23 Feb 2019
We flew from Cuenca to Quito, then drove to Coca:
…where we hopped on a boat and headed down the Napo river into the jungle:
Farewell civilization!
Oil mining has become quite popular- we passed several sites along the way:
Tankers headed toward oil:
Dump trucks headed to construction sites:
Tourists headed toward fun sights!
^ (apparently I didn’t take a picture of our boat, but that’s about what ours looks like)
Old boats on a beach:
A kapok tree stands above the rest:
After a 2 hour boat ride down the river, we hiked inland for a few minutes, then hopped into a canoe and were paddled the rest of the way to our lodge.
A pano of the lake that our lodge, La Selva, was located on:
Yes, there were piranhas in it; yes, I swam in it anyway.
The lodge grounds (from the top of the main building):
I managed to not take any picture of our room, so here’s one I snagged from the lodge website:
Photo by La Salva Lodge
Being in the jungle, there were definitely bugs, but the mosquito curtains kept out most of the biting ones, while the noisy ones sang us to sleep.
This tree was full of nests built by the crested oropendola…
He’s that black/yellow bird (I think I got a better shot of him later in the trip)
The lodge was a GREAT place for bird-watching, like this White-winged swallow:
We went on a night hike and I found this cool bug:
Seriously large spider (with a really cool back):
Tarantula!!!
(those red things are the “steps” holding our path in place- he was so close to our feet!)
Tree frog- look at his little suction cup hands!
Another frog!
..such a cute little face!
A fun-filled first day in the jungle!