Exploring Amazon Rainforest and stay alive! I Tucan Lodge Cuyabeno
- Igor Fox
- Jan 30
- 17 min read
Updated: Jan 31
Hola, Everyone!
Are You ready to meet snakes, spiders, scorpions... and other pleasant creatures?... So, let's explore Wild Amazon Rainforest of Ecuador together!
Let's Begin, and Welcome to the Jungle!
My joinery to the jungle has started from Quito Old City. The bus came to pick up the tourists from the hostel The Secret Garden at 11.30pm. (I already mentioned about this hostel in part 1 here). The ride was supposed to take about 8h, so it was convenient, that the bas was at night. And, likely for me, it was the straight bus to the meeting point. From the other tourist, I heard that that they took another bus, also from Quito, and they had to make a transfer, at the middle of the night, which is not convenient at all...
Anyway, for me at was a good ride, the bus wasn't full, and comfortable. I didn't sleep much in the road, but, still, came to the meeting point pretty rested. The meeting point was already in the jungle... But, it wasn't our final destination. We had some light lunch there, while waiting for those guys, who took two buses.
And at the first time in my life is saw a bamboo. Yup, a bamboo..., in the Amazon Rainforest. I was surprised... But it's all was only the beginning!
Our local guide came to pick us up. His name was Carlos, nice guy. And, how the time showed, he made this trip really unforgettable!.. But, everything step by step...
Good for us it was a kind of rainy season. Why good? So, after the meeting point we had to ride by motor canoe stile boat about 1.5h, the river was full..., otherwise, in a dry season from November to March, when the river is low, it would take about 5-6h... Yes, it a huge difference in the level of the water between the season... Also, the big difference in quantity of tourists to... When it's wet, it's less people..., which makes this time perfect for me..., despite of constant weather changes, from sunny to rainy many times during a day...
Before the departure, the guide give us, tourists, a waterproof ponchos, the rain could start any minutes... We boarded the boat and mover through the jungle to our home for those 4 days...
And rain has started...
We were moving by the river, through the Rainforest. That was exactly what I was expecting in the jungle. Different trees, bushes, it seemed like they were growing from the water. I could see the level of the river on the trees, which it was not long time ago and was much higher, maybe a meter higher... Truly, it was very unique ecosystem...
Poncho really helped my to stay dry during the rain, which was about 5 min. The rain was warm and I with pleasure took my hood off and just was enjoying the water on my head... Actually, I didn't mind to be wet..., I just was protecting my camera. I put my hand in the river... The river was also warm... I was connecting with this place... I already was a part of it...
The Sun came out and I took my poncho off. It was getting hot...
The guide notice some animals on the trees. We stopped. Monkeys, small ones and a lot of them! They were jumping from tree to tree, moving somewhere along the river. So many of them! Wow! I could see those animals in they natural habitat..., I was soo excited!
And a bit later... when we mowed down to the river, the Amazon has started to open even more and more for us..., for me... All its energy, all its beauty, all its life!
I wasn't riding a boat, I was flying, high... I could feel the animals, hidden in the trees... The river... it was muddy, but it also had so much life in it! All this place was a single live Universe!
Little down by the river we stopped again. The guide noticed something hidden in the trees... We came closer... And, Anaconda! The queen of the Jungle! Wow! Finally we met!... But... at this time it was... a princes, I'd rather say. Very very young princes. It was a baby Anaconda, about a meter long... But, still, for me it was soo much luck to see it!
And the sky...! so many different birds! Toucans on the top of the trees, flying here and there Ara Macao..., Stinky turkey on branches close to the water... (actually this bird doesn't look like a turkey at all, just a weird name ))..., and many, many more!... And we still didn't get to our destination!
Well, I can say I was full satisfied from this trip to the jungle only from this boat trip.
And, finally we got to our lodge.
