The last thing I decided to do in Ecuadorian countryside is to get a taste of the jungle. You can do it from Banos, but the tours are into a "secondary" jungle, meaning that the trees there are not original and could have been cut and shorted by people. One can take a tour of a primary jungle in the East of the country in the Cuyabeno or Yasuni reserves. These are governamental reserves so that nobody has the right to cut or temper with the jungle trees, hence the name "primary". I decided to do the 1st one because it was a bit closer. To do that you have to take a bus to Lago Agrio, a small city located 2h away from the Cuyabeno reserve. I took the night bus from Banos and at 5am was in Lago Agrio.
Ecuadorians really love their buses so they pimp them out as much as they can :)
Long story short, we got to the entrance to the reserve at noon. A long boat in truly amazonian style was waiting for us to take us to the entrance to the reserve and we started a long, wavy ride to the cabins situated in the jungle. About 30min into the ride it started to rain...but rain heavily...the jungle was greeting us.
Of course in the jungle you meet monkeys...many monkeys :) they're small and super cute.
The next morning we took a walk in the jungle. It's just as you see in movies, with trees so tall that the sunlight never reaches the ground keeping it always moist and home for thousands of species of insects, frogs, and orchids. I was beforehand prevented to not touch any tree or branch because there could be venomous insects and snakes that attack the nervous system, sending you into shock.
Me enjoying my Tarzan time swinging on a liana.
Rowing back toward the base camp. Cuyabeno reserve is essentially the jungle surrounding one huge laguna. Depending on the season the laguna gets larger or smaller due to the rainfall.
In the evening it's a marvelous sight, with the calm waters reflecting the magnificent surrounding jungle of the laguna.
There I observed one of the most gorgeous sunsets I've ever seen. It was a magical moment...
And of course my trusty guide Jesus, also enjoying the magnificent sunset to its fullest... this is his happy face :)
As the sun got lower, the colors intensified...
This is the Chorr monkey. Apparently this is one of the few types of monkeys that are capable of grabbing onto branches with their tail, which is, contrary to popular belief, not something every monkey can do.
The next day we went to to the Laguna of Maximum Security, so great in fact that no power boats are allowed there, so you have to be oaring...
There we fished pirahnas... These things have some sort of latch mechanism in their jaw I think because they slam shut biting off anything inside.
Rowing back was an adventure by itself with low hanging lianas and branches touching the muddy water of the river. However we had to row back for about 1.5h, probably the most rowing I've done so far.
On the way back to civilization after living for 4 days in the jungle. I loved how the kid with a serious face and attitude was just sleeping in the back of the boat, while his father skillfully manned the motor.
The ride back was very sunny which was unexpected because my entire stay in the jungle was predominated by heavy rain.
Before leaving Lago Agrio I witnessed what I could only call Ultra 2013 Ecuador style :))) (google ultra 2013 photos :)
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