Here is a blow-by-blow account of a previous trip. Or; what happens in the jungle; stays in the jungle.
For those who want to know; here is a day by day description of the trip.
After months of planning, research, two pre-trip meetings, innoculations, passport redtape, etc. etc. the trippers met at American Airlines Gate 25 at the Tulsa Airort. We caught a short flight to Dallas, a longer one to Miami, then a longer yet one to Quito, Ecuador. It took us all day to get there, arriving at about 9: pm.
Ecuador is only one time zone different than Oklahoma, so jet lag wasn't an issue, but a full day of airports and flights is a long day.
The worst thing that happened on the trip, happened as soon as we got to Ecuador. Our person in Ecuador met us at the airport and we started lugging all our mountain of gear, camera bags, Pelican cases, etc to the travel bus. Several airport people, the driver, etc were helping move/load/pack everything. A person, whom we thought was with the airport or the bus or something, started "helping" us. He picked up Jim's laptop case and said, "Here, let me take that." And he did. We never saw the laptop again.
We didn't really figure this out until we got to our hotel and started unloading the bus, but it was a done deal by then.
We loaded the bus and took about a half hour trip to the "hostel" where we would spend the next two nights. It was a small (12 rooms) place that was very elegant, very clean. Some of the rooms were tiny; but others were more like a suite. But we were all comfortable. We were the only ones there.
The next morning we loaded on the bus and went just north of Quito to the crater of an extinct volcano. This was our first photo op. Centuries ago, the crater had filled in with ash which eventually became fertile farm land. The only way to get to the farms in the crater is via a steep, winding, switchback trail. Very scenic, great vistas of the crater from the rim. People hiking out, or riding horses or donkeys or dirtbikes.
Oddly enough we met a young man there who asked us where we were from (we're obviously NOT locals). When we told him Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA...he told us that he had worked an internship at a farm in Bristow, Oklahoma, and with the farm he had worked a booth at the Farmer's Market on Cherry Street, in Tulsa. Small world, huh?
From there we went to a park or monument on the Ecuator; the "Middle of the Earth". We shot there a while, then ate a late lunch. We sampled an Ecuadorian specialty; "Cui"... cooked guinea pig. They cook it with the head and all still on it. It was pretty grusome. Didn't taste too good either, but, nobody can say we didn't try it.
We then went to the old, colonial part of Quito. This part of the city is about 400 years old, part of the Spanish conquest of the new world. We actually meant to shoot several differnt things in colonial Quito, but never got around to it.
We began by shooting the national cathederal of Ecuador; the Basilica National. It was such a visually fascinating structure we stayed there shooting until almost dark. This cathederal is just as big, as imposing and as intricate as any of Europe's gothic cathederals. The only difference is we had complete access to this one. We went up in the bell towers, inside the clock towers, the high altar, down in the basement, the catacoombs (8,000 people interred there) all the courtyards, up on the roof... try that in Europe.
The caretaker there, after much discussion, took us to a place they don't take the general public, the crypt where Ecuador's past president's are all buried. Strange pictures.
We had other places on the list we wanted to shoot, but they will just have to wait until the next trip. We shot until the light was gone and went back to the hostel for the night.
The next morning, some of the more "enthusiatic" of the group, got up pre-dawn and walked a couple of block east of our hostel to a vantage point where we could see the sun come up over the valley. The clouds, however, failed to cooperate and lighting was not conducive to good photography. Some days are like that.
We then loaded on our little bus and headed out of Quito.
Part of our deal with the bus/bus driver was that we could stop at any point we chose and take pictures for as long as we wanted to. We only drove for about 20 minutes before we saw the first of many, many places we just had to stop and shoot, a vast overlook of the valley in which Quito sits.
While Quito is in a valley; this valley is twice as high as Denver, Colorado; 9,200' above sea level as opposed to 5,000. Anyway, from this high allititude valley we took the Pan American Highway south, climbing all the while.
