The trip to the jungle either required an overnight bus ride or a plane ride from Quito. I wanted to save time and the flight was cheap so I hopped a plane and headed to Lago Agrio. The flight was short and as we landed the weather changed from sunny and warm in Quito to torrential downpours and warmish. As we disembarked there were men with machine guns and a man handing us an umbrella. The machine guns were, as it turns out, to protect people from drug runners. The umbrellas were something I would wish I had the whole time I was in the jungle along with my own rain jacket which I didn't pack because I wasn't going to the jungle.
At the airport we were met by a bus and loaded up to head to the jungle. As we drove our guide told us about the area but he mostly spoke of the pipeline which ran next to the road. This pipeline has had such drastic effects on the area. The area we were headed to is a national park however, the government allowed oil drilling in the national park. The drilling and subsequent piping was great for the economy but environmentally it has been a disaster.
The pipeline has polluted the rivers, the groundwater and the soil. The people of the area have been made ill because of this but their lives have not been protected. The native tribes were not allowed a say in the drilling and the contact with the outside world has been damaging to them as well. As if the oil was not enough there were also large swaths of deforested areas. Our guide explained that the people take down the trees, till the field to plant things like bananas but the soil isn't good for growing them so they continue to have to take down more trees and repeat the process. While I was there the road to Quito was washed out because of landslides and the landslides were attributed to deforestation and the torrential rains that have been hitting as a result of global warming. I teach about these topics but to see it for myself was stunning and heartbreaking.
After two hours we arrived at the river which we would follow into the jungle. We were served a nice lunch while our luggage was loaded onto a boat and covered with huge heavy tarps. As we at it poured and poured. We were given rain jackets for the boat ride thankfully. I was given a seat in the front of the boat and tried my best to get my rain poncho into a position to keep me dry. Once everyone was loaded we took off down the river. Our goal would be to spot animals along the way. Our guide spoke Spanish but he was easy to understand because he spoke slowly and he was talking about animals so I could figure things out. On the way in we spotted some monkeys in the treetops. I learned quickly how difficult it is to photograph a monkey. They move quickly and are so far away because the trees are so tall. In this jungle there were 7 types of monkeys and on my jungle adventure I would be lucky enough to see 6 of them. It was pouring so hard on the boat ride in that we didn't stop much. Each time we did whatever water had puddled on my rain poncho ended up draining onto some new part of me that had previously been dry. By the time we made it to the lodge I was soaked.
The lodge was nestled along the river and next door to another lodge. We were told it was siesta time and in a few hours we would go out again. Siesta would not be my friend during this jungle time. Usually I can deal with siesta by walking, swimming or hiking through it. But in the jungle all I could do was sit in a hammock and read. I was very anxious and on edge the whole time. There was no way to leave the lodge grounds. I was trapped in my own personal siesta hell. I just don't have the personality for it. I listened to the rain which made me even more crazy. I was going to have to figure out how to enjoy this time. Day one's lesson: Poverty leads to devastation but so does wealth.
