When deciding on an Amazon experience, I looked at the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve and was convinced. Some background information from Wikipedia explained that it "is an important nature reserve in Amazonia with rather unique ecological characteristics. Located at the foothills of the Andes, it is different from any other Amazon protected area in the world. The area encompasses a poorly drained plain with a network of periodically inundated forests, lakes and creeks. As in all protected areas in the Amazon region, the area has a high biodiversity." It sounded like it would be a great experience. Even getting there was an experience as it involved a plane, a bus and a canoe.


When looking at the different options for a stay, I decided on the 5 day, 4 night trip. I thought that the first and last days would not be that exciting and that one day longer would give us more actual time in the rain forest. This was based on a previous experience in another part of Ecuador where the first and last days were mostly spent on a wide river enjoying the ride but not actually seeing much. Was I ever mistaken. The time spent getting to and from Jamu Lodge was as exciting as the days spent there. One reason is that the rivers here are narrow. It is like being the the middle of the forest. Along the river the light, as it breaks through the canopy, makes it easier to see wildlife. Therefore, as soon as we started up the river, the real trip began. 


Getting there had involved an early morning pick up, a short flight to Lago Agrio and a longer bus ride to our river transport. Once there the Amazon experience started.   

We boarded motorized canoes, complete with our luggage and provisions, for the trip along the Cuyabeno River to Jamu Lodge. The river was flanked on both sides by dense jungle allowing us to spend the three hours in the canoe spotting and observing many colorful birds and some monkeys. We arrived at our lodge in the late afternoon and were shown to our cabin. Although Jamu Lodge is an economical alternative, I loved our accommodations in Trogon cabin. The mosquito nets were intact and the rain forest was right outside with no inconvenient glass windows getting in the way. The lodge is built on wooden platforms to keep the cabins out of any flooding. There is electricity only at night and only in the bathrooms and in the dining area. Candles are available and used at other times and of course we had excellent headlamps. Our cabin had a private bathroom although I don't know if all do. The water is filtered river water. Visitors are asked to only use biodegradable soap and shampoo which is available in the bathrooms. Although the water in the shower was not hot, it was warm. There is drinking water in the dining area to refill water bottles. Coffee and tea are also always on hand. There is great emphasis on recycling and using as little plastic as possible. It is a good idea to take empty water bottles to fill. 


We then headed to Laguna Grande to catch the sunset. The laguna was magical. For many people this is the high point of their visit to Jamu. The trees with epiphtytes, the many birds, The sounds of the rain forest. It is difficult to believe that the lake is formed from rainwater and in the dryer season is much shallower. (There is no really dry season it seems.) An interesting feature is the inundated forest. What we see is the upper part of much larger trees which emerge as the water level goes down. We were privileged to see a beautiful sunset on the lake.   
 

Back to a very nice dinner. The food was very good at the lodge and the staff was very nice. The lodge was almost full. There were several tables and visitors from many countries. There was a large group of young people from Denmark. None of them had met before the trip and therefore there was a lot of chatter from this group. Then the girls were startled by a giant cockroach that suddenly appeared in the dining area. I had no idea that Danes could be so loud. Our group included two French families with several children. We never introduced ourselves but soon learned the name of the youngest child, Alphonse, as his mother needed to call him several times an hour to ask him to stop whatever it was he was doing. A lively group, 

After dinner, we took candles back to our room. Checked it out with our headlamps and went to bed. It was nice to have electricity in the bathroom at night.