Btw, Tucan Lodge in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve is owned and operated by a team of local Amazonian guides. Founded in 2019, it is one of few, if not the only, locally owned and run lodges in the area. And this place is really amazing! Okay, I'll go ahead a little bit. The food was very yummy and every time different, room was clean and cozy, stuff was very friendly... they even had a little gum there, lots of hummocks, local coffee, cacao, tea... and the excursion in the Jungle! The guide, Carlos, showed us one of the most unforgettable excursion in my life!... But, we'll come back to that a bit later ))
So, Welcome to Paradise!
Okay, I finally found my room, after some exploration on the way. Cool pictures of an animals on the walls, local flowers and trees - everything was so interesting for me there! I felt like home! And the air! Soo fresh! I was filling up my lungs with so much gratitude for being here, for being alive and to have opportunity to see and to feel all of it!... And to be a part of this Amazonian Universe!
So, I found my room, drop off the backpack and went to the dining... space. The dining room..., kind of room... was outside just under the roof. I took my shoes off and just walked barefoot. We had some lunch..., truly, since I write this article long after the trip, I just can't remember, what we had for meal..., jus remember that it was yummy..., because everything was yummy there ))
After the the meal we had some time for rest. Everyone was resting... except me, of course )) No time to rest! I only have four days here! So, I put my swimming shorts, and went to the river.
By the river was a little home made gym, couple barbells, which, I just couldn't miss neither )) I did couple of reps... they also had kind of pull up bar... which I couldn't miss neither ))... Couple of reps there to ))... couple seconds on a swinging chair, that was fun... and straight to the River!... The river full of piranhas, crocodilas and anacondas! And some electrical eel to...
I went to the water... up to my knees... spend some time in this position, thinking, what am I doing... Aaa, let it be! Anaconda, I'm coming!!!... And I jumped in with a hope that Anaconda, piranhas and crocodilas already had they lunch...
It wasn't so bad, no one was biting me... but..., I didn't count the water flow... big mistake... I didn't even noticed, how the river was taking me farther and farther from the place, where I went in... I swam as hard as I could, but it wasn't enough... I was like a leaf in a surface... I understood that I just can't make it. So I changed the tactic. I started to swim to the nearest kind of shore. And, it was much dangerous, that to be at the middle of the river. Eels and caimans - it was they territory. Holding by the trees and branches, little by little I got the dock. Fortunately for me, alive and whole... That was the experience! Cool!
Okay, I guess, not it is time to rest a little bit ))
Outside there were some nets, where I could just lay down and have a suntan. so. I used this opportunity... But, not for long, because couple of more joineries still were waiting for me today!
Well, after some quiet time and a little rest the guide gathered all of us together again. Btw, there were 8 of us there, it's not a lot at all, considering, when I was leaving a group of 20 ppl came to the place.
Anyway, we boarded the boat and the joinery of the evening has started! The Sun still was above the horizon, the sky was clear... And many animals were around us...
The guide noticed somethin on top of the tree. It was a monkey, but this time it was alone, at least I didn't noticed the rest. And it was big. How the guide told us, it was the biggest monkey in that area... That guy (or a girl) didn't rush anywhere, just sitting on top of the branches and eating leaves... A little farther by the river we notices already familiar to us little monkeys, and again, there were many of them. Unlike the big one, those were moving fast, jumping from brunch to brunch and eating some leaves on they way... It was nice and fun to watch them...
We continued our way along the river... Not for long. The guide noticed something again, but this time it wasn't on the tree, or in the sky..., it was in the river... I could see a back of some animal in the water. The animal appeared and disappeared again under water. And there were couple of them. A dolphins! Amazonian dolphins! Truly, I was expecting to see some animals in this trip to the jungle, but dolphins!... Well, that was cool. I was lucky to see many dolphins at Galapagos, then they were freely swimming in the Ocean, many of them. But here... Thank You, Mother Nature, for this gift!
...We arrived to our destination for today. The Lagoon! Actually, locals call it lagoon, but it was the place, where the river just became very very wide and tool a shape of a round lake. Now it was totally under the water, but in a dry season it would be completely dry. But, there are benefits in that to - in that case it is much easier to find here The Queen - big Green Anaconda!..
