Counting the losses - and more of the Amazon Rainforest

In the morning, needless to say the talk at breakfast was all about the fire, what we had lost, and how lucky we all were to be alive.

In terms of losses, Nic has lost most of his underwear, and I lost most of my outer clothes.  Luckily, Nic and I keep one set of clothes separately in each others' rucksack in case one gets stolen, so I had two tops and two pairs of trousers, and my fleece and waterproof jacket were safe.  But I also lost my walking boots, and some jewellery and souvenirs that were in my make up bag. We lost other bits like gloves and sleeping mats etc, but thankfully nothing that's irreplaceable like photos, or really troublesome like medication.

Others lost varying amounts, ranging from just the set of clothes that was drying, to everything but their laptop.  Shanyn was the only one to lose her camera in the fire, which is obviously terrible for her, but we will give her copies of our photos to try to fill the gap.

We were very aware though that some of the people sat next to us either were the owners of the
 lodge, which would not have been insured, and so they had lost a huge part of their livelihood, or people who worked at the lodge, who had possibly lost their jobs if the owners could not employ them elsewhere.  We definitely considered ourselves lucky.

Izzie and Roberto had, despite the obvious difficulties, arranged that we would still go put to the animal sanctuary and the local community today.  Alternative lunch arrangements had been made, as we had been due to ear at the lodge, and the only thing we could do was the planned tubing down the river.  We were very impressed that they were able to let us go ahead with the activities, and although many of us felt a little odd doing such touristy things they day after the fire, it probably did us good to get on with our normal routine.  It no doubt also helped Izzie as then she didn't have to worry about us while she spent the day chasing around police stations getting police reports for us all, and making arrangements for us to get to Quito the next day.

banana boat

So we got in taxis and drive to the river, where we saw bananas being offloaded from a boat and we had a boat waiting to take us to the animal sanctuary.  We were all given life jackets, and as the boat set off we could see why.  It was a long, narrow boat that sat very low in the water, and so whenever it got a bit choppy, or we turned a bit sharply, it felt like we were going to dip into the water.  In fact the driver obviously knew what he was doing and we didn't even get wet aside from a few splashes, but I know that a few companions were very glad when we arrived nonetheless.


toucan



The animal sanctuary is huge, although as many of the animals are loose, we only got to see a small proportion that were in cages, although some of the uncaged squirrel monkeys did put in an appearance. They had a number of different types of monkeys, some ocelots, various birds, and caiman, amongst others.  It was interesting to walk around hear what they're doing to help rehabilitate and protect  these animals.  We also bought chocolate!

We were back down the river to have lunch, and then into the taxis again to go to the local community.  But on the way, we stopped at Shangri-la.  A few of our travelling companions still held out hope that some of their belongings would still be there.  It was soon clear that they would not be.





after the fire



Arriving in the clearing at the top of the steps, you could be forgiven for thinking nothing had happened.  The trees had thankfully not caught fire, so the jungle around the lodge was as green and dense as ever.  



after the fire - our cabin


But when we went down the steps, we could see the devastation of the lodge itself.  There was nothing left of it other than a few brick walls that had supported the toilets and showers, and the corrugated iron that had been on some of the rooves.  Where our cabin had been, there was just a mound of earth and ash, with a couple of sheets of the corrugated iron on top.  And the same was true for the others.


the remains of Shanyn's camera

We picked our way over the still hot ashes, and looked around the rest of the site.  Then Nic spotted something amongst the ashes.  Shanyn's camera.  Or rather the charred and melted remains of her camera.  She was strangely pleased to get it back, even though it was clearly useless now. Our companions also found an odd sock and a nail file that had been dropped on the pathway during the evacuation, but nothing was going to have survived the fire. 

The sight of the complete destruction of the cabins that we were only about half an hour from being asleep in, brought home to us just how lucky we had been.  We left feeling a strange mix of horror at how narrow our escape had been, sympathy for how terrible the loss was for the owners, and pleasure and relief that we were all safe and well.





the paint pot tree



Shanyn and Roberto



We carried on with the trip to the community but I could not help but feel slightly detached, so was a little relieved that we weren't expected to participate in any activities other than trying a bit of their yucca chicha drink, which was actually quite nice.  We did try out the face painting using the fruit of one of the local trees as little mini paint pots, but I think we were all quite pleased to make it back to the hotel.

 

the traditional dance



Izzie had arranged that we would get the bus from Tena to Quito the next morning, and so we had the evening free.  Nic and I were planning to try a restaurant nearby, but got sidetracked by sone event happening in the main square.  It was celebrating the 20th anniversary of something, and had lots of people doing various traditional South American dances - and a few that weren't so traditional!

