The Napo Wildlife Center

During our trip to Ecuador, we stayed at the Napo Wildlife Center in the Amazon Rainforest. Considering that we were deep in the Yasuni National Park and far away from any city, the amenities at the lodge were actually very nice. We had hot water, plenty of fresh food cooked three times a day, and even a fully stocked bar. There was also Wi-Fi, but it was a little spotty and didn’t always work. The lodge and bungalows sit on the shore of Añangu Lake and we had to paddle in canoes for a couple of hours to reach the lake from the river.

The Main Level of the Ecolodge
The Lodge Complex from the Lake
View from Our Hut

One of the nice features of the ecolodge is the observation deck. There are several levels of the tower, each with a different view of the canopy. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset on our first night there and could often hear the howler monkeys all around. Sitting on the upper decks of the tower was a wonderful way to find a bit of a breeze and beat a little of the intense jungle heat. There was also some native art on display as well as a library if you were interested in doing some reading. We were often too tired from a day of trekking in the jungle to do much other than eat and sleep.

Sunset Over the Amazon Rainforest
Looking Down from the Observation Deck
Colorful Artwork

If you wanted to enjoy the sounds of the lake, there were plenty of lounge chairs in the boathouse, but swimming was not an option as caiman could often be seen near the shores of the lake. If that isn’t enough to keep you from jumping into the lake, anaconda snakes were also known to be in the area. Not every animal was threatening, though, we were constantly being serenaded by birds and they could always be found in the trees outside of our hut.

Looking Down the Shore
Lounge Chairs
One of Our Neighbors

If anyone is planning on going to the Yasuni National Park in Ecuador, we would highly recommend staying at the Napo Wildlife Center. Run by the local Amazon tribe that owns the lodge, they make every effort to ensure that your stay is pleasurable while providing daily tours that truly emerse you into the jungle.

Our Room
Fully Stocked Bar
Dining Hall

 

Carrasco National Park in Bolivia

One of the most interesting places that we visited during our time in Bolivia was to the Carrasco National Park. It is in the Amazon Rainforest and is most famous for having a cave with Guacharo birds. These birds are virtually blind and are nocturnal feeders that eat the fruit of the oil palm trees. They are also known as “blind birds” or “oil birds” because of their unique eating habits as they are the only nocturnal fruit eating birds in the world that fly. Needless to say, there are a lot of other animals that can be found in the park and hiking through the park provides a variety of unique experiences.

Looking Out from the Guacharo Bird Cave
Transportation Across a River
Owl Moth

Prior to starting our guided tour of the park, our guide took time to show us a variety of venomous snakes that could be encountered, which was certainly a little unnerving. We would learn, however, that there are a lot of other things to be cautious of when hiking in the jungle, such as poisonous ants, spiders, and frogs. There are even jaguars that remain in the jungle, but they are very rarely sighted, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t see you. After our preparation talk, the guide led us to the edge of a river, which he then crossed using a pulley in order to reach a cable car that he then pulled back over to transport us across the river. Certainly an interesting start to our adventure.

Venomous Snakes
Tree Trunks as Bridges
Guide Making His Way Across the River

We then hiked through the jungle on a slightly overgrown trail with our guide hacking leaves out of our way with a machete.  Just seeing the overgrowth on a trail helps explain why so much of the Amazon remains unexplored even to this day. Once we reached the cave with the blind birds, we entered quietly trying to see them huddled together on ledges near the roof.  You aren’t able to get close enough to really see them, but then our guide hit a stick against the cave wall making a banging sound. In response, the birds howled back making a sound that resembles the roar of a jaguar. In fact, when the birds were first discovered by the local tribes, no one dared enter the cave as they feared that there was a jaguar inside and only later did they find out that the noise was from these strange birds.