Well, it was wet season, and now this place was perfect for swimming! We were at the middle of the lagoon, the safest place. And, not thinking long, I jumped into the water! The water was warm and didn't have any current. I could safely swim here. But, still, the feelings that some caiman, anaconda, or some piranhas can swim around was bringing my adrenalin a bit up.
Swimming, I felt deep connection to the place... through the water, through the air... The Sun was almost down already and the sky turned to orange red colors...
It was very calm and peaceful... I was swimming, slowly, fast..., playing with the river... The water took away all my worries and pain... Instead, it charged me with love, gratefulness, and many others positive emotions... )) I was swimming, I was flying... I was high... Soo much calmness and peace!... Everyone was in the boat already for a long time..., but not me... I knew, I had nowhere to rush, I was in the Jungle, swimming with the sunset, enjoying and preserving every moment... I was totally present totally there... and that's exactly, how you keep the memories and emotions inside, forever...
It was almost dark already, when I got back into the boat. We continued our joinery. The boat took the direction towards the shore. We landed... In the darkness... The walk through the night jungle was waiting for us. The sky was clear, but we still couldn't see any stars. The branches of trees were our clouds this time. We started to walk towards the deep jungle. Not all of us had a flashlights, only the guide, me and of couple more guys... My flash began to go out, the battery was dying. And, plus to this, I have a bad vision in a darkness... We walked through a very narrow path... Scorpions, shakes, spiders... all those animals were around us...
Every leaf, every brunch was hiding something... plus the night woke up many of those animals... The guide stopped... A big fallen tree was on our way. There is no detour, we had to go over it... Need to be careful, the tree was a bit wet and we had to walk on it a bit to get back to the path again. It was slippery, some of us almost felt, but was caught by a fellow traveler... Back to the path..., we've reached a little stream... "Electrical eels and caimans usually lives here" - the guide said...
It meant, we had to be very careful here, and try do not fall in the water... We continued our joinery very slowly... My flashlight was almost dead... Different creatures was watching us from the darkness... But, unfortunately for me, this time I didn't have a chance to meet any of them...
I the darkness I saw the boat, we came back...
We all boarded and boating towards the lodge. And now I could see the stars!!! The sky was full of them! Millions and millions of them! Far, far away from here, they still were bright and beautiful.
The guide noticed something in the water. Yup, this guy has a really good vision. He told me that all people, who was born in this area, has a good vision... you are in the jungle, you just need to see well here, before somethin sees you. The guide noticed a caiman. The animal was half above the water, floating still. It was couple of meters long. And I could see his eyes... not sleeping, waiting for a pray...
We spend some time watching him..., he was watching us... The caiman was not to far from the place, where we just boarded...
We continued our boat joinery through the darkness illuminated by the stars...
Not for long, we stopped again. This time it was a sloth! Far, on top of a tree. This time it was hard to say, was he sleeping, or eating..., but considering sloths sleep 15-20h a day this guy could see his 10th dream...
And the next stop - a snake! A little one, about 1m long, not poison this time... The shake was hanging from a branch, not far from the water... It was green and cute... And very good model for my pictures and videos ))
We reached the lodge. I changed and went outside again... The Stars... I lay down on a net, which was made specials for this propose and just watched the Universe!!! The Endless Universe, the part of which I also was!...
Good Morning, Jungle!
The new day has started, and new adventures were waiting!
And there is nothing better, than to swim in the morning in the river among crocodilas, anacondas and piranhas... And that's what I did )) Really refreshing!... Especially with a little spike of adrenalin ))
The Day has started!
We had some yummy lunch. I don't remember, what we had, but it yummy and I asked for more )) And, because it tasty, and because I still was hungry... I just always ask more... sometimes I just eat a lot ))
Anyway, after the lunch the walk through the jungle was waiting for us. Meeting with many medicine plants were waiting for us.
I put on my robber boots, which I got at the place. It was cloudy, so, just in case, I put my rainy jacket..., but, how time showed, I got completely wet anyway... ))
But, everything step by step, so, lets begin!
