Coca and Sani Lodge

I flew to Quito and stayed at Zaysant Eco Lodge for two nights. The buildings and cabanas were all built by Gerardo from Argentina. He and his family have a bucolic farm and garden just outside Puembo, very near the airport. They all were so kind and generous. The zipper broke on my pants and they had a new zipper sewn in within 4 hours. I met a gentleman from Norway and a few folks from Poland and Vietnam. We had a lively discussion about human life on Earth and the aspects of everyday life under the watchful eye of governments. The Norwegian also new all the lines from Monty Python and Fawlty Towers. We laughed a lot. Nothing spectacular, bird-wise.
My flight to Coca ( Puerto Francicso de Orellana) took 25 minutes on an A-310. The view of the jungle stretching east was quite a sight. Coca is where Francisco De Orellana left on his discovery of the Amazon river in 1541. The Province is named after him, as well. Coca is an oil town which was built up by Texaco in the 70's, now owned by Chevron. There are discos and prostitutes. The people are a mix of  Amazonia tribes, black and Spanish. Very interesting features. It is hot and muggy. The Napo river joins the Coca river and Payamino river here. The current, when I arrived, was swift and at a flood stage. The waters a creamy brown. The altitude is about 730 feet, which means the water flows 2,800 miles but only drops by 730 feet. I saw the head of a man (alive) bobbing as he floated down river. The police woman said he was loco. Everyone gathered around a tree in which hid a common possum. The Hotel Auca had squirrel monkeys and agouti's foraging in the gardens. Ticked off a few new birds such as black breasted mango hummingbird. I will provide a link to a few photos of the birds I have seen at the end of this blog.
Luis was a little late on arriving in the afternoon and I was a little nervous. His plane ran late and he was a nervous wreck as he hates flying. I had told him to pretend he was a condor but that didn't work so well. We immediately went in search of beer and strolled down by the river. The fish they pull from the river are brightly colored, as is everything in the selva. Our motored canoe would leave from La Mision in the morning, though we were not sure of the exact time. I told Luis we would come early, at 7:30 am. We had a few beers along Rio Napo and talked about politics in Ecuador. Luis comes from a well-heeled family of educated people. He was concerned about the inheritance tax proposals.
In the morning I settled our bills and we went to the river docks to wait for our ship. We discovered that it would not leave until around 9am. There were just a few folks coming to Sani Lodge. We climbed in and took our seats and headed down river. The river is half a mile wide in some areas and is dotted with sand islands and islands with trees and vegetation. Most of the sand islands were inundated. The eddies in the current were fascinating. One could easily drown in this powerful river. The Napo joins the Amazon river just outside Iquitos, Peru. I would love to float down the length of this river. The weather cooperated and the rains held off. I could imagine what it might have been like to make this venture 475 years ago. There is a painting here of a Conquistador shaking hands with a native. I doubt that occurred. I doubt they smiled.
We arrived at Sani Lodge with the waters at flood level. Water at least 4 feet above normal. The boardwalk into the jungle was flooded so we climbed in paddle canoes for a half-hour cruise through the selva. This is all primary forest. Giant Kapok (Ceiba) trees. Orchids, palms, vines tying everything together. Birds calling, frogs chirping and insects making any noise they could. We paddle across an ox-bow lake to the lodge. In the large hut we were greeted with a Cuba Libre and told of what we might expect. At more than $330 a night there will only be electricity between 4 am and 11 pm.- maybe. There might be hot water. WiFi by the bar only until 10pm. Don't drink the tap  water. No air conditioning. Yes, there are spiders here, big ones. Meals are served at prompt times and there is no menu. Yes, it can rain for days. They provide rubber boots. Then you are given a local guide who will be with you at all times when you venture away from the lodge. Julio was our guide. A native young man with eyes that could spot one green insect in a sea of green, and ears that could here a bird fart a mile away. No English spoken. My Spanish improved quickly. I was so fortunate. I had two bird guides, Luis and Julio. Between them I had the best of enthusiasts. I was watching the birds when we were being told the rules. Scarlet-crowned barbet, black-fronted nunbird, white-eared jacamar, masked crimson tanager. I'm not looking at the lodge manager. I'm in bird land. I hear birds everywhere. Welcome, they tell me. They hand me a rum and coke. Cheers!
