Can You Predict the Future?

On October 26, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Photo Challenge, South America14 Comments

Whether or not you believe that certain people have a sixth sense, we are firm believers that people should trust their gut feelings. There have been times in our lives when we have had a sense that something had occurred and found out that those were true. Sometimes it isn’t anything magical, it is just a matter of using a little common sense, life experience, and trusting your senses. If you are in a strange city and get off of the main streets at night and get the feeling that someone is watching you, it isn’t a stretch to think that something bad might happen to you and that you should turn around and try to get to a more populated area. Traveling puts you on edge as it is, so it isn’t uncommon to get that nagging feeling that something is going to go wrong. A flight will be delayed and you will miss your connection. The taxi driver isn’t taking you to where they are supposed to or they are purposely taking a longer route to run up the bill. These feelings aren’t a bad thing, they make you more aware of your surroundings, make you plan for unexpected changes, and will ultimately make you a more confident traveler.

When we were in the Amazon Jungle, there was definitely no telling what we would see every time we rounded the next bend of the river or trail. Obviously, we were with experienced guides, so that definitely gave us confidence. All the same, we knew that we could come across anaconda snakes, caiman, poisonous frogs, snakes, spiders, and other insects. This week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge is things that start with the letter J and are at least six letters long. We have chosen photos from the Jungle from both our trip to Bolivia last year as well as our trip to Ecuador this year.

Getting Above It All

On October 10, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn South America4 Comments

One of the favorite things that we did during our time in Ecuador was to climb up a twelve story tower in the rainforest to watch for wildlife. Like most days that we spent at the Napo Wildlife Center in the Amazon, we were woken up at 4:30 am to have a quick breakfast and jump into a canoe to paddle to our destination. Obviously, the best times to see wildlife anyplace is at dusk and dawn when animals are most active and the same is true of animals in the jungle.

Once we beached our canoe, it was a relatively short hike through the forest to reach the observation tower. Standing at the bottom of the tower will certainly test any potential fear of heights, but it was an easier climb up the stairs than we had at first anticipated. We climbed up through the tree tops as well as the fog and arrived to see an amazing view of the jungle below us. It didn’t take long for the group to start spotting birds. The goal was to act as a team, each of us looking through binoculars and zoom lenses searching for motion that might be from an animal. Once someone saw something, our guides would point their telescopes at it and determine what we were looking at.

We were able to see so many amazing animals from macaws, toucans, and various monkeys. Overall, during our time in the jungle, we saw over 52 types of birds, 5 different monkeys, 2 tree sloths, as well as caimans. We weren’t able to take photos of everything because of the denseness of the forest, but we will treasure our memories of seeing them forever. We had several wonderful adventures during our time in Ecuador, but this day was definitely one that was extremely memorable.

Adventure on the Amazon River

On September 26, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Photo Challenge, South America11 Comments

Just traveling to and from our lodge in the Amazon was as much of an adventure as the time we spent doing the various tours everyday. After landing at the airport in Coca, we went to the dock where we boarded a motorized canoe. Considering the heat and humidity of the jungle, having the breeze blow through the canoe was definitely a relief. We saw a variety of birds, but that was just a tease for what we would see later during our time deeper in the jungle. We passed oil refineries as well as barges carrying trucks up the river and our anticipation grew the further we traveled. After two and half hours, our canoe pulled up onto the shore and we were told to remove our shoes as the water was too shallow for the canoe to take us to the smaller, paddle canoes that would take us the final three hours to our lodge. Once we reached the paddle canoes, it was time to make our way through the narrow stream towards the lake with the lodge.

It did not rain while we were in the jungle, which was good for us, but made the travel in the stream more and more difficult as we left for our daily excursions. On the final day at the lodge, we boarded the canoe at 5:00 am and started making our way to meet the motorized canoe. About thirty minutes into the three hour journey, it started to rain. We put on ponchos that were provided by the guides and then the skies truly let loose and we were being pounded by a torrential downpour. Nothing could keep us dry, but fortunately our bags were wrapped in thick plastic in order to keep all of cameras and electronic equipment dry. It was a good thing too, since we had over two inches of water in the bottom of the canoe before we got out of the canoe. By the time we reached the location of the motorized canoe, it had rained so hard that the river had risen more than three feet. The beach that we had crossed on foot just the day before was now covered in water that was deep enough for our canoes to take us all of the way to the motorized canoe.

We transferred ourselves and our belongings onto the motorized canoe and began our two and a half hour ride back to Coca. The water was choppy and water sprayed over the sides of the boat even with the side-curtains down. We were no longer thankful for the wind that whipped through the boat as the heat of the jungle had been replaced with cold, rain-soaked air that chilled us to the bone. We arrived back in Coca, completely soaked, before getting on the plane that would take us back to Quito. We were definitely glad to get back to our hotel and change into dry clothes. The canoe rides to and from the lodge may not have been the highlight of our time in the Amazon, but it was definitely part of the overall adventure.