Heading to the Amazon
It was time to leave the upper elevations behind and head to the Amazon. Our group would be slightly smaller as two of the original members would not be going on with us. We knew it was going to be a long travelling day starting with luggage outside by 6.15, breakfast at 6.30 (which we were totally used to by now) and leaving on the bus by 7 AM. There was going to be a 3 hour or so bus ride to the town of Puerto Francisco de Orellana, also known as Coca. The city of approximately 45,000 people is located in the Amazon Rainforest at the confluence of the Coca River and the Napo River. The city is very popular with tourists going into the Amazonian forest.
We had a tight schedule so there were no "photo" stops along the way. I just used my iPhone to take a few pictures from the moving bus. The above shot was pretty typical of the roadside scenery.
More houses along the way.
We arrived in Coca after one brief stop, only to be pulled over by a policeman. This had happened to the bus once before to check out the paperwork. However, this time the policeman wanted a ride back to Quito.
I just took a few pictures of the town while in the bus-notice the puddles and potholes in the road. The weather was definitely warmer in this part of the country though. The city wasn't particularly scenic. In the 1990's, the town was transformed by the oil industry from a tiny river settlement with dirt roads to a town of concrete and potholes. Coca was the last real civilization we saw before we headed deep into the rainforest.
After getting off the bus, we had to wait for our transportation to our lodge in the Amazon. While we were waiting I took a few photos of the locals after asking permission from their parents. Our group had extra food left from lunch including chocolate and fruit which we gave to the kids.
No one spoke English but the group seemed happy to have their photos taken.
The light wasn't very good but it was fun to walk around and take photos of subjects that were close and didn't fly away.
Here is a picture of most of our group getting into the motor boat (the two ladies at the back were not with us). It was actually pretty exciting for me to be on the Napo River which is a tributary of the Amazon River.
The above photo shows where we hung out waiting for our ride. It was a hotel/resort complex complete with a swimming pool, restaurant and outdoor seating areas.
Coca is actually trying to make itself 'prettier". A stunning new suspension bridge pictured above is very picturesque.
It took us about 2 1/2 hours on the river, traveling at a fairly high speed to get to our landing spot. It was a great boat ride-the guides knew the river very well and kept zig-zagging to avoid hitting the sandbanks and various debris. It was probably a good thing that I was wearing my ski jacket given the speed of the boat and the coolish temperatures.
During the boat ride I really enjoyed the scenery and kept myself busy taking photos.
This photo of another similar boat to ours gives you an idea of the speed we were travelling.
There were many houses along the river.
Many locals were also travelling on the river.
Something that I hadn't realized is all of the oil and gas drilling sites on the Napo River.
We finally got to our landing spot. Once we landed we had to walk about fifteen minutes on a raised platform through the jungle. Fortunately, the guides had carts to take the luggage. By this time the sun was out and the heat felt great!
At the end of the platform, we got in the canoes to head towards the actual lodge which was another 20 or 30 minutes. The guides from the hotel actually did all of the work- we just got to enjoy the ride.
Finally we came to the lodge - you can see some of the palm thatched buildings and cabins on stilts. The lodge itself was really special not just because of the nice rooms and good food but because of the fabulous staff. We spent a lot of time with the guides who were incredibly helpful, friendly and knowledgable. It really was a wonderful experience. Next up- more birds.