Antisana volcano (possibly), over 18,000 feet.
Our accommodations at Jatun Sacha. As long as there's mosquito netting, I'm a happy camper.
Lots of interesting flora and fauna here at the reserve, including this furry flower reminiscent of a newborn bird and the creepy basilisk thing scurrying about Jatun Sacha's organic farm (below).
Our afternoon chore was to clear the paths at the organic farm and cut down bananas. We took a short break to do show off our machetes.
"Come mister tally man, tally me banana!"
We did three pretty decent hikes in 12 hours and I was pretty pooped. The night hike was a bit scary with just flashlights and the light of the moon to guide us as we stumbled across lightning bugs, a water snake, a giant spider, sounds of froggies...
On our morning hike, Kate and I ventured off by ourselves in search of a metal tower and green tree men (Alberto, volunteer coordinator at Jatun Sacha, regaled us with many tall tales during our brief time there). After an hour and a half of crossing slippery log bridges and stomping along the same path with no end in sight, our Blair Witch minds kicked in and we began to get a little nervous about being lost in the jungle, but by a stroke of sheer luck, the path dropped us off literally at our cabin doorstep! Phew!
After our invigorating morning hike in the rain, Kate and I set off in search of amaZOOnico, a wildlife rescue center and refuge. A scenic motorized canoe ride allowed us to drink in the sights of the river (including folks pannin' for gold, $30 per gram) before we explored the reserve. A ton of depressing stories about the animals there sprinkled with a few accounts of successful animal releases into the wilderness.
Macaws are actually really obnoxious and dangerous, but many people don't realize this until they've bought them on the black market and brought them home. So many animals are just abandoned after this realization.
Capybara, so cool! Just a giant guinea pig, really. :)
Peccary, sort of a wild pig that looks a bit like a porcupine, but check out the chompers on this guy!
Gorgeous Amazon parrots...these guys get shipped 20 to a box and only one or two survive. But the profits from one parrot sold are enough to make people continue this practice.
Tortoises hiding from the caiman...just kidding.
Ocelot! Beautiful animals with a healthy carnivorous appetite!
***
The volunteer at the amaZOOnico rescue center told us of Capuchin monkeys that had been kept in a box for over 24 hours without food, water or sunlight so they literally went a bit crazy...one of them bit off a few of his own fingers and even part of his tail. Another monkey
(different species, maybe woolly) had lived in a zoo in Banos and wouldn't set a foot in nature, just concrete. A jaguarundi was discovered in a hotel room in a town called Loja...many stories like this, but the people at amaZOOnico are trying to help and have released many animals back into the wild after a rehabilitation period. Unforunately, some animals have been so severely abused or mistreated that they stand no chance in the wild and are permanent residents of the zoo.
Kate and I hopped on a bus to Tena Thursday afternoon and prepared ourselves psychologically for some Class IV rafting the next day. What a day! We caught some amazing rapids and even had to get on land and hike around some dangerously rocky rapids and then repel down the rocky hillside to get back to the river. So cool! I almost slipped and died though. Hiking that treacherous terrain without my glasses was quite terrifying!
Relaxing on a remote mini beach before lunch. So tired, but oh so fun!!!!! Such adventures!!!!!
That Capybara looks like an ROUS (Rodent of Unusual Size) from The Princess Bride.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a really fun time - with some scary bugs thrown in.
Yikes...
You are sooo right, Carrie! Didn't even think of that, but it's so perfect! :)
ReplyDelete