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Sacha Lodge - Ecuadorian Amazon

By : Barbara Ash
Trip Begins August 23, 2008
Trip Ends August 31, 2008

The amazing Amazon and Adventure life. A dream come true for me. As a child I always dreamed of going to the Amazon. Growing up in the Bronx there wasn't a whole lot of wild life, except for some squirrels and some sparrows.
See my photos : amazing amazon

Want to go? Sacha Lodge

I went to: Ecuador, Amazon
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August 23, 2008
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Choosing my Amazon Adventure - Arriving in Quito

Quito, Ecuador

The amazing Amazon and Adventure life. A dream come true for me. As a child I always dreamed of going to the Amazon . Growing up in the Bronx there wasn't a whole lot of wild life, except for some squirrels and some sparrows. I loved the outdoors and mother nature. I went to Cuba when I was fifteen, lived in Hawaii for twenty-one years, served in the Peace Corps when I was fifty I traveled to Bali, dove the rock islands in Palau, and saw the stone money in Yap.

But the Amazon still called to me.

I had vacation time coming, so I went on line and goggled Amazon and the first thing to pop up was Adventure Life. They helped me every step of the way. I was sent a brochure with different options. I chose to go to Sacha Lodge. I asked many questions, some I am sure more then once, yet the staff was always helpful.

My Journey began on August 22 2008. I left Newark Airport for Miami. There I spent the night waiting for my flight to Quito the Capital City of Ecuador. It was a great flight and I arrived in Quito and was greeted by an adventure life staff. She drove me to Hostal de La Rabida. The altitude was 9200 feet in Quito. I was told to drink alot of aqua, which I did. I ate at the hostal that night and the food was very good.

August 24, 2008
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City tour of Quito

Quito, Ecuador

In the morning I was picked up by Roberto from Adventure Life and went on a tour of Quito with ten other people. The tour was excellent and Roberto was very informative. We saw many churches, and other places of interest. Of course after drinking so much water finding banos was also a high priority. Ha Ha! After I was returned to the Hostal, I went exploring on my own.

August 25, 2008
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Into the Amazon

Sacha Lodge, Ecuador

The next morning I took a taxi to the airport, and was greeted by another staff that had my ticket and showed me the way to the VIP room. There I met my fellow adventures, that would be going to Sacha Lodge. Some were also from New Jersey where I currently reside. Everyone seemed to bond right away. We then boarded a plane for the short ride to the town of Coco and the start of our trip down the Napo river.

The canoe was quite large and comfortable. It was a two and half hour trip. We then unloaded all our gear and it was taken to the lodge for us. We enjoyed our first hike through the jungle, with squirrel monkeys jumping through the trees and welcoming us. All kinds of beautiful birds and butterflies surrounded us. When we got to the end of the path we got into smaller canoes to be spirited across the lake to the lodge. Here we were greeted with a cocktail and some tasty hor'doves.

We were introduced to our guide and our native guide. We were then showen to our rooms. My was very large and comfortable. I laid out on the hamock on my porch listening to the jungle sounds. Afraid I might miss something, I headed back to the main lodge and climbed up to a tower to view birds.

August 26, 2008
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Swimming with Piranhas

Sacha Lodge, Ecuador

After checking out my room and taking some pictures of birds, I headed to the dock to be fitted for some lovely rain boots. It took awhile for all of the group to find a size that fit, but we did.

Then since it was quite warm and humid we all jumped into the lake. So who cares if there were piranhas in them. After a few minutes one lady started shouting, look Caiman. They were only about 4 feet long and could care less about us. When I got out of the water I counted and I still had all my toes and fingers.

At six I met my guide Julio and my native guide Evon. I was the only one in the party, since the rest of my group would be arriving tomorrow. We went in the canoe down a lagoon to see wild orchids and bromeliads. They were beautiful and so was the sunset. We also saw a great many birds.

We the headed to the main lounge for dinner. The buffet was wonderful a large variety of food and all wonderful. Each meal was this way so I won't go into it except it was all good and varied and people would be hard put not to find something to satisfy their palates. I especially like the deserts. There were always four to chose from, and the most wonderful watermelon, grown on the coast of Ecuador. They even had a tree tomatoes fluff. I know about tree tomatoes since we had them in Hawaii.

