Amazonas Day Two – On The Napo River

amazonas-och-galapagos-312_copyA foggy morning, but no wind, only the sounds of the rainforest and the river. After a divine breakfast at the lodge by the lake, we started off early heading for the parrot lick.

amazonas-och-galapagos-323_copyUnfortunately the traffic on the Napo River also brings long vehicles for the oil business here…They told us that the oil people are building a road across the Amazon forest. We had read about it, but now we could even see the trailers and the flames. This just makes me feel so helpless…Their government had promised not to give in to big business – but money always wins over nature and our life on this beautiful planet. So far. Maybe one day, when everything is dead and gone…

amazonas-och-galapagos-359_copyFinally the fog lifted, and we could admire the parakeets using the clay to neutralize the poisonous metals in their food. Notice the one hanging upside down!

We continued canoeing to a village on the other side of the river. Here a women’s collective worked to inform about the old ways of living, the life of the Amazon indigenous people and of their cooking, art and craft.

Back to the lodge for some lunch – and then on to our next adventure!

Thursday Thoughts – To Paradise and Back Again

So, I have been to Paradise – and back again. From Sweden to Amsterdam and then to Quito. After a couple of interesting days in beautiful world heritage, Quito Old Town, we flew down to the Amazon basin, Coca.

From Coca 1 1/2hour by motorized canoe on the Napo River …

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Then 30 minutes hiking on jungle boardwalk before the last bit in a paddle canoe.

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There was a slight drizzle, but we saw an abundance of flowers and birds already on this short way before reaching the lodge.

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At Sacha Lodge we were welcomed by our hosts. The Lodge had rooms for 65 guests, but at the moment we were only 13-14. Lots of space and attention from our excellent guides.

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Our own lodge was incredibly fresh and simple, just as in my dreams – but even better!

amazonas-och-galapagos-194_copySpacey and open – in fact no walls on one side, so both shower and bedroom were open to the jungle. The only thing to separate us from the real world was a net, with all the sounds of the rainforest and its inhabitants just two steps away…I tell you,  I have never slept better in my entire life. Birds, insects and howler monkeys feasting!

I remember staying in a clay and straw hut in the Nepalese jungle of Chitwan, in 1986, with giant spiders covering the ceiling and lizards and rats owning the mud floor. I did not sleep anything at all…even if I was young and brave.

We saw flycatchers and kingfishers among other birds, and in the waters below our breakfast house dwells….a cajman called Lucy!

On the night walk we met many animals…many crawlers (millipeeds too), possums and some spiders of gigantic size. One of the The tarantulas was a pink toed giant sitting high up under the roof of the butterfly house. We also saw a wolf spider about the same size…Crickets, grasshoppers and the world’s biggest ant – a bullet ant – who has got the worst bite in the world with terrible pain for 24 hours. ”Watch out where you put your hands” was the advice. They might walk on the same rails or twigs you happen to use…

My favourite was the charming tree frog of course…!

This was our first day at Sacha Lodge – and I just Loved every minute of it. For the next day we were promised parrots, weavers, a women’s collective, curare, arrows and local cooking, canoe through narrow rainforest waterways and maybe…anaconda.

Good night to our extremely initiated and knowledgeable guides, Pablo and Luis.