mighty white hunterSince the rain had decided to settle in for the morning, we were unable to visit the Macaw salt lick (the beautiful parrots evidentially don't arrive when it is raining) and so explored La Selva's Butterfly farm instead. The Amazon is home to 1,800 species of butterflies and La Selva has done its best to create a self-sufficient farm for research and resale of a few of the species. I was very interested in the process they've developed to sweep leaves for the eggs and then to nurture each stage of the butterfly's life cycle. The variation of cocoon colors, sizes, and shapes was overwhelming - as was the corresponding variation in the adult butterflies.
After lunch, we visited Garzacocha Lake, better known as Lake Hyacinth since it is almost completely choked by these flourishing water plants. The canoe trip was serene, and as the birds mesmerized most of my fellow travelers, I spent my time photographing the many butterflies and dragonflies enjoying the success of the blooming hyacinth plants. Of course I had to pause in my obsession of bug-watching long enough to watch the monkeys in the trees, the green parrots that curiously viewed us from overhead, and to be amazed at the Common Potoo, a brown bird who had set up lodging on the very top of a dead palm tree. Talk about camouflage techniques! Even when editing the film, I had to remember what I had been photographing as the bird, from most angles, looks exactly like an extension of the tree! But alas the peace ended and we returned for dinner.
After dinner, I wanted to try my fishing skill with the local piranha.
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
5 days ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
6 days ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
1 week ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.