear the birds calling as we paddled through the lagoon, and to watch the sun rise over the Rio Napo.
Our last day we got up at 5:30 to travel back through the lagoon, across the boardwalk, and up the Rio Napo. It was magical to hear the birds calling as we paddled through the lagoon, and to watch the sun rise over the Rio Napo.