After dinner I met my guides for a hike through the jungle. I was truly amazed how the native guide would go running off in to the bush and come back with a poison tree frog about and inch big. How did he see them? We saw lizards, heard all sorts of creatures and when we came upon Conga ants was told to stamp our feet and move quickly. I sure did, since the bite can lay you up for a week with a high fever.

After the hike I was happy to head to the Cabin for a shower and a good night's sleep.

August 27, 2008
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Anaconda Spotting, Kapok Tree Climb

Sacha Lodge, Ecuador

I had a six am wake up call, since the animals don't sleep in. The bed and the room was very comfortable, the jungle sounds so loud it was like someone had the volume on high. Monkeys, birds and very noisy frogs. I was so tired I would have slept through an earthquake. At six there was a light tap on my door, I popped out of bed eager to get started on another adventure.

After breakfast I headed out with my guides in the canoe. We couldn't have been more then twenty yards from where we were swimming the night before, when the guide said oh look there is an anaconda. I guess I wasn't quick enough, it submerged before I saw it. not to worry there was another one in my future.

After seeing many beautiful birds including the stinky turkey or Hossin as it is also known. This bird has two stomachs, after eating food it ferments in one stomach then is transferred to the other where it makes the birds flesh stinky. No one wants to eat the bird then. Smart no?

After going ways we then got out of the canoe and hiked back another way, more birds, some monkeys and leaf cutters ants were spotted. We then headed back for a snack and a rest.

My favorite thing to do at this time was to lay in the hammock and listen to my Zune.

Again after a great hike, I relaxed for a while and then went to the butterfly house. It is so special to see so many butterflies all colors and sizes flying around. I will include picture of me with one on my head.

After this I went to the main lodge for another wonderful lunch. We then greeted the new group. Joining me was Wendy and David. They were from England a delightful couple. He was eighty and she was seventy-seven, me the baby of the group at sixty eight. I now had no excuse for not keeping up. Our first adventure we headed out into the lagoon to the tree house. We brought flashlights since we would be walking back at night.

Cruising along the guide said look an anaconda. It took us awhile to spot it, but I got plenty of pictures. We then got to the tree house, which is a very large kapok tree. We climbed thirteen stories to the top. I am not crazy about heights so for me it was a big deal and I made it. Yeah.

We were rewarded by sighting many birds and then looking up in the tree we saw a three toed sloth not one but two. They can stay up in the tree for up to nine days only coming down to go to the bathroom. We were up there for over an hour then hiked back to the jungle, straight to the bar. I not much of a drinker but they made the best popcorn.

That evening we discussed the next days plans. Two ladies in another group wanted to go to the parrot lick and so did I. We were the only three that wanted to go since it involved a lot of hiking.

Wendy and David elected to stay back with our guide Julio. Again a canoe ride down the Napo river but in the other direction.

I am glad I went. We saw so many parrots, a great horned owl, and on the way there the guide stopped the boat and there on a cliff was thousands of parakeets. What a sight.

After getting back to the lodge and eating, I once again headed for the butterfly house.

In the afternoon I once again joined Wendy, David and our guides for a canoe ride. We saw many birds, monkeys and lots of beautiful plants. They were so nice and a joy to be with.

Tomorrow we get up at five to go to the walkway. Yikes.

August 28, 2008
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Canopy Walkway and more Rainforest Discovery

Sacha Lodge, Ecuador

No problem getting up at five. However a little nervous about going up on the wakway, especially after some brave women I met said it was scary.

I ate a light breakfast, filled up my water bottles and off we went. Good thing we got an early start, since it was hundred and climbing. The humidity was also very high. Our clothes were soaked by the time we walked through the jungle to the walkway.

Wow what a sight, I got dizzy just looking up. I took pictures of me overcoming my fears and dancing up there. It was a very proud moment for me and my two daughters were very impressed, they said no way would they do it. After all of that the bird viewing was sparse since it was so hot, the birds stayed down low in the rainforest.

