MY FIRST TIME AT CUYABENO LODGE – JUST AMAZING
OUR INTERN FANNY WENT TO CUYABENO LODGE FOR 4 DAYS AND SHARES HER IMPRESSIONS:
“You can not imagine it, if you haven’t been there on yourself!” – I have heard this so many times, so finally it was time and I got to know the great Cuyabeno Reserve and Cuyabeno Lodge.
My trip starts from Quito late night at 11 pm. I took the night bus to Lago Agrio, the last city before the jungle starts. By bus it takes about 6 hours, it is the cheapest way to go. You can also go by plane, which are just 30 minutes.
The guides (three all in all), already were waiting for us in Lago Agrio, besides me 18 other people came to visit the Lodge. We all met there, you can choose on your own how to get to Lago Agrio, which is the meeting point.
From there we caught the private bus which took us in about 1,5 hours to the entrance of the jungle – the correspondent river “Cuyabeno”. Here we changed into canoes and our journey began.
The Cuyabeno Lodge is located really deeply in the rainforest with its unique location right at the Laguna Grande. From here you can observe on its best the surrounded wildlife and of course the romantic sunsets every evening.
The drive with the canoe will take two hours – and its worth. On the way we already saw lots of animals, like two anacondas, squirrel monkeys and always accompanied of various Morpho Butterflies – for me the most fascinating butterflies.
When we arrived at the Cuyabeno Lodge the staff already waited for us with a fresh lemonade – after such a long journey it is the best!
The Lodge is hidden behind bushes and trees so you can not see it from far away, not even from the Laguna Grande. The wooden huts are widespread all over the terrain and offer you a stay close to the nature. At night I heard the sound of the jungle – birds, insects, monkeys… you have to feel it!!!
All day we had full program and lots of activities to do. Whether the day tours or at night, by foot o canoe it was always a lot of fun and I saw a lot of wild animals which I did not knew before o just knew from the zoo, such as toucans, squirrel monkeys, anacondas, tarantula, parrots, caymans…
The funniest animal I saw was definitely the sloth. We were at a trip with the canoe as suddenly our guide yelled to the canoe driver: “Hold on! I have seen a sloth!” So we turned around and stopped right in front of the animal, lazy, hanging in the tree. Actually not easy to found, behind some bushes, but no problem for our guide.
It is amazing what our guides could see from far away – they must have eagle eyes. Sometimes it happened to me that we stopped and we were close to the animal but I could not find it through all the trees. When I used then the binoculars, I saw it.
Also spectacular and really refreshing was the bath at the Laguna Grande. You might think know – What? In the same lake where caymans and piranhas live? No way! But no worries, we swam in the middle of the lagoon where you will never find them. Their usual habitat is close to the shore where bushes and trees are located.
I had a great time at Cuyabeno Lodge. It was not just the nature, it was the whole package which make me happy and such relaxed.
The guides were awesome, they explained everything so detailed, so I really learned more about the environment there.
I had a lot of fun together with the group. We did not know us before, but 4 days together brings you closer and I am still in contact with some of them.
Coming back to the Lodge after an exhausting day tour in the jungle gave me always the feeling of relief. The staff was giving all the time its best that we felt comfortable. It was the fresh welcome drink, the delicious food, the hot shower and the relaxing time at the observation tower.
All in one it was such a great and unforgettable time with awesome experiences – to say it shortly in Ecuadorian words – ¡Que chévere!