We eventually passed by Cotopaxi, a majestic volcano extending above the clouds. It was difficult to get a good shot of the Volcano; the snow, the glaciers, the clouds and the sky were all about the same tone.
We left the Pan American Highway and angled off to the west. We were eventually at about 12,000'. Our road appeared as a major "highway" on our maps, but was a narrow, two (more like one and a half) lane, shoulder-less asphalt road. High up in the Andes Mountains, we passed tiny farms, whose fields seemed to go straight up the mountains. The air is thin and cold, and the land austre, with few trees. It looks like it would be a hard place to survive.
We passed through a town that was in the middle of market day. There were probably 1,000 or more people in bright shawls and wraps, bringing their goods to the market. This was a real market, no souviners, no gringos, no t-shirts. Just tiny booths filled with mountains of fruits, vegetables, chickens, meats, cloth, cinnimon, eggs, and more. This was the real deal.
We could have spent much more time at the market, but needed to venture on. Another hour or so on the bus and we stopped at an odd place. We got off and hiked down a narrow gulley a short distance, to where our vista suddenly opened up to reveal a pristine green lake sitting in the crater of an extinct volcano. A steep narrow path zig-zagged down the crater to the lake. Children herded sheep down the trail to water them from the lake.
By now it was two o'clock in the afternoon and we still hadn't had lunch. We thought we had found a place to eat, but they were closed; they had run out of water. A pen of Guinea Pigs was beside the door. Just like picking your lobster out of the tank at Red Lobster, here you could pick your Guinea Pig right from the pen.
We finally found a little place that was open. The only thing they had was Lamb. So, we all had lamb.
As we began to descend from this crater lake, down the eastern slope of the Andes the terrain became more fertile, more lush, fields gave way to forests. We began to see rivers and high narrow waterfalls.
Shortly after dark we arrived at the mountain town of Banos. This was beautiful, colorful, clean, little town that had decided to go after the tourist industy. There were little shops, restruants and hotels everywhere. We spent the night at Banos and regretted not having another day to spend there.
Past Banos we came to a deep gorge with a waterfall on the other side. A small, open basket gondola hung from a cable stretched accross the ravine. For a dollar you could ride to the other side. We did.
The road began to drift to the east. It eventually turned from a two lane asphalt road to a barely one lane coarse gravel road. For about three hours we bounced and shook our way down this gravel road until almost dusk, when we came to a high iron bridge over a river.
On the other side of the bridge a long, skinny canoe was waiting for us. This canoe wasn't like an American canoe. This wooden canoe was maybe forty feet long and three feet wide with a small outboard motor perched on the back. Our driver backed the bus down the steep slope to the river and we transferred all our gear to the canoe.
By the time we had a total of 14 people and all our gear in the canoe...the canoe was seriously overloaded, with the gunals maybe 3 inches above the water. The canoe pilot seemed unfazed at this. We headed upriver toward our eventual destination; the Arajuno Jungle Lodge.
The whole scene reminded me of Apocalpyse Now, where the soldier is sent up river to meet the crazy Colonel Kurtz who had gone AWOL and built a renegade outpost deep in the jungle.
A few kilometers upriver we came a round a bend and a rocky beach appeared. Standing on the beach was our Colonel Kurtz; Tom Larson, owner of the Arajuno Jungle Lodge.
The canoe pulled into the beach, Tom greeted us and we began dragging our gear out of the canoe, then up a narrow path. Above us on the banks of the river stood a structure with a large deck and a three story tower beside it. This was the main hall of the lodge and the place we would eat all our meals and generally gather.
A short distance from the main lodge was an octaganal, thatched roof cabin with a small porch. This turned out to be where the women of our group would stay. Several other cabins similar to this one were at the end of short trails radiating out from the main lodge. These are where other members of our group would stay. Each cabin had it's own shower and bathroom. There was even hot water. All in all, pretty plush for such a remote location.
