The amazon is huge and can be done from Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia as well as the most famous option, Brazil. After months of research we decided to do the amazon from Ecuador, partly because it's the easiest and cheapest way to get deep into the jungle (requiring only a 1-hour bus ride, cab ride, 8-hour bus ride, 2-hour bus ride and 2-hour boat trip to get to our destination).
We expected the trip to be long, but didn't expect it to be as uncomfortable or dangerous as it proved to be. For the 8-hour bus ride through the Andes, Sam had to assume the role of an amateur contortionist just to get into his seat and we both needed to reach for our motion sickness pills. A landslide blocking the road for an hour at least afforded Sam an opportunity to stand up and restore circulation in his legs.
The scariest part of the trip came at 5:15 in the morning when we discovered that our bus to Lago Agrio was in fact a bus very briefly stopping at the side of a highway somewhat near Lago Agrio. Standing half asleep in the rain guarding our bags that had kindly been placed in the mud, we watched the bus pull away. Cindy hurriedly asked anyone who would listen the Spanish version of 'where the bloody hell are we' while Sam reflected on both the danger and the humor of the ridiculous situation.
Luckily, in the darkness we found two German backpackers who were also going to the amazon and had been similarly dispatched by another bus company. We eventually caught a cab into town with them, convinced them to join us on our amazon tour, and together sat at a cafe to see out the four-hour wait for our tour company to pick us up. Halfway through the wait we got an early reminder to always watch our belongings as a backpacker sitting 5 meters away from us announced that his bag had been stolen from under his nose. This guy wasn't on our tour but when we saw him on a boat tour two days later he was still wearing the same clothes.
After picking up a handful of people who had taken the more comfortable and pricey (but less adventurous) option of flying to Lago Agrio, we began the final leg of our journey, a boat tour into the deep amazon to our home for the next 3 nights, Siona lodge.
Our tour guide, the famous (on tripadvisor anyway) Luis, made sure that we got the most out of our amazon experience. He had it all - native Amazonian heritage, formal biology qualifications, seemingly endless energy, an infectious laugh, catchphrases (our favorite was when he'd use 'boom boom' to describe the mating habits of animals and even humans) and an incredible ability to see the smallest and most camouflaged animals from great distances. Every morning Luis would wake us up by playing Simon and Garfunkle on the pipe flute and at night he'd play lead guitar and vocals for the Siona lodge staff (and intoxicated guests) band.
We expected the trip to be long, but didn't expect it to be as uncomfortable or dangerous as it proved to be. For the 8-hour bus ride through the Andes, Sam had to assume the role of an amateur contortionist just to get into his seat and we both needed to reach for our motion sickness pills. A landslide blocking the road for an hour at least afforded Sam an opportunity to stand up and restore circulation in his legs.
The scariest part of the trip came at 5:15 in the morning when we discovered that our bus to Lago Agrio was in fact a bus very briefly stopping at the side of a highway somewhat near Lago Agrio. Standing half asleep in the rain guarding our bags that had kindly been placed in the mud, we watched the bus pull away. Cindy hurriedly asked anyone who would listen the Spanish version of 'where the bloody hell are we' while Sam reflected on both the danger and the humor of the ridiculous situation.
Luckily, in the darkness we found two German backpackers who were also going to the amazon and had been similarly dispatched by another bus company. We eventually caught a cab into town with them, convinced them to join us on our amazon tour, and together sat at a cafe to see out the four-hour wait for our tour company to pick us up. Halfway through the wait we got an early reminder to always watch our belongings as a backpacker sitting 5 meters away from us announced that his bag had been stolen from under his nose. This guy wasn't on our tour but when we saw him on a boat tour two days later he was still wearing the same clothes.
After picking up a handful of people who had taken the more comfortable and pricey (but less adventurous) option of flying to Lago Agrio, we began the final leg of our journey, a boat tour into the deep amazon to our home for the next 3 nights, Siona lodge.
Our tour guide, the famous (on tripadvisor anyway) Luis, made sure that we got the most out of our amazon experience. He had it all - native Amazonian heritage, formal biology qualifications, seemingly endless energy, an infectious laugh, catchphrases (our favorite was when he'd use 'boom boom' to describe the mating habits of animals and even humans) and an incredible ability to see the smallest and most camouflaged animals from great distances. Every morning Luis would wake us up by playing Simon and Garfunkle on the pipe flute and at night he'd play lead guitar and vocals for the Siona lodge staff (and intoxicated guests) band.
To see as much flora and fauna as possible, we enjoyed 8 boat tours of up to 3 hours, at sunrise, during the day, at sunset and at night. We also went for jungle walks during the day and at night. In all, we saw approximately 100 species (including frogs, mammals, birds, reptiles and insects). Luis said we were very lucky not only to see famous Amazonian residents like squirrel monkeys, anacondas, boas, river dolphins and tarantulas, but also to see the extremely rare harby eagle.
The landscape was beautiful, particularly at sunset. During our jungle walk we crossed the equator, and at night this location allowed us the unique opportunity to see all constellations of both hemispheres through clear unpolluted skies.
On our last day we travelled by boat 2 hours deeper into the jungle to visit the Siona Indigenous community. We were taken in by a Siona family who taught us how to make pan de yuca from scratch (literally, we picked the yuca from their backyard). We toured the Siona community to learn about their ways of living and spoke to a village doctor, which they call a Chayman.
When we started our trip we packed a few toys to hand out to little kids we meet along the way. One of the highlights of our trip so far was handing out toys to about 10 very appreciative kids in the Siona community.
The landscape was beautiful, particularly at sunset. During our jungle walk we crossed the equator, and at night this location allowed us the unique opportunity to see all constellations of both hemispheres through clear unpolluted skies.
On our last day we travelled by boat 2 hours deeper into the jungle to visit the Siona Indigenous community. We were taken in by a Siona family who taught us how to make pan de yuca from scratch (literally, we picked the yuca from their backyard). We toured the Siona community to learn about their ways of living and spoke to a village doctor, which they call a Chayman.
When we started our trip we packed a few toys to hand out to little kids we meet along the way. One of the highlights of our trip so far was handing out toys to about 10 very appreciative kids in the Siona community.
Our jungle adventure certainly had its ups and downs, and we both had moments when we might have preferred to be somewhere (or anywhere) else. Cindy didn't particularly enjoy finding a frog in our bathroom or being convinced at 3 in the morning that there was a tarantula in our room. After traveling for 40 hours without sleep, Sam would have preferred to skip the night walk, particularly the bit where Luis said 'watch out for the banana spider, it's about to pounce and it can kill you in less than 20 minutes'. However we tried to keep an open mind and made sure that we undertook thorough inspections of our room every night before bed.
All in all, the positives of our amazon trip far outweighed the negatives. We saw some amazing animals and scenery and met some fantastic likeminded people. We'd recommend the trip to anybody, particularly since ecotourism is the only thing stopping that part of Ecuador being taken over by the oil and gas industries. That said, we were happy to return, after a military and landslide interrupted bus ride, back to civilization in Quito.
All in all, the positives of our amazon trip far outweighed the negatives. We saw some amazing animals and scenery and met some fantastic likeminded people. We'd recommend the trip to anybody, particularly since ecotourism is the only thing stopping that part of Ecuador being taken over by the oil and gas industries. That said, we were happy to return, after a military and landslide interrupted bus ride, back to civilization in Quito.
