Sacha Lodge - black rubber boots, my new best friends
The Virgin of QuitoOn the way here, I had this Disney Moment. Looking at the rainforest around me I imagine singing snakes looking up from the tress, joking monkeys dangling from the branches, colourful butterflies dancing around and a shy jaguar peeking through the trees. None of this actually happened. Sigh.
The short flight from Quito took us across the beautiful snow capped Andes Mountains to Coca, where we boarded an oversized motorized canoe that took us 50 miles up the Napo River. Then a 30-minute walk through the rainforest until we get to a beautiful lagoon that we cross on a small canoe. Then we finally arrive at Sacha Lodge, an eco lodge in the Ecuadorian rainforest far from the Amazon River.
First things first. Fernando, our guide for the next 4 days, assembles our little group of 6 and gives us the most important piece of clothing, black rubber boots. Now, we are ready!
Our first mini hike takes us to the butterfly garden and the forest around the lodge. We see a tarantula hole, an armadillo hole (wait, no, still no live armadillo in sight), bats and a whole bunch of tiny monkeys, Pygmy Monkeys.
The holiday of a lifetime. The company is Alaksa-owned and thhat makes a big difference to the experineces you get i.e. meet genuine First Nations tribes people. The amount of wildlife was beyond my expectation, and seeing everything on sucha small, intimate boat made it even more spoecial and unique.
Liz O
1 day ago
Adventure Life covered all the details in planning our trip to Ireland. Any questions we had were answered immediately. Any trip glitches, which always happen when traveling, were resolved immediately. There were no worries, just fun!
Kathleen Weller
1 day ago
It was an outstanding, up-close, educational vacation of nature, culture, history, animals and geology! It was everything they promised! Binoculars were plentiful on the boat, but I'm glad I brought my own. Food was excellent. Rooms had black-out shades. Pack/wear multiple layers of clothing (I carried a small backpack when off the ship). Crew were delightful and very accommodating! Remember to jump FEET FIRST first when taking the optional polar plunge! Spend as much time outdoors as you are able and ENJOY!!!
Janet Dutton
6 days ago
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
1 week 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.