We assmebled in the main lodge where Tom had wine and beer waiting for us. He gave us a few ground rules and told us dinner would be in about half an hour. We dispersed to our cabins and "freshened up".
Dinner consisted of various fruits and vegetables, many of which we were unfamaliar. All were sweet, juicy, delicious and fresh. Whatever would happen out here in the jungle...starving to death wouldn't be an issue.
We spent the night in our cabins, sleeping in real beds (not cots or hammocks). There was no air-conditioning, but it was reasonably comfortable. There were mosquito screens over the windows so that wasn't an issue.
The next day we awoke to a dense fog over the river. We had a good, healthy fruit-filled breakfast at the main dining hall. We explored around the lodge for a hour or two.
Later in the morning we got into two canoes and headed downriver a few miles to a place called Amazoonico. This is not a zoo, but an animal sanctuary. It seems people acquire exotic animals as pets and then decide that's not a good idea. But a wild animal raised around people can't be released into the wild. This Amazoonico place offeres an option other than euthinasia.
At Amazoonica we were in CLOSE proximity to several species of monkeys, pigs, ocelots, anteaters and several other things that we were unable to identify. Interesting photography.
After about a half a day there we returned to the lodge and spent the rest of the day hiking around and exploring that area.
The following day we again loaded up in canoes and went upriver to an idigenous village; Santa Barbera. Here are people living in stick and plank huts, with thatched roofs just like they have done for thousands of years. No running water, no electricity, no sanitation facilities (toilets of any kind) no nothing. They welcomed us into their village and into their homes. This, is the third world.
Each night, back at the lodge, we downloaded our cameras, viewed each other's work on the laptops, had a great dinner, drank a beer (or two) or had a glass of Argentina wine and schemed on the next day's shooting.
Some of us climbed the three story bird watching tower at night and just set up there and looked at the stars. I know you have heard this before, but...you just can't believe how many stars are up there until you see them away from the city lights and pollution. Amayzing.
After a few days we packed up, loaded up the canoes and went back to the bridge. The bus then took us on to Tena, then on into Quito, back to the same Hostel we used at the beginning of our trip.
The next morning we got up a FOUR AM (!!!!) got on the bus and went to the Quito Airport, where we caught our plane back to Miami.
As far as travel in general goes, the most difficult, frustrating part of the trip was negotiating through the Miami airport/customs scene. I suspect that recent changes requiring passports for carribian crusies had overloaded the customes facility. But we did eventually get through it and get on back home.
All in all a very smooth trip. Nobody got lost, nobody got sick, and nobody got hurt. A good time was had by all. I questioned everyone who went, and everybody was pleased with the trip. The only objections were that the trip was too short, that we all had to leave before we were ready to.
But that's just a change I'll have to deal with on the next trip.
Doug Henderson
is on the Equator, therefore the days and nights are of equal length all year long. That's why they don't have daylight savings time.
Ecuador is in the Eastern Time Zone, same as Florida and the Atlantic Seaboard. Therefore....jet lag won't be a problem.
They use the same "electricity" we do: 120volts, 60Hz and the same prong configuration; two vertical flat prongs. So we don't need to take adapters or tranformers such as are needed when going to Europe or Africa.
The climate in Quito, due to the altitude can be chilly, especially at night. The climate at the Arajuno Jungle Lodge, where we are going is hot and humid all year long. By hot I mean low 90's. ( Not unlike Oklahoma in July and August).
Spanish is the primary and official language of Ecuador, though there is an accent and some dialect, especially in the outlying areas.
There are no pirhanas (small man-eating fish) in the Arajuno River.
Bottled water is available pretty much everywhere, and this is true just about all over the world.
Ecuadorians, especially in the metropolitian areas, shake hands upon meeting someone and upon leaving someone. In Ecuador the handshake is not as "firm" as it is in the US, but it is typically longer.
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