Deep in the Amazon at the Kapawi Ecolodge...

After Quito, we wended our way to the Kapawi Ecolodge & Reserve, deep within the Ecuadorian Amazon near the border with Peru. How deep? Depending on the local citizen we chose to believe, a "hike" to the nearest town ranged anywhere from 15 to 40 days, and that's with a sharpened machete and a perfect sense of direction. The closest thing to a road in the general vicinity of the lodge was the river. Getting to Kapawi was half the fun. We started out by flying on a small plane from Quito to a little town in the south of the country. We then transferred to an even smaller plane and flew to Wayusentsa, a community of about 120 people built along an airstrip. Finally, from there we took a motorized canoe down the Capahuari River for about an hour to reach Kapawi lodge. From the river, the lodge is entirely secluded by the jungle. The only evidence it exists are some wooden stairs heading up from the river bank onto a wooden platform, which connects to a walkway leading to the rest of the lodge.

A little background might be in order… Kapawi is an ecotourism project based on the community participation of the indigenous Achuar tribe. It is designed to allow the Achuar people to access the possibilities of the outside world on their own terms with minimal cultural disruption, as well as defend against encroachment of their land by oil companies.

The main "buildings" of Kapawi- the dining area, the bar and recreation area, and the cabanas- are all connected by a series of wooden walkways through the jungle. The buildings, all made of wood and thatched palm roofs, are designed to resemble a medium sized Achuar village and from the air, it would be difficult to differentiate between them. Kapawi is built along a tropical lagoon, with all the buildings, including the cabanas having unobstructed views of the lagoon and surrounding jungle. Upon arriving, we were in awe that this entire lodge had been built so far from "civilization." It is about as remote as you can get.

While our cabana seemed to be as luxurious as possible given the harsh environment in which it existed, we were not to sleep alone that first night by the Kapawi lagoon. At a minimum, we spotted 5 to 7 tropical beetles (each the size of a large pack of matches), a baby tarantula, another spider we could only identify as the "mother of all legs," a variety of ant species (some of which we would learn could inflict severe pain for 3 days with one bite), a whirlwind of tiny bats, a wasp's nest, and a plethora of moths and other mundane insects ... and this was all in our cabana. Suffice it to say that our first night was spent quivering under mosquito netting while trying to ignore the myriad dangerous creatures stirring about throughout the evening.

Then how, I imagined, could Tiffany ingest a live ant the very next day? We had set out on one of the numerous deep jungle hikes offered by the lodge, and our guide, Marisa, broke open a leaf to expose a series of what she called "lemon ants" which resided within. Before I even had a chance to chuckle at the suggestion we sample one of said ants, Tiffany had crushed one between her thumb and forefinger, rolled it into a little wad and placed it on her tongue. I couldn't believe she did it! And, yes, it tasted like a lemon. My favorite "ant experience" came later on during the hike when a freakish jungle ant burrowed under my shirt and lodged his clampers just left of my belly button. "Aaaaagggh! There's an ant burrowing into my stomach and he's biting me" I yelped to our guide, already realizing how unfortunate she was to be put in charge of the two of us. "It hurts!" The ant was so deep at this point that my efforts to flick him off my belly were in vain, but Tiffany, possibly invigorated by her recent snack on one of the ant's cousins, boldly pinched it between her nails and yanked him from my stomach. This would be the first of many times that Tiffany and I said to Marisa, "I just either touched or was bitten by a ________. Is it poisonous and how long do I have to live?!"

When we weren't doing battle with the local insect population, Kapawi was truly a jungle paradise. During the course of our 5 days there we saw a cute little river otter making his way up river, a bevy of howler monkeys swinging from tree to tree, pink river dolphins launching themselves from various parts of the river, turtles, tens of colorful butterflies, a host a frogs (both poisonous and nonpoisonous), and finally birds with such strange names as the Horned Screamer, the Tiger Heron and the Stinky Turkey (the official bird of Kapawi ... apparently he stinks to the high heavens). We were told that some of these birds are rare to spot even for avid birders -- we just liked the names. Furthering our embarrassment from the ant fiasco, both Tiffany and I displayed an odd and vociferous fear of the gentle humming bird. Hey, the thing sounds like a ten pound hornet when it approaches, but nothing makes you feel smaller than shrieking in a high pitched voice as a humming bird passes to sniff a nearby flower.

Tiffany's favorite animal encounter was with a one-week-old Cayman we found during a night ride on the river. This little guy was harmless, and even let us pet him. He was probably hoping we would return next year when he would have jaws large enough to eat one of our arms. The only way to identify Caymans in the dark is from the two vacant, red reflections of their eyes when struck by the light of a flashlight. Kind of a spooky experience.

When we weren't mixing it up with the Amazonian wildlife in our cabana, we were trying our hand at camping on the banks of one of the rivers. As camp was to be set up just steps from the thicket of the rainforest and right near the deep, brown river, Tiffany and I expected this would be a night of roughing it. It wasn't. Kapawi knows how to do camping! Our first sign that this was not going to be the harsh night we had envisioned was the portable soap dispenser/shower which our Achuar guide, Frank-lee, dug into the sandy banks of the river upon our arrival. We would soon be dining on succulent turkey around a table set with place mats, fine glasses and napkins (which had been shaped like the Stinky Turkey). This was nicer than even our boldest attempts at gourmet cooking at home in Chicago... much nicer. It's a good thing we didn't have to "catch" our own dinners, as our attempts at fishing by moonlight prior to dinner netted us nothing more than some twisted fishing lines. As we sat around the table making idle chit-chat with a roaring fire close by, Miranda, a resident of Scotland who was spending two months at Kapawi teaching English, explained that the only foods she won't eat are salmon and entrails. Huh? No matter, we had the moon on one side of the river, the jungle behind us and a glorious sunset on the other bank of the river ... life was pretty good right about then.

As we began to canoe out of the jungle, scratching the 40 plus mosquito bites we each had (we counted), I couldn't help but reflect on some of the odd things we had witnessed in this part of the world so different than our own. First, during our visit to an Achuar village, we were offered bowls of their locally "brewed" alcoholic beverage, known as Chi-cha. It is "tastefully" made by a few members of the tribe who chew the Yucca plant, spit it out and let it ferment like a fine wine. Yum. We took a pass. Second, Frank-lee, our Achuar guide told our group that when he has a dream of a beautiful woman coming onto him and he resists, that means the next day he or those with him will be attacked by a large Anaconda snake. I made it crystal clear to Tiffany that she stay away from Frank-lee!

What an incredible experience it was to visit Kapawi. When we weren't trekking through the jungle or learning about the local flora or fauna, we relaxed in a huge hammock on our private deck listening to the sounds of the jungle. We'd do it again, bugs and all. I even got an informal lesson in blow gun tactics, which was actually quite fun. Even more so since I'm a collector of blow guns (yes, I know it's a strange hobby).

Well, it's time to head for Quito so that we can catch our international flight. The adventure isn't quite over, however, as we still need to wind our way back, including a flight on one of those hair raising little planes. Tiff gladly let me call "shotgun." She's so sweet. See you at our next destination…

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