We go to our rooms, mine a stand-alone hut with two beds and screened windows. Oropendulas and caciques call out from the trees. White-winged swallows skim the water. Hoatzins are squabbling amongst themselves constantly. Lunch will be served at 1:30. After lunch we stroll to find manakins in the bosque. The path is flooded and we can't cross. Dinner at 6:30. After dinner we take our flashlights and look for anything that moves. Most things do not move but Julio finds them anyway. A giant red-velvet tarantula. A huge bright green chameleon-like lizard. Salamanders, katydids, scorpion spider. Frogs of every size from 1 pounders to 1 gram. And of every color. I go to bed listening to them all communicating.
Up at 4:30 am for a trip to the observation tower. They provide birders breakfast at 5 am. It is pouring down rain and we are given ponchos. There are floating islands of vegetation and we can't find the entrance to the path that takes us to the tower. Our ponchos don't keep out the wetness and I am soaked. Back to the lodge and wait for the rain to let up. It does and we head out again and hack with a machete to find the trail. The observation deck is in the top of a Ceiba tree, a huge kapok. A wooden platform holds us at canopy level. We see white-throated toucan, channel-billed toucan, golden-collared toucanet. A great potoo sits just above us. We stay for an hour and head down to find the black-tailed trogon which is calling. We find him. Back in the canoe and we search for a sun grebe, which I never see. Blue and gold macaws cross the sky. Black-capped donocobius sound like car alarms going off- beautiful birds. Back at the lodge other guides have found an anaconda in the jungle. A lady at dinner wants almond silk milk. We don't see her the next day. Back out with our flashlights and more jungle jewels. Luis takes great photos and is looking for frogs. His camera falls from the tripod twice and he puts it away and I take the photos. Not nearly as good as his photos.
Next morning the three of us are off to Yasuni national park on the other side of the Napo, up river. It is a beautiful sunrise on the river. Julio spots a ladder-tailed nightjar. We pull up the canoe on an island and search for birds there. Oriole blackbirds and Parker's spinetail. We get back in the canoe and head up to have a park ranger greet us on the river and sign in. We go the the parrot lick which is world famous. We wait and hour before the hoards of  cobalt-winged parakeets come by the hundreds. The noise is loud and Hitchcock-like. They get trace elements and nutrients which help them digest the fruits of the forest. Amazing! We treck up the path and find screaming pihas, the typical jungle call you hear in movies. Julio goes back to get our box lunches which are being brought to us. Luis and I continue on the path and watch golden-headed manakins do there dance to attract females. Julio does not come back so we return to the parrot lick and see Julio coming up the trail. We eat a meal watching the parakeets. On the way back to the canoe we see red brocket deer and peccary. Butterflies are everywhere, as well. True beauty on wings. We go down river to a observation tower. A very, very high observation tower. 131 feet of shear terror. I do it, I climb it. I am here. I told Luis I would find him a king vulture if he got me the sun grebe. I find a king vulture and Luis is happy. The view of the jungle is forever. The Earth curves away to the Amazon. I breath fresh oxygen. I do NOT want to leave. We go.
On the way back we stop and see tropical screech owls at Julio's home. I see small children in a dug-out canoe along the bank of the river. Very small children. Children who learn the many dangers of their environment quickly. Things you shouldn't touch, or taste. They learn where to look for this bird or that frog and those snakes. The jungle bites back if you are not very careful. I am surprised that mosquitoes are not thick and annoying. No chiggers. I love this place.
We decide to do the Sani observation tower the next morning if it is not raining. It is raining the next morning but I am up at 4:30am. We don't make it there but take a few canoe rides along the lagoon in search of that damned sun grebe. Nope. The staff collects our bags and we take the 3 hour trip up river to Coca. I say so-long to the Amazonas. I will be back. Large-billed tern along the way.
Back in Coca I change my flight back to Quito so I fly back to Cuenca on the same day and have just a 2.5 hour layover. I am still in Coca and went for a walk over the bridge this morning. They wanted almost $200 to take me to Limoncocha so I passed on that. I will wash my clothes when I get back to Cuenca. I have a new apartment to move into.
I have seen 9 species of monkeys. Almost 80 new species of birds. We might have done much better if the river had not been so high. I am so glad I took this trip. I am drawn to the Amazon. It is such a special place. I will do more trips here. My clothes are all dirty so I have bathed myself in cologne and will hit the streets of Coca tonight for local flavor. Yum!
Here are some bird photos for Mr. Meadows!

