Kongo and his photography group departed Quito early in the morning to board a plane for Coca, Ecuador, the gateway to the upper Amazon Rainforest. It’s a short flight, about thirty minutes, and while up in the air the monkey was treated to an amazing view of the Andes mountain peaks with glaciers.

Kongo is part of a photography expedition run by Fancy Girl – Street Boy productions. The iconic photographer Joe McNally is with us for this adventure. The monkey has been on several expeditions with Joe McNally and Fancy Girl and this one promises to be one of the best.

Coca is also known as Puerto Francisco de Orellana and is named after Francisco de Orellana who was the first European to cross the South American continent and transverse the Amazon basin. He did this way back in 1542. Orellana had joined an expedition led by Gonzalo Pizarro to explore east of Quito in search of El Dorado and cinnamon-rich lands. At Coca, Orellana separated from Pizarro and his small band travelled downriver in a desperate quest for survival. In 1542, Orellana reached the mouth of the Amazon on the Atlantic side of South America, a journey of nearly 3,000 miles. It took Pizarro and Orellana more than a month of hard slogging across the Andes to travel from Quito to Coca. Today you can do it in thirty minutes.

Coca is a gritty little town that grew up with the Ecuadorian oil business. It has a small airport and port facility to support tourism into the rainforest and the oil industry.

Representatives from La Selva Lodge, our destination headquarters for our five days in the Amazon, met our group at the airport and we climbed into a small bus for the quick ride to the docks.

We were headed downriver sixty miles, deep into Amazon rainforest. La Selva is adjacent to the Yasuni National Park, one of the most biodiverse places on earth. It is home to jaguars, pink river dolphins, giant otters, and over 600 bird species. Not to mention a few monkeys.

The only way to get to La Selva is by the river. We would sail the river in a long, motorized canoe, then transfer to a paddle canoe for the final thirty minutes or so to reach the lodge which sits on a beautiful lake in the middle of nowhere.

The Napo River is a “whitewater” river although its color is actually brown. The chocolate milk color is caused by the erosion of soil high in the Andes Mountains where the river originates near the volcanoes on the eastern slopes of the Andes.

Our canoe is fast, traveling at more than 20 knots with a following current. Along the way we watched some of the river traffic. The jungles of Ecuador are a major source of oil and a lot of the boats on the water are related to the oil business.

Along the river we pass several homes and tiny settlements.

The river is sometimes over a mile wide. Often we weave in and around islands that are constantly changing because of the varying water levels. Frequently our captain must slow down and feel his way through the shoals and floating debris that washes down from the Andes. After two and a half hours we reach the La Selva landing where we will board paddle canoes for the final leg of our journey.

When we arrive at the La Selva landing on the Napo River, we leave our motorized canoes behind. After a short walk through the jungle, we climb into smaller canoes for our trip to the lodge. Here we begin to see the Amazon up close and personal for the first time. Giant trees loom over our heads. We can hear birds calling back and forth. The first bugs begin to buzz. We feel the humidity. It’s hot.

The La Selva lodge is located on a small lake known as Heron Lake. To get to the lake we first must paddle along a small creek. Our guides begin their bird calls. We see illusive animals hopping through the trees above our heads. We can smell the aroma of the jungle.

Finally, we arrive at La Selva and are met with a welcome drink and cool towels.

In his next blog, Kongo will describe his lodgings, explore La Selva Lodge, and head out on his first outing in the Amazon. Stay tuned!

Travel safe. Have fun!