Day 2 - Canopy Walkway Excursion

We meet at the boat at 6:00am. We had a beautiful sunrise. Still so excited to actually be on the Amazon River.

Sun rise on the Amazon River

The boat ride was short, only 5 minutes down the river. We got off at a town called Indiana. Apparently is was named after the state of Indiana because the son of the land owner went to med school in Indiana. He had such a good experience, that they renamed the town.

Indiana Peru

We toured a fish market and saw many fish from the river, including piranha!

Piranha.

The tour arranged for us to travel to the Napo River via Tuk-tuk. German referred to them as the Amazon Ubers. Tuk-tuks are modified motorcycles with a bench for people to sit on. The ride was an experience. The roads were glorified sidewalks, just wide enough for two Tuk-Tuks. Most of the concrete was in need of repair, so the ride was not smooth. Luckily it was not a long ride only 20 minutes. We saw, local life, dogs and what everyday life is like in this town.

Tuk-Tuk!

The Tuk-tuks dropped us off at the Napo River where we caught another boat that took us up river to ExlorNapa Lodge. The boat ride was almost 2 hours long.

ExplorNapo Lodge

Gateway to the Canopy Walk and lunch spot.

Since we got up so early, they provided breakfast at the ExplorNapo Lodge. This lodge is an educational center used to help educate students and teachers on the biodiversity of the area. The facility is pretty big, with lodging, and meeting rooms. Student plaques are displayed all over the ceiling. Many from the states.

Our hike to the Canopy Walkway started here. Usually there is a boat that will take visitors up a creek to get close to the walkway, but the rivers are low, so we had to hike 50 minutes to get there. The trail was your typical Amazon Jungle Rainforest trail with lots of roots and mud! Thank goodness they provided hiking sticks for all of us. (Bamboo branches.)

Hiking the Amazon Rinforest.

German provided information on flora and fauna examples, and found some frogs and centipedes to view up close. He also had a local native join us, and she showed us how to turn the palm fronds into thatching for roofs.. This thatching will last 3-5 years if done properly.

The canopy walkway was built in 1991 for scientists to study the Amazon rainforest. They recently opened it up for limited tourism to help cover the expenses of maintaining it.

The walkways were narrow. Only three people were allowed on the walkway at a time. Running and jumping were not allowed. We were even asked to wash our hands if we used insect repellant with deet as it is not good for the ropes of the walkway.

Canopy Walkway

The views from the top of the canopy were amazing. We were able to stop at various platforms to take in the views. The walkway loop was not long, but it took about an hour to walk the circuit. We ended up close to where we started and had another hour hike back to the lodge.

When we got back to the Lodge, lunch was waiting for us. We had fresh catfish cooked in a banana leaf, beans and rice, and radish salad and plantain chips.

After lunch, there was a presentation on the educational part of the Lodge. The preserve is about 1,00,000 acres. They have over 100 cameras located in a grid pattern throughout the preserve. Every 4 months, they change the batteries and SIM cards for all the cameras. They are able to record the amount and type of wildlife in the area. This has been a concern as local hunters have noticed a drop in wildlife. Happy to report that since the preserve was created, there has been in increase in wildlife.

Map of the conservation area with camera locations.

We also had a demonstration on the development of stingless honey bees. They occur naturally in the area, but they were not able to create hives for them. They can now keep them in hives (not cutting down trees to get to them) and harvest the honey. The honey is used for medicinal purposes only. The honey was not as thick as the honey we are used to, and tasted quite a bit different.

We had a two hour boat ride back to Ceiba Tops Lodge. This time we took the boat from the Napo river to the Amazon River (No Tuk-tuks) back to the Lodge.

We were able use the pool to cool down and relax before a typical Amazon rain storm sent us to the bar to enjoy location beverages.