Our morning started bright and early again with a walk through the jungle to our first adventure of the day. Sacha Lodge is famous for its canopy walk which allows visitors to stroll across two suspension bridges high above the jungle floor. The site is composed of three towers and two connecting suspension bridges. The top landings on each tower are approximately 150 feet above the ground while each suspension bridge is about 500 feet in length. From these high vantage points we were able to see the vastness of the jungle for as far as the eye can see.

While up above the canopy we saw countless birds including toucans, macaws, falcons, condors and finches. Their unique colors, mannerisms, and shapes were a joy to behold. While we were above the trees we heard the sounds of a monkey troop close by. Our guides told us that based on their sounds this was yet another new species of monkey for us to see (these were Titi Monkeys). For awhile we could only hear them but eventually our native guide excitedly spotted them and we were able to observe multiple members of the troop including a mom carrying her baby! We are incredibly lucky to see 6 different monkey species during our time at the lodge (some of the other guests here have only seen 1). Our luck continued as a short while later we spotted another jungle species, the two-toed sloth! This species of sloth is even more rare than the three-toed sloth here in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The sloth was only a short distance away so we were able to observe him (or her) with the naked eye and through the spotting scope moving up and down the tree to find tasty leaves for lunch!

On our walk back to the lodge our native guide described many of the most useful plants found in the jungle. He demonstrated how they construct the roofs of their homes using palm leaves, how a certain mushroom can be used to cure ear infections and the leaves used to cook traditional meals (the leaves impart so much flavor that the only ingredient they add besides the protein is a little salt). Our guides are simply amazing and they are able to spot so many small or distant animals/insects with ease. As we approached camp we made two other new discoveries, a Crested Owl (the biggest owl here) and a poisonous Dart Frog! These frogs are tiny but they contain enough poison to kill up to seven people. We have now seen the most dangerous spider, snake and amphibian here in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

In the afternoon we walked to our final adventure here – a crane lift. We climbed into a crane box with our guide and the crane operator and we were then lifted 50 meters into the air high above the jungle canopy. The crane operator then moved the crane 360 degrees and back again (similar to how you see construction cranes moving), mimicking ‘flying’ above the tree tops (video in our gallery). On top of the lift we were able to see flying macaws and hawks as well as sweeping views of the Amazon Rainforest and Napo River in all directions. The lift can only be used on days where there is no or minimal wind, so we were lucky to have been able to experience this attraction.

On our way back from the lift we canoed through more jungle canals. We were lucky enough to see another troop of monkeys overhead, this time Capuchin Monkeys! They moved from tree to tree right above us in search of tasty fruit. Fun fact, Capuchin Monkeys are the smartest of the seven species of monkeys found in this part of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Our last night here in Ecuador concluded with a fantastic dinner prepared by a travelling chef that only uses ingredients from the natural jungle – i.e. no butter, etc. We leave the lodge early tomorrow morning to start our trek home (we will make one final blog entry for this trip tomorrow with our morning adventures).