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/hoatzin-opisthocomus-hoazin/adults
http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=303096
http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=296376
http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=597676
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/white-eared-jacamar-galbalcyrhynchus-leucotis/bird-feeding-bees
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/donacobius-donacobius-atricapilla/pair-singing
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/cream-colored-woodpecker-celeus-flavus/male-perched-branch-0
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/many-banded-araçari-pteroglossus-pluricinctus/perched-top-tall-ceibo-tree

Listen to the call of the common potoo
http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/OWZTPLFLJS/XC260437-47.003.02.Common_Potoo.mp3

Cold Hummingbirds

There are a few species of hummingbirds which live at 11,000 feet, plus a few. How they manage at those cold temperatures is amazing. They feed, go into torpor, shiver awake and do it all again. The blue-mantled thornbill and violet throated metaltail are very specific to El Cajas at that altitude.I saw them both. At times I wish I had my big camera and high-power lenses. The flowers are abundant, along with hundreds of species of moss and lichens. It is one of my favorite environments. If only the wind didn't bite so hard. There are over 250 lagunas in the park. The skies have been so blue the last few days and they reflect the vivid blue hues.

The Pope was a hit. Such a popular fellow among the Ecuadorian masses. And they massed! I was so glad I was not in Quito, or Guayaquil. I watched all of his movements on TV, even to Bolivia and Paraguay. Correa has been very quiet lately. He was quite chummy with El Papa. Some wish he had flown away with Papa. He looked so tired much of the time, but then he visited the two highest capitals in the world.

The landlady promised WiFi and I had it for a few days. Then it went down and when I told her she promised they would be over to fix it. She promised about 10 times, for 8 days, then I moved out. She fought to hold back deposit money and I got all but $50, which I gave to the agent, Andrea, for helping me. I told her I didn't need any stress and she prayed for me. For almost 5 minutes, in Spanish, and cried. I gave her the blender I had bought. Miss landlady was a real bitch. She hadn't paid the guy who installed the WiFi the first time so he refused to come back to fix it. I am better off out of that apartment anyway. Now I am in a hostel at $20 a night, on the Tomebamba river, which lulls me to sleep each night. I am going to look at another apartment today.

 But first, the Amazon! I fly back to Quito on the 21st and then fly to Coca on the 23rd. Luis Alcivar, my buddy from San Jorge Eco Lodges, has a group of wealthy birders from Taiwan who have hired him for a long birding trip around Ecuador. They want him as their guide at Sani Lodge http://www.sanilodge.com, in the Yasuni. Luis told me he wanted to go to Sani before they get here so he can brush-up on the birds of the Amazon. I get a discount through Luis and he and I are going for 4 days. This is the ultimate birding adventure in South America. It is the most remote Amazon lodge in Ecuador! I am so excited to go. I am going to spend two nights in Coca so I don't have to be rushed from, and to, Quito. I might see nearly 400 species of birds in just a few days. It took 45 years to see that many in the USA. Bug spray, lots of bug spray. And I bought some malaria pills as a precaution. I can't wait to see all the wildlife. Giant otters, pink river dolphin, and lots of minkies. I bought a good flashlight for frogging. Small and powerful.

I guess I will stay in Cuenca for a while. I will be getting my visa in a few weeks and I have to pick it up from immigration here in Cuenca. I might settle in Loja for a spell. I have to make a trip there to scope out the town. There are so many 'mericans here. I have met a lot of folks here and they have been very kind to me. Just not sure what my plans are yet. I have been invited to spend time on the coast and I will go sometime in August. Maybe for my birthday. The whales are waiting for me.
Ciao!