When I visited the rainforest of Costa Rica three years ago, I felt so humble because of the breath-taking beauty of Mother Earth. When I had the opportunity to visit the Amazon jungle in Ecuador, I could not contain my happiness. Last week, my colleague and I joined a group of 11 volunteers, who had been travelling through Ecuador for the past 10 weeks.
Day 1: Quito – GAIA Lodge
On Friday morning we left in private transportation to GAIA Lodge, located in Napo. The trip took around six hours and when we arrived, a lovely and delicious lunch was served. After having rested for a little while, we went on a canoe ride and navigated the rivers surrounding the Lodge. We looked for animals on the river banks and admired many different types of monkeys. After having spent some time relaxing on the river we were given 30 minutes to swim in the cool river.
Day 2: visit indigenous family – hike in primary forest
After a lovely breakfast we travelled to a nearby island, called Anaconda Island. Currently, around 50 indigenous families live on this island. We visited one of the families and our guide demonstrated how the indigenous people use different artifacts in rituals. After we tried a typical drink made of yucca – a root from a local plant – we learned how to hunt the traditional way. On our way back to the boat, we stopped at a swamp where our guide threw some chicken guts in the water. A few seconds later, two caimans came swimming towards us, attracted by the intestines. In the afternoon, we hiked in the primary forest for two hours where we admired the ginormous trees and the incredible flora.
Day 3: animal rescue center – local activities
After having waited a bit longer for the rain to stop, we visited an animal rescue center called AmaZOOnico. Our guide explained us why those animals were brought into the rescue center and talked us through what we should do when encountering wild animals. In the afternoon we learned about the local activities. We started off with visiting an indigenous family who were looking for gold. We observed to process and were able to try it out ourselves. After having said goodbye to the family we tried artisanal fishing. This did not last very long since we lost the net and then had to look for it for some time. After we found the net, we returned back to the lodge were we prepared chocolate made from scraps.Day 4: butterfly farm - tubing
Knowing this was our last day, we made sure to enjoy every minute. In the morning we visited a beautiful butterfly farm where we feasted our eyes on the wonderful world of these little creatures and admired the beautiful golden (!) cocoons of a certain type of butterfly. We left the garden with a smile and visited a wood working workshop. After a short demonstration we walked to a nearby ceramic workshop where we were treated to a demonstration done by one of the few indigenous women who still perform this art. In the afternoon we went tubing on the river Napo, which means drifting down the river in rubber bands. Completely relaxed I looked up at the skyline and scanned the trees for wildlife. We were blessed enough to observe a group of monkeys in their natural habitat.
Day 5: GAIA Lodge – Quito
After an early breakfast, we drove back to Quito in the minibus. The journey was long and tiring but I felt satisfied. Every evening I fell asleep to the soothing sounds of the jungle and every morning I woke up to monkeys munching on bananas. I would like to encourage everyone to at least visit the rainforest once in their life and experience this wonderful place. Till next time!
True Ecuador Travel hosts international interns for periods of 3 months or more to gain valuable experience in working in the tourism sector. We invite them to create blog posts periodically throughout their internship to highlight their impressions of Ecuador and their work with us.
I love history, languages and reading novels. My biggest passion is gardening, nature and sustainability. I would love to move to a different country and follow a course in permaculture. In the future I would like to own a farm, live mostly self-sufficient and start my own business.