La Selva Lodge from a canoe.
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008, Ian and I traveled to the La Selva Lodge on a lagoon off of the Napo River. The Napo flows to the Amazon and is the main artery of transportation in the Ecuador Amazon basin. There are no roads after Coca, only boats of all kinds and footpaths that hug the shore of the Napo from Coca to Peru.
There were 4 of us in the group that were in La Selva together, a mother and grown daughter made up the rest of our group. Flying to Coca from Quito at 10am, then a motorized canoe to the La Selva hut on the Napo. From that hut we walked for 20 minutes on a narrow bamboo boardwalk, then another canoe ride, with paddles, no motor. The staff from the lodge carried our luggage, and we carried our backpacks. Yes, it was hot. Humid, too. But when we arrived there was a welcome drink and food before we were taken to our cabins. La Selva has a wonderful location, food, cabins and guides. The entire experience was fantastic! http://laselvajunglelodge.com/ for more information.
Prop plane that took us to Coca. I saw the wheels being lifted up after take off, a nice short half hour flight.
Our motorized canoe.
Napo River at the hut.
Along the Napo.
These very strange looking birds were abundant. Hoatzin.
La Selva provides rubber boots for all guests, required during jungle hikes. If you don't wear them you'll get chiggers. I found this out the hard way...
Our cabin.
The entire lodge is run by men, about 30 of them. They do all the cooking, cleaning, upkeep and do is very well.
My mosquito net. There weren't really many bugs, not as many as you would think. At any rate I put bug repellent on every day.
One of the stops on the Napo river where the Saturday market is located.
unbelievable, fantastic... were you warned about Piranha? Aligators? teams of ants that would carry you away? can't wait to hear more. great pics.
ReplyDeleteThese are fascinating -- what an experience you're having! So glad to know piranha don't eat you!
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