Seen on our night walkWe got up at 5 am and were on the water in our canoe by 5:45. Our goal was to see the Giant River Otters so we headed towards their den. Sure enough, just as we got here they were waking up and hitting the water for some fish breakfast! The otters each eat about 6 kilos of fish each day, that's a little over 13 pounds! This is partly why they are endangered as local fisherman viewed them as competition. We watched for quite awhile then as they moved off we continued along the shoreline searching for wildlife.
This morning we saw a couple of small caimans, many Hoatzins which are rather prehistoric looking, a Cocoi Heron, Green Ibis, Black Skimmer, several Yellow Headed Vultures, Blue and Yellow Macaws, Red Bellied Macaws, Yellow Crowned Parrots, White Winged Swallows, a bright yellow Social Flycatcher, Several Pale Vented Pigeons, and a small group of long nosed bats who where lined up perfectly vertically on a tree trunk sunning themselves before holing up for the day. Victor told us they eat about 30% of the mosquito population around the lake.
After breakfast we went on a walk in the jungle checking out the plant life and spotting more critters. The new bird we saw was the Num Bird which is a flycatcher. We also saw a small group of Capuchin monkeys.
At 4 p.m. we went on the canoe again to spot caimans. On the way we saw several Green and Rufus Kingfishers, and some Red Headed Cardinals as well as a Coral Snake. As the sun began to go down we spotted a group of Capuchin Monkeys settling into their nests for the evening, and apparently there was much arguing over the best locations.
Once darkness fell we spotted Caimans the same way as we did on the night walk, catching their eyes glowing in the light. There were dozens of them! We also caught glimpses of the many bats swooping along the water eating bugs and fish.
We've used Adventure Life for several trips in the past and have always been very pleased with them. The staff is personable and professional at the same time. Erin put this trip together for us in just a few days, and it has everything we were looking for! I recommend them without hesitation.
benn
1 month ago
I served as the person responsible for planning a trip to Galapagos and Machu Picchu for a group of 14 people. Jane with Adventure Life was very helpful throughout the process. Making suggestions, offering insight, and in the end helped me overhaul an initial plan into something even better. Also, Jane makes all the plans including the flights within and between Peru and Ecuador. Thanks to her this is going to be a stress-free adventure. After making the final decision about the trip, Jane gathered the contact information for all the travelers and sent out the details to each traveler individually with links to pay deposits, upload passport info, and personal preferences. She also ensured a group email was sent out to the entire group welcoming us to the trip preparation process. Our trip is a year from now and we are excited to make this once in a life time trek. I am happy to have organized things through Adventure Life. However, two small issues came up that were a little off putting. First, Adventure Life adds $50 per person to the cost for each traveler as a donation to a Galapagos conservation fund. I think this should he offered as something that can be added at each traveler’s discretion. Instead, it is automatically added, and each person must ask to have it removed if they do not want it included. Second, although the trip deposit may be paid with a credit card without incurring an additional fee, the balance must be paid in another way to avoid a 3% credit card fee. Maybe this is standard with all travel agencies. In the end I would definitely go through Adventure Life for the next big trip.
Brenda Nielsen
2 months ago
I think it was very helpful that Franny and I spoke on the phone. I think she had a better idea of what we were looking for, and she planned a great itinerary for us!
Elizabeth
3 months ago
My representative Kevin was very responsive generally and in crafting our itinerary to our specific priorities.
Rocco Labella
3 months ago
Easy.
Great work on the follow up and details by Waru.