Sign Outside of the Cave
Poisonous Frog
Flowers in the Dark of the Jungle

We weren’t done exploring caves, though, as we would next enter two other caves to see different types of bats, including vampire bats. From there we continued to loop around the trail towards the entrance. At one point, our guide put his finger on the trunk of a tree and quickly pulled it away, but not before hundreds of tiny ants appeared from under the bark. There are no leaves or branches on the lower part of the trees and our guide explained that it was due to these poisonous ants. The locals will still tie a person convicted of a crime such as rape or incest to the trunk of the trees and thousands of ants will bite them until they die. Definitely a gruesome punishment.

Tree Trunk and Vines
Looking Up Through the Canopy
Hiking in the Jungle

We saw so many fascinating things during our hike that it is hard to describe them all. There are trees that are called “walking trees” because they grow multiple, above-ground roots and they will grow new roots to literally move to find more sunlight. Obviously they don’t really walk, but over time, they can move themselves several feet from their original location. There is also a form of tree vine that grows itself around other trees, eventually overtaking its host. The park is definitely host to many beautiful as well as dangerous things, but one of the things that can be found in the park was somewhat surprising. Unfortunately, the pro-cocaine government has allowed coca farms to claim lands within the park and at one point we actually walked through one of the farms, our guide whistling loudly to announce our presence.

Before the Hike
Coca Field
Diverse Forest Trees

If you want to get an understanding of the diversity of life on the floor of the Amazon, visiting Carrasco National Park will provide you with the perfect experience. This was our first visit into the jungle and we enjoyed it so much that we made sure to spend more time in the jungle during our trip to Ecuador. Hopefully at some point, the government of Bolivia will truly protect these parks or they won’t be around for people in the future.

Moss Covered Planks to Get Through the Jungle
Sign at the Entrance to the Park
You Didn’t See the Sky Often

 

Parrot Clay Lick in the Yasuni National Park in Ecuador

When visiting Yasuni National Park in the Amazon, one of the tours will take you out to see the parrots and parakeets licking the clay on a cliff along the banks of the Napo River in Ecuador. The tours are organized by the Napo Wildlife Center, whose property is where the licks are located, and the best time to visit is just after dawn in the morning. Activity at the clay lick is even more abundant on mornings when it isn’t raining, so we were fortunate to have a clear day during our visit since it is called a rainforest for obvious reasons.

Colorful Parrots
Hundreds of Parrots at the Clay Lick
Flying In and Flying Out

The night before our tour, our nature guide offered us the choice of sleeping in an extra thirty minutes and having breakfast on the boat or getting up at 4:30 am to eat before departing on the tour. Since we had be up so early every morning, we gladly chose to stay in bed for any extra time that he would offer us and the chef of the lodge prepared a variety of food for us to eat on the boat. Despite being in the jungle, it was surprisingly cool on the water as we made our way to the first of two clay licks that we were to visit that day.

The parrots, parakeets, and macaws visit to the clay lick almost daily because the minerals in the clay counteract the toxins that are in the berries and fruit that they eat in the jungle. Without the clay licks, the birds wouldn’t survive the toxicity that builds up in their small bodies. The birds certainly seem to fully enjoy their time at the clay lick as they chirped and squawked incessantly as they hopped around and flew in and out of the group. There were so many birds that it was hard to distinguish one from another at times. We sat there on our boat for almost an hour as we ate our breakfast and watched the birds eating and playing.

Birds Flying Towards Us

Afterwards, we went to the second clay lick where we had to hike our way into the jungle to get a spot in an observation deck. There was the possibility of a variety of animals from birds to mammals coming to the location, so our group sat there quietly waiting for anything to appear. At one point, we saw a couple of parrots come to the clay lick, but that was all that we saw. After seeing so many birds at the previous clay lick, sitting quietly for three hours to see two birds was a little anticlimactic.

Birds Huddled Together

We saw so many different birds and animals during our time in the Amazon, but watching the feeding frenzy at the clay lick was certainly a highlight of our time in the rainforest. It is hard to believe the way that animals learn to adapt to their environment, eating things that are toxic to their systems and then finding ways to counteract what is poisoning their systems. If only there was a clay lick for humans who have gone out at night and had too much to drink, wouldn’t that be nice 🙂 .