Right at the beginning of the path through the Jungle we met the first Medicine Plant. It was a liana, at the first look not different, that others around... But, it was a really special Plant... Locals understood its healing abilities by watching animals. For example jaguar - he eats this plant, when he needs to clean his body from parasite. Yes, an animals can be our teachers to, as well as plants. I had an opportunity to meet this medicine before, but, in a kind of, another form and I have lots of respect to this Plant, it really can heal your body, your mind..., and your soul... But, it's gonna be another story ))... I was grateful to meet this Medicine in it's natural environment. Lots of respect and gratitude...
We were walking through the jungles, the path was muddy, slippery and with some puddles, but, it was fun to walk in this conditions )) We stopped by another medicine plant... Mother Nature really can heal us! It has some many medicine plants, everywhere! You don't need to go to the jungle to find medicine. Even regular dandelion has some many healing abilities! Our ancestors used them all the time, ant this traditions the the plans still alive in remote areas, like Jungles...
We were walking along the river. The guide stopped by some tree. There were many little ants on it. By the way, I was very surprised, that these Jungles didn't have any mosquitos. No one was biting me, unlike in the Peruvian Jungle. I didn't even use my cream from mosquitos.
So, the guide pointed in the ants - and they were the reason - they were eating mosquitos eggs. And despite these ants were very small, they bite was very panful. I didn't check it, the guide told us.
The next stop was the tree, the sap of which could help you to get rid of parasites. The taste of the sap was a bit bitter, but still good. Okay, move forward a bit... I tasted everything there, was was more less edible... from tree sap to different ants... One kind of ants were so yummy! Lemon ants, and they really was sour, like a lemon )) Termites, when you squished them, smells like a sweet flower... other kind of ants were using by locals for a stress release... You jus put you hand in they nest, and it was so pleasant and relaxing sensation and feeling, when they crawling on you... Another, this time big and was used like vaccination, kind of..., but at first it has to bite you about 15 times, and the bite was very, very painful and could last more that couple of hours. Some of guys tried its bite (or sting)... I passed that procedure )) Instead, I just gently put the Bullet Ant on my hand, and let it crawl a bit..., the insect didn't feel any danger, and didn't harmed me. He was wondering in a new environment, and I was wandering buy watching him freely crawling on me. After, I just put my hand to the tree and the and went home...
We met the tree, leaves of which were using for cooking, like we use a foil here. (Tomorrow we will have a lunch, made on fire, and the cook is gonna use these leaves). Also, all around us were walking trees. Actually, they are really walking, they move during they life. And they roots, kind of, has spikes, so locals used to use them for peeling some food. There was another tree, roots of which were used to heal diarrhea... All this place was a natural pharmacy...
The natural pharmacy with more than 500 years old trees. And these trees were huge! Sometimes locals literary used them as a shelter for a night, when they were exploring the Jungles. More than 500 years old trees... They has started to grove long before the first Europeans came here.
I came closer to the tree, touched it... The tree trunk was spreading in deferent directions... It was huge... I could feel its energy... wise and calm... and strong... We were connected..., through the touch, through the air... All group moved forward a bit, so for a short time I was alone there... it was quiet... I felt fresh and clear, like the air which I was breathing...
We stopped by another liana. This time it was a regular one... and very strong. And, of course I tried to hang on it )) The liana easily hold my weight of 87kg. I tried to climb up, but it was very slippery. But, another liana was ahead... And this time I saw in it a pull up bar! Yup, I just couldn't miss the opportunity to do couple pull ups on the liana in the jungle )) And after I climb on top of it! And it was my hammock! Cool, right! A hammock in the jungle from the liana! I chilled a bit the, on top, looking up to the sky...
