Off to the Amazon!

After one full day in Quito, we were up bright and early the next morning to fly to Coca, Ecuador's gateway to the Amazon region.

After getting off the plane, we transferred to a high-speed boat to take us about 50 miles down the Napa River. The Napa is just one of many rivers that form the Amazon River.

We headed downriver under the Coca bridge.



Here's a short movie to show how fast we were going.

After a short time, it started to look more like the jungle.

Arriving at the Sacha Lodge dock. But we're not there yet!

We have a mile-long walk through the jungle...

Where I saw my first bird! A Chachalaca.

After the walk through the jungle, we arrived at a lake and got into canoes to go across the lake to the lodge.

I think we made it!

This is our very nice cabin. WOW!

And this is our huge bathroom. That's not a painting of the jungle in the shower, it's a huge window with no curtain. I hope the monkeys get a good show!

All of the visitors at the lodge are divided into small groups of 4-6 people and given our own native guide and naturalist guide.

You'd think this would be the end of the day, but we aren't done yet.

After dinner, our guides took us on a night canoe ride through the jungle. We saw a few nocturnal animals, including this baby caiman.