Last night I had to catch the night bus to Lago Agrio which is a town further in the amazon and the starting point for our jungle tour. When we arrived in the morning we met our driver who took us 2 hours further by bus and then we met our guide and went another 2 hours by motorized canoe.

We are at Guacamayo lodge on the Cuyabeno River. Other than our lodge and a couple others, the only thing for miles is the Siona community, who we will be visiting in a couple days.

We have seen so much already after only a half day! On the canoe ride in we saw one species of money and some macaws high in a tree. We also saw about three other types of birds along the river. When we arrived at the lodge we had lunch right away and then finally had time for a siesta! The rooms are cool because they are open to outside with just a high roof to shelter from the rain. Thankfully we have bug nets for when we sleep so at least the critters can’t get too close, but we have to make sure to shake out our clothes before we put them on!

In the late afternoon we took a canoe ride to a big laguna that is close by. We looked for anacondas for a while as our guide said he saw one the last few days but we had no luck. Some people swam in the middle of the laguna while we watched a beautiful sun set. I saw a parrot briefly, but it flew away quickly. Once the sun set we went on a hunt for caimans (alligators). I swear dour guide has gps for the things because hour could spot them from so far away with only a small flashlight. We saw two types of caiman with the black one being the biggest. The head had to be 3 ft long alone – it was massive! We also saw a baby boa in a tree as we drove along in the boat.

We went back to the lodge for dinner and didn’t last too long after that because we were so tired. You can hear so many insects at night while you sleep, even through ear plugs!