Knock, Knock, Knocking on Danger's Door

Ever since I was a little boy I've pictured the jungle as this haunted, steamy place filled with cannibals, quick-sand, large snakes and covered pits with spikes in them. I think this picture was drawn while reading "Jonah Hex #16". In that issue Jonah is hired to travel to the Amazon Jungle to make an amazing rescue, and he encounters cannibals, quick-sand, large snakes and covered pits with spikes in them.

This week, we get to find out if the comic book was true to the reality. Both Rebecca's mom and my mom have each asked about the danger inherent in our travel plans. Of course, we tell them, the jungle is as safe as any other place that is home to enormous snakes, jungle cats, alligators, and man-eating fish.

But seriously, in case anyone else cares, we will be in very little danger. Our jungle tour is very tourist-class. On Tuesday morning we depart Quito for the Oriente (that means East in Spanish. East is where the jungle is). But alas, there are no machetes nor trailblazing involved. For obvious reasons (Maya and Jonah) we are not opting for the 9-hour adventure bus ride to the park entrance.

Instead we're flying to Lago Agrio, an apparently rough and unpretty oil town, where at the airport we have to put on these stickers
so the local criminals can easily identify us. Then we get into a private car for a 3-hour ride to the entrance of the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve. From there, we journey by canoe to our lodge, the Cuyabeno River Lodge:

The lodge is advertised as an eco-lodge. This means there's no electricity, hot water, or internet access. And they compost our poop. But, other important parts of civilization have come to this part of the world - they have beer.

We are staying only 4 days at the lodge, so hopefully we'll avoid any malaria and yellow fever carrying mosquitoes. Just in case though, we intend to protect ourselves from virulent mosquitoes by covering ourselves in the carcinogen marketed as Deet.

From what we've read, there are lots of animals living in the jungle. But, we have also read that the animals are more afraid of us than we are of them. And with the racket Maya and Jonah make simply brushing their teeth, we won't be sneaking up on anything. So, we are hoping that we get to see a lot of wildlife, but aren't holding our breath. Should we run into any flesh-eating animals, I'm the fastest runner in the family, so I'm comfortable with my chances for survival. I'll miss Rebecca and the kids, but such is life.

One of the daily options for tour activities is swimming in the Cuyabeno River, where piranhas and caiman (small alligators) live. In this instance, all the noise that the kids make when they go anywhere will hopefully scare all danger away. And anyway, we've been told that real-life piranhas aren't the ravenous, frenzied school of flesh-eating fish that we all think they are. But it would be pretty cool if they were and we got to see one of the other guests get devoured. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

We return to Quito and this apartment on Friday evening. As long as all my limbs are still attached to my body (well, as long as I still have my arms) I'll post a full report.