The intrepid team above had an incredibly busy and exciting itinerary in Ecuador!
The first phase shown above, involved exploring the largest inhabited volcanic crater in the world. After staying overnight in the Pulahua crater and sampling the local delicacy of guinea pig, we trekked through the high altitude scenery, photographing butterflies and humming birds.
The picture on the left shows our base camp on the Rio Shiripuno, deep in the jungle. We had an epic journey to get there, with turbulent plane flights, bone-jarring "rancho" drive, and 6 hour nightime canoe jouney!
The jungle phase was very impressive. Our guides Fernando and Pablo, along with local Huaorani people, were experts in Amazon wildlife. We saw wild pigs, monkeys, poisonous frogs, chimney-building cicadas, huge colonies of leaf-cutting ants, and an amazing range of plants and trees. We were shown how curare-tipped arrows are made, and even tried our hand at the traditional blow-pipe.
Venturing on to the sediment-laden Shiripuno in dug out canoes allowed us spectacular views of the birdlife of the jungle. The macaws were breathtaking, and we even saw a very rare great potoo! Travelling back up river after dusk allowed us to find caymen on the banks.
Living in the jungle on the equator takes a little while to get used to! Darkness happens very quickly at 6pm, bringing several surprises. The open cabins seem to attract a variety of invertebrates. Cockroaches seem to find hiding places you do not expect (washbags, towels, underpants hanging up to dry etc). Loud shouts (actually more like screams) from adjacent cabins usually signify that a torch beam has located a substantial tarantula, and getting tangled up in your mosquito net can prove a little claustrophobic! However, the stars of the Southern Hemisphere were awesome.
The food was fantastic, and we had toilets and tepid showers to rinse off the mud. However, we had to remind ourselves that we were in a very remote place, and a very long way from any medical help.
