Jungle Adventures in Ecuador

By Sarah Hamilton - At first, I thought Miltón carried his rusty machete just to impress the gringos, a prop to demonstrate the wilderness of our surroundings. I was skeptical, as my jungle experience thus far had been surprisingly posh. As I was soon to discover, however, the rainforest was still plenty wild, and I’d have reason to wish for my own machete more than once during my stay.

Rio Napo, by Sarah Hamilton

Ecuador’s relatively small territory in the Amazon jungle offers a staggering array of options for the outdoor enthusiast. While its rainforest is still less frequently visited than those of neighboring Brazil or Peru, Ecuador has been swept up in the rising global enthusiasm for ecotourism. The dozens of “jungle adventures” that have sprung up in response provide a wide range of prices and amenities, from hardcore backpacking trips and lodges a full day’s river journey from the nearest town, to hostel-like cottages just on the outskirts of town.

I settled on Yarina Lodge, located on the western side of the Ecuadorian Amazon, which offered a reassuring blend of wilderness, accessibility, and comfort at a reasonable price. To get there, the seven travelers in my group followed a short flight from Quito to Coca, on the outskirts of the jungle, with a drive in an ancient pick-up truck to the banks of the Rio Napo. There, we picked out knee-high rubber boots and clambered into a motorized canoe for another hour of travel along the wide, coffee-colored river, arriving at last at a rickety wooden dock deep in the jungle.

Disembarking from the canoe, my husband and I lugged our bags to our private cottage, constructed of traditional, fast-growing local woods. We unpacked, admired the blooming roses and birds-of-paradise growing outside our window, and tested out the hammock strung on our porch before meeting our fellow adventurers in the open-air lodge. Taking deep breaths of the heavy, oxygen-rich air, we chatted with fellow adventurers from Belgium, Switzerland, and Quito as we sat overlooking a tributary of the river and a solid wall of trees, vines, and bromeliads.

Milton's First English Lesson, by Sarah Hamilton

Lunch was a seven-part smorgasbord of traditional Ecuadorian foods, ranging from freshly caught river fish to locally grown maize to cinnamon-flavored fruits plucked from nearby trees. A family of tiny tamarind monkeys leapt from branch to branch nearby, and the trees were filled with the chirps and rustlings of countless birds. I reclined in a bamboo chair and trained my binoculars on a bright aqua butterfly fluttering past, letting the calm wash over me.

This unexpectedly luxurious atmosphere melted away any thoughts I’d had about a rough jungle experience, leaving me unprepared for my introduction to Miltón, our guide, and his ever-present machete. Once our group stepped off the manicured lawns and into the jungle proper that afternoon, I sharply readjusted my perspective. Despite the comforts provided by the lodge, this place was definitely wild. With no landmarks and no clear view of the sun through the dense tree canopy, navigation was all but impossible. Wander even a few yards away from the group, and you could easily disappear into the jungle.

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