 



the not-so-traditional



Later in the evening, they announced a singer called Gerardo Moran.  Now I have no idea who he is, but the crowd were thrilled.  All of a sudden, hundreds of people surged down from the stands where they had been sitting, to gather in front of the stage.  I wouldn't quite call it a pop concert - it was more like it was Barry Manilow or Cliff Richards, but you couldn't doubt the excitement of the Ecuadorians.  We stayed and watched most of it, slightly bemused as to why he was so popular, but left when the songs that he did for the numerous encores all started to sound the same.



Fire - and a narrow escape

So the generator went off at about 8:15pm.  Izzie had already taken her sunburn off to bed and Sue and Ken had gone a short while ago, so the five of us all figured that with only the light from Nic's and my torches, we should finish our drinks and go to bed too.

Then we saw the fire.



section of the fire as seen from the top of the flying fox



It was burning behind the kitchen area, around where the flying fox was, thankfully the other side to the route out of the dining area and the lodge.  It had already engulfed the cabin directly behind the kitchen area, and was spreading fast through the ne next to it.  Thankfully those cabins were empty, though it is quite possibly where TJ and Cathy would have been had they been there.  But the next cabin along was Izzie's and the steps up to it, ie her escape route, were in real danger of catching fire very soon.

We all began yelling fire very loudly, in English and Spanish.  Leon and I both went running up the steps to Izzie's cabin, yelling at her to get out.  Leon was banging on her door and we were both shouting at her that we weren't joking and she seriously needed to get out now.  The pause while she got dressed seemed like an eternity, but she came out having had the presence of mind to grab her laptop.  She never had the chance to go back for anything else.

The guys from the lodge started trying to put out the fire, but it became clear this was a losing battle.  Ben helped the guys to ferry the gas bottles away from the fire, Shanyn was banging on nearby doors, and I went to wake up Sue and Ken.  Our rooms were all on the far side of the lodge, so we we had a chance to go in and collect some of our stuff, but there wasn't time to get everything, especially as in the dark it was hard to see what was there.  Poor Shanyn couldn't find her camera, and after the second attempt, Izzie quite rightly said she should not go back in to look for it again.

We knew that the rain from earlier in the day would have helped dampen down the trees, but with the way the fire was burning, we were concerned that there was a possibility that the trees above the lodge could catch fire, blocking off our escape route. So we figured it was time to leave. With a backward glance to the advancing fire, we set off up the steps. We were pretty relieved when we got there, and equally pleased to see two fire engines pull up. They started setting up, and when I told them that there were still people down there, they went into overdrive. We realized that two of our group had not made it up yet, and Izzie went back down to make sure they got out safely. We were all pretty relieved to see the three of them come up the steps.

The lodge had obviously made arrangements for what would happen in the event of a fire, as taxis started to arrive to take us away to town. All eight of us piled into the taxi truck that turned up and we were driven the twenty minutes back into town to a hotel owned by the same group. Izzie then had the long task of getting in touch with TJ and Dragoman HQ to let them know what had happened. We were up for some while afterwards, and the guys from the lodge got back around 1:30am. The lodge had burned to the ground.

We were lucky. We had all lost some stuff - Izzie just about everything - but we had all escaped without any harm at all. Had we been sat further away from the fire, we would not have seen it so soon and so the situation could have been much worse. And had it been thirty or so minutes later, when we had gone to bed, I think we might have been lucky to make it out at all.

A narrow escape then, but an escape we are very thankful for.

Shangri-la - our first day in the Amazon Rainforest



the steps to the lodge



From Rio Verde we drove the short hop further into the Amazon proper and arrived at Tena in time for lunch.  The place we were staying is just into the Amazon Rainforest, about twenty minutes drive from the town.  And straight away, we could feel the increase in temperature and humidity.  It was clear that we were all going to spend the next three days being very sweaty!

 
TJ and Cathy left us there and took the truck off to Quito to have the time to get the fridge fixed, with the plan to pick us up again in three days time.



view from the lodge

The lodge we were staying at is called Shangri-la and is a bit like a big tree house.  You pull off the road down a short drive to a clearing.  From there, the lodge is about one hundred meters down the hill and you reach it by going down a winding set of log steps.  To save lugging your bags up and down though they have a 'flying fox' which is a metal basket on a pulley system that goes directly down to the lodge.

