We were up at 5 am to go to the airport for a 5:45 meet. Our flight was at 7am, so once we were all through security we waited patiently. We jumped on a bus that took us over to our plane. Our flight was 30 minutes and took us to the city of Coca. Now I should mention that prior to leaving, we were given a fairly hefty set of instructions, part of which stressed the danger of Coca and that once we arrived at the hotel on the river, from where we would be taking our boat, we were not to leave under any circumstances. And that was bolded too! We were quite comfortable waiting for our boat, though the humidity was certainly becoming more noticeable! Once our boat arrived, we hopped on and travelled for nearly 2 hours along the Napo River. We arrived in a place called Pumpeye, where we had to pass through an oil checkpoint (as apparently they 'own' the road - I thought it was a bit suspicious that they should have their own checkpoint but hmm). After passing through their security screens, we hopped onto a modified truck and drove for 2 hours to the Tiputini River, where we were met with another boat. From there, we travelled for just over 2 hours and arrived at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station. This place is LITERALLY in the middle of the jungle! There are no roads - you get here by boat only! It is incredible!
Once we had found our cabins, we enjoyed a lovely afternoon exploring the station, looking at the lab and checking out the library - and naturally, sweating a lot!! It is pretty humid in the middle of the jungle!! We had dinner at 7pm and then broke into groups and went out for a night hike! Which was really wonderful - except for coming face to face with my greatest fear - spiders! And let me tell you, spiders in the Amazon are not like normal spiders. Basically this is what happens when nightmares form into reality!! They are absolutely terrifying!!
But after crying, hyperventilating and generally being petrified, I did manage to finish the night hike and walk within mere metres of these......creepy creepy animals....seriously, this has to be the creepiest animal God ever made!!!
The next morning we hiked through the jungle, enjoying the sights and sounds on our way to a lake. We had many stops, where we would dash into the jungle following a troop of monkeys. We saw Spider monkeys and enjoyed the sounds of the many birds. We arrived at a small lake where we were exceptionally fortunate to see an anaconda in the water! It looked as though he had fed and had curled up in the water, under a tree in order to digest in peace. We also saw many huoatzin birds and a caiman! it was fantastic! We hiked back to the Tiputini River and were picked up by a boat and taken back to the station for lunch. After lunch, we headed out again, this time to the Canopy walkway, which is right up in the canopy of the forest. And I hiked up a fairly precariously looking ladder to the very top to this platform, from where I could see the entire jungle. it was breathtaking! And while it was raining, there was absolutely nothing that could dampen my spirits! It was amazing to watch the wall of rain coming towards me and when it hit, it was quite refreshing. We enjoyed hanging around and walking across the numerous bridges through the canopy for nearly 2 hours before we descended down and raced back to the station to watch the sunset over the river. And what a sunset it was!!!
That night we had a great presentation from the director of the station, who showed us his research with the camera traps. The photos they had were amazing and it was a great night!!. The next morning, we woke very early as we were heading to the canopy tower that morning, and we decided to leave to be there for sunrise. While cloudy, it was so beautiful watching the mist over the top of the forest!!! Absolutely breathtaking!! We stayed up in that tree for over 3 hours!!!
From the canopy tower, we were able to see many birds and a distant troop of woolly monkeys, which we then set off to find! It was great fun running through the jungle. We finally found them and I must say, I now have so much more respect for wildlife photographers - I have always respected their work and thought they were amazing and thought how much I would love to do it! But I can tell you, it is hard!!!!!
We finished up in the jungle and headed back to the station for lunch, and then after headed off on a boat to travel up river for a look and then a swim in the river. Yes, I have officially swum in a river in the Amazon. And it was pretty awesome :)
That night, we went out on the boat and looked for caimans, which we saw many, and also caught a brief glimpse of a capybara!!
The next morning was sadly time for us to leave. Our time was definitely too brief. I lay in bed the night before thinking just how much I would love to do this, to be out in the jungle. I met some amazing people who had been out there for months and months. It is a simple and wonderful life!! I would be exceptionally keen to return as a volunteer or as a field assistant and am seriously considering it!
We returned via the same route we had taken to come out to the station and eventually found ourselves back in Coca - where I had a close encounter of the primate kind!
A small squirrel monkey decided my back was the best place to come and hang out, and proceeded to gnaw on my back and on the back of my neck. Thankfully it was only play biting, and I saw no drawn blood so I am all good. Besides, I have my rabies shots anyway. It was just such a funny experience!!! He was a very cheeky little monkey!!!
Then all too soon, we were back in the city, which was really nice as I hadn't really seen my host family for quite some time. But I really missed the jungle! I missed running after monkeys and bush-bashing my way through the jungle!
But there are always more adventures to be had. I cannot believe that today, I will have been here for 3 weeks - and the things I have done so far. I am so blessed to be here and thank God for every day I am able to be here and enjoy this incredible experience. And to my wonderful and always supportive family :) I could never do anything without them!
Now that we have been back at uni for a few days, we have had a chance to get some uni work done, and had a presentation today and have a test tomorrow. Then on Saturday we head off down to the Southern coast of Ecuador for our second dive trip. I am very very excited!!!!
Until next time!!!
God bless to you all and remember that life itself is an adventure :) every day of being alive is an incredible blessing and miracle! Make every day an amazing memory!!
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