Welcome to the Jungle!

(Just for fun)

Keepin' it glassy.
Laguna Grande, Cuyabeno

 Predictably, the Amazon rain forest is breathtakingly beautiful. We traveled exclusively by boat, up and down rivers and across lakes that were completely surrounded by jungle, which definitely leaves one feeling totally immersed in the wilderness...

Andrew and I were the lucky participants in a private guided canoe ride (no loud motor à serious upside for wildlife viewing) and got a closer look at this wondrous region of the Amazon. Trees popping up through the middle of still water felt a bit surreal, but looked seriously cool.

        

From double rainbows to sunsets, every moment from the boats provided incredibly beautiful sights. Even seeing the rain fall on the Cuyabeno River and Laguna Grande was mesmerizing (though it wasn't conducive to taking pictures).

The colors of the sky seemed to change from moment to moment in Cuyabeno.  The view floating in the middle of Laguna Grande was hard to beat.

Proof that we were actually there :-p

The lodge that we stayed at had pretty nice accommodations considering the location.  There was hot water by gas for showers and electricity from 6pm to 10pm every night.  The Siona Lodge is an ecologically minded facility. It provided some comfort and peace of mind to know that the lodge was committed to minimizing its effect on the fragile environment we were visiting. This, however, led to minor inconveniences from time to time. For instance, one day there was significant cloud cover for most of the day so the solar panels could not charge the batteries fully for the evening. This led to the electricity abruptly shutting off after only 1 or 2 hours on that particular night.

The dining area on an evening without electricity 

The lodge was great and the scenery is impossible to forget... but where are all the crazy monkeys, colorful parrots, creepy critters, flesh-eating fish, and indigenous tribes? You can be sure that it will all be included in the next few posts. Stay tuned!