Tuesday, 18 March 2014

Into the jungle

A trip into the deep jungle. Once again it was possible to get to a whole new climate zone within a short distance from home. A drive of 5 hours over the mountain and down into the amazon basin to Lago Agrio.
This smallish town is THE entry point for oil companies exploring the resources in the rain forest. So far a big national park is off limit for the destruction, but the encroachment has begun, very sad future for these beautiful areas.
Canoe with 12 tourists
We parked the car in this small sad looking town and were picked up in a minibus heading two hours east to a river where the real trip started, 2 - 3 hours downriver in motorised canoe to Jamu Lodge (Armadillo lodge), where we stayed for 2 nights with hiking and canoe trips into the steamy wet and  fascinating jungle.
snake bird


and they could jump

crane
swimming in the middle of the lagoon where (they said)
anacondas and caimans did not come

amazing flooded forests
main lodge building with restaurant

a cold drink and a hammock, not bad


Small anaconda, just about 4 meters

walkway to the river
shoreline of lagoon with caimans (saw them only on night trip, shining eyes)

sunset in one more paradise


parrots all over the place

capuchine monkey
Tarzan's territory

spider monkey


dolphins on the road??
   Another great experience and reminder why I don't appreciate very, very hot and very, very humid climate, everything damp, mildewy, rotten, and sweaty insect bitten bodies. We were down in only 300 m.o.sea level, so tropical in true sense, and incredible that these rivers drain into the amazon river which then run with this small fall all the way to the Atlantic.