But, another liana was waiting fore me! And this time I wanted to climb up! About 10 - 15 up. Fortunately for me, I workout a bit, so I was sure, I can make it. Still, I wanted to use a tree as a support. It was slippery, so I took my boots and socks off. But, truly, I just wanted to make it barefoot. I've started to climb. At the beginning it was easy, but closer to the end, I started to get tired... Huh, took a little brake, and made the last... reps... The feeling, when I made it, and was on the top, was amazing!!! Wow! Definitely, it is worth to workout and not only for health, but for the moment like this... I was alone, except the guide, who made it. There was four more much younger guys than me, but... no workout... And, it is great felling, to stay young and strong inside, despite of the age!
Well, after a short rest on top, and enjoying the moment, I started to climb down. It was much easier ))
We continued our joinery through the deep Jungle...
Around us were little trees with a big spikes, couple centimeters long. I was trying to be very careful, not touching anything... But... the path was getting muddier and muddier, the puddles were deeper and deeper. In this condition it was a bit hard to keep the balance... And, it happened... one time I almost felt... I instinctively grabbed the nearest brunch... and, of course, it was a brunch with a long spikes... Ouch... Part of my palm and fingers were in the spikes. Well, you wanna full experience - here is the full experience! My hand healed with time, but memories left forever! And, it wasn't so painful, btw... And, I didn't fell, at least ))
So far the length of the boots were enough to keep my feet dry..., but... it wasn't for long. Than farther we went, then deeper were the puddles. And, finally, I got the water in my boot ))... And it was only the beginning. Soon I heard excitement voices from the guys in front of my... btw, I was the last, was taking lots of time to see the world around me... One time even lost the group, they were too far ahead... so I had to call them loud, to find them... in the Jungle...
Soon the path disappeared completely under the water, and not only my feet were wet, but half of my body to. I had to put my camera in a waterproof beg. Very soon water was up to my chest. It was a little river, which we had to cross. And, as I found out in couple of minutes, the river was deep. The was a tree under the water which I couldn't see. The guys in front used the tree as a bridge. I found the tree by my feet. First step, second... almost lost my balance... my jacket in one hand, cameras in another hand... and, I'm loosing the balance... cant use hands for swimming, they are busy..., my boots full of water, and I can feel, like I loosing one boot... Uh, my had was under the water for couple of seconds, I drink a little bit of it... Good, that a bit earlier I had a sap from the tree which helps from parasites, so I didn't get any while this unexpected swim ))... Fortunately I can swim well even when hands are busy and boots full of water )) I grabbed the tree... That's the experience!!! Unforgettable! I could see my boot floating nearby... The guide took the boot and my camera, which I still was holding and I went back to the top... With a one boot, not thirsty anymore and totally wet I've reach the shore. That was fun! ))
We continued our joinery...
And soon reached the lodge. What a day! What a Adventure!!! I left my stuff and went straight to the river, regular one... Everyone was swimming. I jumped in! Feels good! Very good! Wow... what a day!... but it was only half of the day!
After swimming there was a lunch, something yummy again ))
And after the lunch, I asked a guide about some needle and alcohol, to get those splinters, which left after the spikes... And he gave me needle... a cactus needle... it was funny )), But, it worked and I managed to get all of them, except one, 5 or 6 in total.
After lunch we were preparing local coffee and cacao, on fire, using hand grinding tool, in like in a old times. Yummy local coffee and cacao, which was growing not far from here.
And, when the night came, we went to the Jungle again!... And this time I was lucky to see and big spiders, like tarantula and something else, scorpions, and couple of more animals! I was soo excited! And even that's wasn't all! The guide offered to turn all lights off! everyone put a hand to the shoulder of the person in front... the lights were off!... Complete darkness!... And we started to walk, holding each other... in the deep, wild, night Jungle!... I really loved that part!
And when we came back, the sky... full of stars!!!...
I was enjoying every moment of that wonderful trip!...
And, we still had one more full day!
A little plantation of coffee and bananas right in the jungle, local village, shaman... and much more!... But it's gonna be the story of another day... )
And, so far, just want to say Thank You, my dear reader, for being here...
And, if you'd like to dive into the last two days in the jungle, leave the comment, like, subscribe, I really appreciate it
Well, let's move farther - from Amazon Rainforest to the 4800m above the sea level!
Very interesting trip!