Hey y'all! For this weeks blog, I will be going over our four days in the Amazon. We stayed in a really wonderful hotel, we did a ton of excursions, and we saw really wonderful wildlife.
Pictured above: The boats that the resort uses to transport you to and from the hotel and/or activities. So much fun!
The Amazon is a very expansive area that covers multiple countries, so when looking into staying in the Amazon, take special care to make sure you know exactly where you are going! This particular post is about the Ecuadorian Amazon.
First thing to know about the Amazon: it is super remote. Like, more than you would expect. There is no easy way to get here. We took a private tour bus for about 4 hours from Quito, and then, after finally finding the spot on the river, had a 15 minute boat ride down the river to the resort. This is very common, so do your research before booking if you do not like boats or you cannot swim. The boats are very safe but they do not look especially strong, so if you have any concerns, do not book one of these resorts. Also, when I say "river", it was not the actual Amazon river. If you want to stay on the literal Amazon river, you will want to tailor your hotel searches for this. The Amazon rainforest area has the largest watershed system in the world, with more than 200 tributaries. The hotel we stayed in was on the Napo river, a major river in the area.
Another important thing to consider in regards to location: the deeper in the rainforest, the less civilization you will be near, and the more animals you will encounter. The Amazon is famous for its animals, rare and beautiful, so if you want to see a specific kind of animal, look into where exactly the animal(s) is/are you want to see for increased likelihood. In the area we were, backing up to a town called Tena, is relatively "civilized", so we were not completely engulfed in nature. We still saw a ton of cool animals with the tours offered through the resort.
Now, on to the good stuff! The hotel we stayed at was called La Casa del Suizo (or the House of the Swiss) and is located in Tena, Ecuador. Despite the name, other than the nationality of the founders, there is nothing swiss about it. This place is a literal haven. As I said before, after a 10-15 minute boat ride, you round a bend and see this sprawling resort with adorable little cabins waiting atop the riverbank. After the hike (and I truly mean hike) from the bottom of the riverbank to the top, you check in at the center of the resort. To one side you see the open dining area that serves buffet style, delicious Ecuadorian foods and drinks, and when you turn around after checking in you see the pool with tiki huts that overlooks the river. Then you check into your room/cabin, and it is absolutely perfect. Simple and cool, likely with a river view and a balcony with a hammock.
Pictured above: A view of the hotel when you are first arriving, then a view from the top of the main building (keep reading to find out more about this), and a shot of the river in the background of this tropical paradise.
Now for the negatives. But don't worry, not about the hotel, just about the region. It is HOT and it is HUMID. Like, omg hot and humid. One night I came back from an excursion, jumped in the pool, hopped in a cool shower, and got back in the pool immediately after. And then for the bugs. No surprise here, but it was ridiculous how many bug bites I got. I probably had 100 bites. And trust me, I used bug spray/cream/little bands with bug spray in them.
Pictured above: One afternoon I walked around the resort grounds with my camera and photographed some of the wild flora the resort offered! Despite these minor negatives, everything was amazing.The resort offered free and paid excursions to the surrounding areas. And when I say paid, I think we paid $1 for the black caiman excursion. And the rest were free. So. The first activity we did was building a river raft and then riding it down the river. A guide takes you up the river in the boats after stopping to pick up logs and then takes you quite a long way. Everyone gets off on a little beach and the guide shows you how to lash the logs together, and then away you go! All the way back to the resort, which was just such a fun experience.
Pictured above: Putting the raft together, all 10 of us piled on the raft, and a quick dip into the water (with piranhas!!).
The next day, in the morning, we went did a second water activity to avoid the midday sun. This time we went river tubing and it was so relaxing. And, on the way to this excursion, we saw a ton of monkeys jumping around in the trees. So adorable. This was a lovely way to cool down and slowly take in the beauty of the jungle around us. In the afternoon, we took a short jungle hike to a house in the middle of Snake Island (don't worry, we didn't see any snakes) where a traditional Amazonian Indian family lived. Here, we were able to see and be a part of her daily life. This was literally a one of a kind experience that was so enlightening and unique. I would go back to this resort again just to do this one more time.
Pictured above: A shot from the hike through the jungle, a photo of the typical native house we saw, and a (literal) shot from a blow dart at a fake monkey to show us how the families still hunt today (we were able to try; it's much harder than it looks!)
The last excursion we did was another short hike to a lake with black caimans in it (a caiman is a small crocodile). I brought my camera with me and I took some amazing shots on this hike (all of the best ones are in a slideshow below). Not only did we see the caimans, we saw a bird with flesh-melting saliva, a ton of butterflies, other less terrifying birds, and a million lines of leaf cutter ants. And at the end we were able to swing on a rope over the river (not into the river), but it was really fun anyway!
Pictured above: A slideshow of some of my favorites! Beginning with the black caiman in action, moving on to the leaf cutter ants (so cool), the scary and venomous bird (from very far away, I used my big zoom lens for this one), yet another scary and venomous animal except this one is tinier- the bullet ant, and ending with another black caiman because this was too cool.
This was truly a wonderful way to spend four days. It had just the right balance of relaxation with a little bit of adventure for the ideal vacation. Some tips for the resort:
-Beer (brand "Club") is super cheap and refreshing, but also there is nothing better than a fresh pina colada from Latinamerica (you can find Club anywhere in Ecuador and it is cheap and refreshing every time)
-If you climb all the way to the top of the clubhouse in the lobby, there is an outlook with 360 degree views of the river
-I spent a super long period of time just walking around the resort taking pictures of the crazy and beautiful fauna here
-GET A MASSAGE: for $45, you can chose from a couple different options for one hour long massages and facials. The massage hut is a little bit down the riverbank so you can't hear the sounds of the resort but the sounds of a little waterfall in the river below.
-One upside of this resort is that it is only about 3 hours from Banos, a super-famous adventure town in Ecuador that many people put on their list for things like zip-lining, river tubing, or repelling, as well as the natural spas here
-One last little tip: going anywhere, really, in Ecuador leaves the chance that you will run into a landslide that covers the road. Sometimes, this is super unimportant and you just drive carefully over, but other times, like when we were driving to the Amazon region, the entire road is closed except for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening, so this could put quite a dent in your trip if you have time sensitive plans.
Pictured above: I want you to tell me! Comment what you think this is or if you know what it is! It is super important!!
I hope this is helpful if you are considering a trip to the Ecuadorian Amazon and if you weren't considering a trip before, I hope you are now! It is such a unique experience that you cannot miss out on. If you are in Ecuador, make time to relax here for a couple days. You won't regret it! If you have any questions or comments, let me know! Like and share!
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