After about two hours we decided to head down, it was getting hotter. Wendy was very interested in a tree called the Dragon's Blood. The guide found one and cut a slit in the bark. The sap was red, he rubbed it on a cut I had on my hand. It turned white as he rubbed it and the cut vanished. WE HAVE TO SAVE OUR RAIN FORESTS.

When we got back to the lodge, the cool waters of the lake called. I then headed to my hammock and a refreshing nap.

At four we again headed out in the canoe to see more wonders. More monkeys and a pygmy kingfisher the smallest kingfisher in the world. Lots of beautiful plants and awesome termite nests. They have a special relationship with parrots. The parrots dig an opening in the nest and lay their eggs. It keeps them warm and the termites don't bother them. The parrots supply the termites with droppings.

Of course we headed back for another wonderful dinner. At night we would once again head out on the lake. Sad since it is our last night at the lodge.

The last night at the lodge turned out to be quite a night. After dinner Wendy, David and I with our wonderful guides headed out onto the lake. The lightening and thunder we saw was mind boggling. I was a little concerned but Julio said not to worry that the storm was far off and wouldn't arrive till four a.m.. Well it sure seemed near and I never seen such a light show and I have seen many.

We also got to see the creatures of the night -- bats. One that we saw is a fisher bat the only species to fish. Sure enough we saw him dive down and get a fish.
After returning to my room, I finished packing and off to sleep I went being serenaded by the sounds of the jungle.

August 29, 2008
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Venture out of the Rainforest

Coca, Ecuador

In the morning at 6:30 our luggage was picked up. Thank goodness for the waterproof bags, since it was raining buckets.

After breakfast we headed for the dock where we were given ponchos. A short ride across the lake brought us to a very soggy, muddy hike to the Napo river. There we were given dry ponchos.

It was a long wet ride to Coco and we got stuck on some sand banks, but the Captain always managed to get us off.

In Coco we were once again escorted to the Sacha Lodge house for refreshments and waited to go to the airport.

My ride awaited at the other end and I was taken back to the Hostal. A warm shower and a rest made me feel human again.

Tomorrow I would be picked up to go to the market in Otavalo.

I decided to have a drink at the Hostal since I didn't have an early wake up call.. I asked for a margarita but they didn't have the ingredients. Then I tried for a vodka gimlet, that wasn't available either. So I stayed sober, ha ha. The Hostal was bought by a couple from Italy about seven months ago and they were very nice. The next night when I came back from my tour they said they had bought the ingredients for the margarita. It was very good but they didn't charge me since I was the guinea pig for the first one they made.

August 30, 2008
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Otavalo

Otavalo, Ecuador

The next morning Luis from Adventure life came to pick me up for our tour. He was very polite and was able to answer most of my questions of which I had many. After a hair raising trip over the Pan American Highway we made it to the Animal Market on time. This is were animals are bought and sold. Many a reluctant pig went squealing off with their new owners.

Then we headed to a market that sold all kinds of things and I was able to get some gifts to bring home for friends and family.

Some people I met on the tour told me about a restaurant on a Lake, so that's where Luis and I had lunch. It was excellent. We made a few more stops on the way back to the Hostal. It was a great day and I was sad to part with Luis.

August 31, 2008
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Birding Tour. Return home.

Quito, Ecuador

Last day in Quito.

My plane didn't leave till seven thirty P.M., so I decided to go on another adventure. I found something called San Jorge Ecolodge. It was at the 10,400 foot level above Quito. I called them and they picked me up in the morning.

I went on a birding tour with Jorge, a lady who worked at the U.N. and a man checking the place out for the Audubon Society. It was a great tour. I saw many hummingbirds and learned a lot about medicinal plants. It just so happens Jorge was born in Newark, NJ and was taken to Ecuador by his grandparents when he was a year old.

I then had lunch with Jorge and the other guests. The food was great. I highly recommended this place.

Alas and Alake time to head home. The trip home was uneventful, but strangely enough after surviving the Amazon without a bite, I got stung by a bee in my yard. My hand blew up like a balloon. Life is a mystery.

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