  

our lodge cabin



The lodge itself is mostly made from wood.  There are a series of wooden cabins around a central kitchen and dining area, and then further up there is a deck with lots of hammocks for chilling out.  The views across the river and into the jungle are fabulous, and we were lucky to have cabins on the edge, with balconies looking out over the basin.  Sadly, other than the one of our cabin and hammock, even when I can finally load pictures again, I won't be able to give you any photos of the lodge, for reasons that will become clear soon (or you know if you read the earlier news flash!)





the view from the lodge



I was really looking forward to the stay in the Amazon, with one exception; my fear of spiders was leaving me really rather nervous about sleeping in a wooden treehouse in the jungle.  And it probably didn't help that they have a tarantula called Matilda living on a clock in the dining room.  It wasn't so bad when she was just sat there quietly, but the Izzie woke her up and got her off the clock, and she started running around.  At that point I headed to the higher part of the dining area where I could see her, but could put plenty of space between us. Thankfully she soon settled back down to sleep and I could at least partially relax again. 

Having dropped off our bags in our room, thoroughly checked for eight-legged creatures, we collected our wellies and had lunch.  Or in Ben's case, had three lunches! We then headed off on our first foray into the jungle. Needless to say, with the high potential for creepy crawlies, I was fully covered up, including a hat.  As we walked through the jungle, my (uncovered) hands were generally held up in front of me, out of the way of the plantlife that was encroaching into the narrow track we were walking along; one of my companions said I looked as though I was putting up my fists to fight the jungle -and in a way I suppose I was!  But anyway I managed to avoid anything nasty landing on me.
  

the walking tree



Our guide, Roberto, led us on and it soon became clear that left to our own devices we could easily have got horribly lost, even this close to the edge of the jungle.  He stopped every so often to point out different trees and palms and tell us how they are used by the locals, some for firewood and construction, others for medicines and food.  One was the walking tree, so called because it puts out new roots and moves itself to better positions over long periods of time, while another had a rough, bumpy surface and they use that as a food grater.  He also pointed out the large conga ants that we had to avoid touching as they can leave you with a nasty numbness for a few days, or worse if you happen to react badly to it.

We passed the ground termites with their mud nests, and the tree termites with their nests made from bark and resin.  These are apparently a good mosquito deterrent and are used by the locals as a form of natural repellant in their homes.



We continued through on an increasingly invisible path, with Roberto occasionally using his rather large machete to clear the way, until we reached the caves.  Of course we woke up the bats and sent them flying above our heads, which unnerved a few people to start with.  The route through the caves involved a bit of canyoning.  As we reached the parts that were too narrow to simply squeeze through, we had to use our back and legs to shuffle ourselves up the cave wall to where it was a bit wider and then edge along sideways through the gap. This was not always easy, and at times the next foothold was further away than my and others' legs, or sometimes just confidence, would reach.  At those points assistance was required and I offer thanks to Nic, Roberto, Leon and Ben who all gave assistance at various times.



But in the end we made it through all of the gaps without mishap, and reached the other side.  Then is started to rain.  And it is not called the Rainforest for nothing.  We were soaked right through to the skin almost instantly!  At least it was warm rain though, so although it felt like we were standing under a power shower, it was at least a warm drenching.  So we made our way back in the rain, and arrived back at the lodge like drowned rats.  We all headed to our cabins and peeled off our clothes, leaving them over our balconies to dry.  I emptied a few gallons of water out of my wellies too.  Dried off, and wearing dry clothes, we headed back to the dining area via the bar, for a much needed cold beer.



Dinner was soon served, and we broke out the cachaca.  You may recall me talking about cap time before.  Well the cachaca was a bottle that Anne had kept for cap time but we had never got around to drinking.  When she left the truck in Lima, she left it with me to use at an appropriate moment.  And with three days in the jungle, now seemed like the time, so we passed it around and got through about half the bottle, deciding to keep the rest for tomorrow.  Thanks for that Anne, although it is fair to say that there were a few 'Shay faces' and some gave in and mixed it with their pineapple juice.

was this a very poisonous frog?

During the evening, Ben spotted a little yellow frog on the steps up towards the hammocks - in fact he nearly trod on it.  Probably just as well he didn't, as we think it was one of the really poisonous ones!  Obviously we were distracted by this for a while, before returning to our beers.

Then the generator went out and the lights all went out.  We had been warned that this would happen fairly early, so Nic and I were prepared and had our head torches with us, but we hadn't expected it quite as early as 8:15.  None the less, it was clearly going to be difficult to see enough to stay up for too long, especially as others didn't have their torches, so we concluded that we would probably finish our drinks and then head to bed.

But that isn't quite how it worked out, as you will see in the next posting!



NEWSFLASH

A quick newsflash. The jungle lodge that we were staying in burned to the ground last night! We saw the fire and raised the alarm but the place was like a giant wooden treehouse and the blaze was quickly out of control. We all made it out safely, but it was all very dramatic! Have lost some stuff - mostly clothes - which is a nuisance, but just glad everyone OK. Will post more when catch up with the blog.