Ecuadoran Rainforest 2024

We visited the Ecuadoran Amazon rainforest from October 23 through 30, 2024, with Tofino Expeditions. It was a group of 11, with 2 company guides (Niki Marchan and Alejandra Mosquera) and 2 pairs of local guides (Fausto Andi and Livio at Sacha and Dolphin; Henry Hualina and Medardo Machoa at La Selva). We flew into Coca after a transition day in Quito, then a motorized canoe (50-60 feet long with twin 100 HP outboards!) took us some 43 miles down the Napo River to the first of three lodges we would stay at - Sacha Lodge. We were at 0.5 degrees South latitude, so just below the equator. It was hot and humid; we appreciated Sacha's air-conditioned cabins!

 We had a ~1 mile walk from the Napo to Sacha's canoe dock, from which canoes took us the 0.8 mile up the creek leading to Lake Pilchicocha with Sacha Lodge at the far end of the lake. Pilchicocha is a 'black-water' lake whose water is coloured by the tannins and minerals in the rainforest. It is quite reflective.

 This was a kayak-focussed tour and we were in Feathercraft tandem inflatables. We used them to paddle creeks off Lake Pilchicocha and a nearby river (Idellana). I used Strava to record the paths of most of our water and land outings. Sacha features three remarkable engineering structures: all are 30-40m high - a tower wrapped around a huge kapok tree; a crane (with basket, like a hot air balloon experience); and a 900-foot canopy walk bridge. It must have been quite the achievement to build these in the middle of the rainforest with no roads going to them. All three gave sweeping views over the rainforest canopy and provided superb vantage points for spotting wildlife. And on that point, our local guides were remarkable in both their encyclopedic knowledge of the wildlife and their uncanny ability to spot them. It was fascinating to hear their life stories of transforming from local hunters to their eco-tourism role today.

  We lucked out with the crane and got an unexpected repeat session with the crane operator. He gave us a personalized tour of the canopy. But that delayed our paddle back to the Lodge, which happened in the dark. That was pretty fun - we stayed right on our guide's tail.

 After a few days at Sacha, we moved on to the Dolphin Lodge, again a 40 mile journey downriver on the Napo by motorized canoe. This time we were deposited partway up the Panayacu River and paddled (upstream) to Lake Panacocha and the lodge. On the way, we spotted (with help) howler and spider monkeys and a sloth. The lake was also quite interesting with a lot of very small islands that grew out of fallen trees.

 The Dolphin Lodge is much more rustic than Sacha (and La Selva) with thatch huts which are open to the outdoors; the walls don't connect to the roof. This meant we slept under mosquito nets. They also only ran their generators for a few hours in the evenings; needless to say there was no internet. And limited hot water - a couple of cold showers ensued. So, 3 days cut off from the outside world. It was a good thing I brought backup batteries for our watches and phones. The lodge was quite enjoyable (we could have just wished for more surfaces to put things on in the hut). The staff were great and so was the food.

 Leaving Dolphin for La Selva entailed paddling downstream on the Panayacu River. But. It had rained in the previous few days (not really affecting us) and the level of the Napo River rose noticeably. Enough to back up the Panayacu, so that our downstream paddle involved battling a hefty current. In fact, we decided to bail on the paddle after 4 miles and retreated to the motor canoe to get to the Napo, and then back upstream to La Selva midway between Dolphin and Sacha.

 La Selva is pretty posh! Though the rooms are not air-conditioned and we again slept under nets. They also have a kapok tree tower which gave us our last views over the rainforest and some great bird opportunities.

 We visited a clay lick along the Napo River where hundreds of parrots slurp up the clay (and salt). It seemed like a drug to them! Quite the noise too. Three or four different species of parrot occupy the lick. (Oddly, when we went by it making our final way back home, at around the same time of day, there were hardly any parrots there). Our final outing was a visit to a local Pilche community. We were greeted by Nidia, their spokes lady who gave us an excellent introduction to their community, schools and some of their crops and cooking. It was our chance to eat BBQ grubs (insect larvae). And get a temporary tattoo on our wrists. The community is composed of about 50 families.

  Facts of life at the equator there include the heat and humidity. We tended to start our activities at 6am, then take a break in the early afternoon and resume around 4-4:30. We had several night walks to see the things that come out in the dark. Sunrise and sunset are abrupt at the equator maybe taking 10 minutes. It's light, then it's dark (and vice versa). Wellington boots are also a necessity. (I learned about boot jacks and now have one.) The locals wear boots all the time. To our surprise, mosquitoes were not an issue. We'd expected swarms of them, but that never happened. Maybe the bats are doing their jobs.

  We had two clear nights, and not surprisingly these are dark skies. We lucked out in having no moon so the stars and Milky Way were stunning. I'm no real astronomer, so I was happily identifying stars and constellations with my phone. While our timing was bad, one can see both the Southern Cross and Big Dipper from the equator.

  There was no 'aha!' moment on this trip (eg compared to swimming with sea lions in the Galapagos), but a series of wonderments - the rainforest feels prehistoric to me, with the huge ferns, dense foliage, huge trees etc. I could have seen a dinosaur pop out at any time. Spotting sloths, squirrel, spider, howler, titi monkeys was such a treat. As well as all the birds - I identified about 45 species in my photos. Of course, toucans (and ancaris), hoatzin (my favourites) and the crested owl short video make one smile; the owl had pretended to be a statue for the longest time - until it wasn't. And giant otters.

  I'd bought a 'bridge' camera for the trip, a Canon SX70 with 65x zoom. It's an 'SLR' with a single lens, like a point and shoot. But with an impressive zoom. I found I needed that full zoom a lot, and the through the lens viewing to find things. Had I depended on my SX740 40x zoom with LCD screen, the photos would have been disappointing. Of course, this does not match picture quality of a real SLR, but it's a good compromise for convenience in carrying. I kept it in a small dry bag held in my lap with a binoculars chest strap. That gave water protection and easy access.

  We don't usually do group tours, but this was a good group and the guides (company and local) really made the trip.