Guacamayo Ecolodge Cuyabeno

I am woken up in the middle of our Ecolodge on our first night in the Amazon Jungle. There is a noise coming from our snack bag and something is moving about in there.

Toucan

©Exploramum and Explorason – seeing a beautiful toucan at the Ecolodge is something I will remember forever

But, we also wake up to an excitement! There is a Toucan in the trees and as I have so longed to see one – I am thrilled! There is a whole group mingling below waiting to have a look at this magnificent bird.  I am just so excited and I can’t wait to join them.

©Exploramum and Explorason – looking at a toucan in the trees above

We are here in the Amazon to celebrate my son’s 8th birthday and this is an incredible moment.

©Exploramum and Explorason – our tour guide is wonderful at worldschooling

I am really appreciative of our guide and that he helps Explorason to see and learn about the Toucan.  I’m annoyed I don’t have a better camera with me, but sometimes memories are captured in the mind, not with the lens.

Relaxing In The Hammocks

©Exploramum and Explorason – relaxing in the hammocks

My son enjoys the hammock room of our Ecolodge. He is ready for the day’s adventure in the jungle and so off we go.

Explorason looks the part as it is so hot and sticky and he has a jungle-style hat with a net. He also has waterproof pants as it has rained in the night and the foliage is wet, but we only have one long sleeve shirt.

So, he has to wear his best shirt and I just hope it stays nice – but of course, it gets wrecked! Someone walks up with a handful of mud and slaps him on the back as a joke, and the mud stain to this day remains.

©Exploramum and Explorason – jungle trekking

My son wants to be up front so he can learn from the guide – this is what is called world-schooling.

Snake

©Exploramum and Explorason – stepping on a snake

I hear screams of “snake”. He thinks it is near his feet and jumps. However, he jumps right onto this vixen. One poor older lady nearly has a heart attack during the event. Explorason is pretty chuffed at himself and thinks it is exciting. Snakes can look like vines and hide so well.  I can tell you, this story was told over and over that day to all we met and later in our travels it is still told.

Looking Down

From then on, he is head down searching the jungle floor for exciting creatures. We stick close together, but we still have a lot of fun.

Strongest Of The Fittest

This poor caterpillar on the left did not survive. He has been covered in jungle moss. The jungle is for those who can survive – a bit like my life as a single Mum I think sometimes. I bet a few of you think like that too, for some days life can be tough.

Neisser – we call him “Rambo” really helps my son to learn.

If you look carefully at this photo above right there is a Caiman here – you can see the eyes center front.

Caiman

The wiggly leaf look is his tail. I feel pretty sick just to think we have walked right near him.  So when it comes to that time when we have to walk through the swamp I am not happy. In fact, I scream, and I am terrified of Caiman.

If you stand too long your boots sink in the mud like quicksand and it is so hard to even lift them. I’m knee deep and I can hardly move and this is really not my idea of enjoyment.  Actually, I would like to quit about now!

Once on dry land, we empty our boots. But it seems about this time I may have come in contact with poison ivy. No, I really am NOT enjoying this!

©Exploramum and Explorason – I so did not like this caiman

We head to the river to wash our feet. I have my boots off and feet in the water. On the other side of the boardwalk is this2-meter Caiman!

I feel quite relieved to be up there. He is one big boy.

Shaman

This guy I believe (above left) may be a Shaman which is similar to a white witch some say. They have rituals that place them in a trance and the enter the good and evil spirit world. I am not sure he is, but he is sitting waiting on the pier as we head back for lunch. Just as we also sit here, along comes another caiman. we are out of here as we don’t want to be his lunch!

Achievement

©Exploramum and Explorason – happy we have trekked the Amazon jungle and it is OVER!

We made it!  I am personally SO happy I have finished Amazon jungle trekking. We can tick it off my list of accomplishments. But I am in NO rush to do that EVER again!

Lunch

As a parent, one thing that tours fail to do is accommodate for the needs of children What happens next is a challenge.  We go back to the Ecolodge for a fabulous but very late lunch – maybe 2 pm? If you decide to do a tour, try to coordinate the activities so your child gets meals at regular times.  Otherwise, it is too tough for them.

Relaxation

So the next couple of hours at the Ecolodge are for a nice hot shower and some free time. Well, let me tell you it was more like 15 minutes to me. It flew by – I was stuffed! But a hot shower in the jungle? I will give them ten points for that – bliss!

Piranha

©Exploramum and Explorason – catching a Pirahna

Now it is time to learn to fish for Piranha. Again my son is right by the guide’s side. We learn to whack the water with the rod as this attracts the fish.

Sunset Swim

We head out again from the Ecolodge for another sunset swim. The water is like a mirror and it is such a beautiful setting.

Today has been an incredible say that I will remember forever.

Comments And Questions

• If you are heading to the Amazon jungle, what is one thing you would lie to see or do?
• What are you afraid of?
• Tell us in the comments below – we’d love to know!