EC Amazon & Galapagos Day 3

Day 03 - Friday, December 5, 2008 - Sinamune Foundation Concert--Fly to Coca--Cruise to Yarina Amazon Lodge--Night-time Walk

We woke up to gray skies but no rain this morning. It was 57 º and 73% humidity, a good day to travel.

After putting our luggage out by the door at 6:45 we had our breakfast and then checked out of the hotel. We met our group in the lobby at 7:15 and helped to sort the big luggage that was going to be stored at the hotel and the small bags we would take to the jungle.

Every one of the 8 people who had lost luggage looked clean and fresh this morning. What a relief to know we had all our belonging back!

Our agenda for the morning was to visit the Sinamune Foundation.

This school for special learners is supported generously by the Grand Circle Foundation. Sinamune is a Spanish acronym for the "national system of music for disabled children."

The concert was a combination of music and dancing portraying the typical folk songs of Ecuador and other South American countries.

We were delighted as students who range in age from children to adults exhibited their musical talents for our three OAT groups.

We were able to sing and dance with the students. As a culmination of the program we sang America the Beautiful to the students. What an incredibly inspiring way to begin our day!

After a short bus ride to the local airport we unloaded our bags and said goodbye to Galo. We entered the very small terminal where we had time to relax and then boarded the plane at 11:10 AM.

Our twin turbo propped VIP Dornier 328 held 26 passengers and carried us safely over the Andes mountains and down into the town of El Coca. I was able to sit in the back of the plane and had all the room I needed to take photos as we flew only a few thousand feet over the canopy.

We landed in El Coca at just 935 feet of altitude after our 20 minute flight and were immediately aware of the climate change. It was 81º and 84% humidity.

We boarded an open sided Yarina Amazon Lodge bus and rode a short distance to our embarkation point on the Napo River. We were fitted with tall rubber boots that will be our life savers in the jungle.

We boarded a long motorized canoe for an hour journey to our lodge where we will stay for the next three nights. We saw that the river level was far down the bank and the real rainy season had not yet started.

The lodge staff greeted us with cool lemonade and we sat down to a hearty lunch at 2 PM. Eddie, our Yarina representative gave us a short briefing about jungle survival and everything we needed to know for comfort and safety during our stay.

Our small thatched roofed bamboo cabins were equipped with running water and mosquito nets over the beds. Electricity is provided from 6 to 10 PM and internet is out of the question. We are in the jungle now.

Before embarking on this trip, we had consulted the Center for Disease Control and our local El Paso County Health Department. We were prepared with hepatitis, tetanus, yellow fever shots, as well as typhoid vaccine. We are also taking a malaria antibiotic. So we are well prepared.

We took some time to settle in, catch up on this journal, and get acclimated to the heat and humidity. We prepared to meet Eddie in the main lodge in our jungle gear; long sleeved shirts, long pants, hats, Wellington boots and plenty of mosquito lotion.

We gathered our group once more with Eddie at 4 PM were joined by one of the native assistants, Marcelo, who took us on our first familiarizing hike. He wanted us to know the ruggedness of the terrain as well as to help him get to know our pace as a group.

We spent an hour trekking over uneven paths and dense flora. We stopped often to learn about the medicinal plants that the natives have used for centuries. As Eddie translated, the guides helped us to become familiar with our new neighborhood.

In addition to the plants, we saw a few jungle birds, and a small leaf frog. As we walked back to the lodge we saw the animal shelter where they are trying to rehabilitate several monkeys and birds that have been injured in the jungle.

Our biggest surprise was to see a 300 pound tapir ambling down to the river to swim and drink. He had been injured and had several serious wounds on his back. Hopefully, he will be able to join his normal habitat soon.

We returned to our cabin at 5:30 to take a cool shower, and at 6 PM we heard the camp generator kick in, announcing the fact that we had electricity.

I powered up the laptop so we could look our amazing photos of the day and finalize the journal. We headed for the main lodge at 6:55 and learned more about our plans for tomorrow morning. Our dinner was served at 7:00, a family style meal of fish, vegetables, rice and beans, and a flan for dessert.

We were to go on an after dinner hike, but just as we were finishing our dinner, the rains came and Eddie reminded us that the “jungle rules” and cancelled our evening activity. We borrowed an umbrella and ran back to our cabin to prepare for our first night’s sleep here in the Rain Forest!

Accommodations: Yarina Amazon Lodge - - - Meal: B, L, D

If you wish to travel with OAT Click Here.

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Day 13: Azores & Madeira: Portugal's Unspoiled Archipelagos

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Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.

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