We are in the jungle. The cuyabeno reserve is the second largest in Ecuador and beside the indigenous that call this place home, modern man is restricted from making its mark on the untamed forest. We are on the cuyabeno river, which gives its name to the reserve, at a remote nature lodge two hours by river from the nearest village and impossible by car, truck, anything. The river is the highway of the rainforest a way we take every day. The amazing thing is that despite the immense diversity, all along the walls of the river, the vegetation looks the same. Until you look closer. A dipping tree branch could mean a troop of cappuccino monkeys, maybe a pair of toucans. A ripple in the water could be a fish, a fallen palm tree, an alligator or a family of fresh water dolphin. Clumps of leaves could easily turn out to be a three toed sloth. Our boats are long thin and made of wood with kawasaki motor and a chauffeur that got skills. Drop him in the middle of the jungle and he could craft a boat and drive out in complete darkness in time for a late dinner at the lodge. Im good at a few things though, caught two pirhanas yesterday, spot a few furry monkeys, hit a coconut with a blow gun and fend off alligators while taking a swim in the laguna nearby. Anna made a friend with a monkey named nacho yesterday when we were learning to make traditional bread from the yucca root, was blessed by the local shaman.
Also everyday we got to swim in the middle of a lake formed by a couple of rivers. On this trip we made friends from a few countries as in our group we had a person from Costa Rica, Germany, 2french girls, a swiss and an australian. it was very nice exchanging experiences from traveling and hearing about places that are worth being seen. We had an amazing time in the jungle!
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