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The Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve
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By Francesca Wade
When one thinks of the Amazon jungle which country immediately springs to mind? Brazil of course, followed by Peru. Mention Ecuador and people might raise their eyebrows in surprise and say, "No, Ecuador is the Galapagos Islands or the Andes". However, one of Ecuador's best kept secrets is its jungle, or Oriente (the East). The oriente accounts for a third of Ecuador's small, but diverse, 270,000 sq. km - an area roughly the size of the state of Nevada.
To the east of Ecuador's centrally running Andes mountain plateau lies the Amazon basin. Going from Quito, the capital, to the jungle, the land drops down from the thin-aired heights of 3,000 meters to near sea level, in just a few hundred kilometers. Ecuador's topography and climate changes significantly, as bleak páramo altiplano changes into cloud forest and then gives way to rainforest.
In Ecuador's Sucumbios province, lying along the Colombian border between the Aguarico and San Miguel rivers, is the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve. The Reserve is a bevy of river ways and lagoons separated by terra firma, swamp land and permanently flooded forest. The Reserve covers a vast 603,000 hectares flanking the Cuyabeno river.
Created in 1979 for the intention of protecting and conserving the flora, fauna and indigenous communities, its 'protected' status remained questionable for the following 12 years as oil exploration ate away huge chunks of its territory. In 1991, due to pressure from indigenous groups backed by national and international environmental groups, a more rigorous protection protocol was implemented and the reserve was considerably enlarged.
The Cuyabeno reserve was our destination. We flew from Quito to Lago Agrio and then drove for three dusty, hot hours before we arrived, covered in a fine layer of dirt, at the entrance of the reserve. After paying the $20 entrance fee, we clambered into a somewhat wobbly, wooden dugout canoe, which was to be our mode of transport for the next five days.
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Our knowledgeable guide for the trip was Renato of Kapok Expeditions. Having been a guide for ten years, there was little that he didn't know or hadn't seen. As we set off, he explained to us that there are only a couple of months a year when the area dries out and some riverways become impassible by boat.
Although the water level was unusually low for the time of year (August), our trusty boatman Xavier, managed to navigate the submerged tree roots and driftwood. We had time to sit back and soak up the sights and sounds along the Cuyabeno river - my first contact with virgin rainforest.
With an average temperature of 25°C, and a humidity that felt close to 100%, the air was substantially different from that of Quito - our starting point. My first impressions? A heavy, clammy atmosphere hit first, followed by a damp, almost heady smell, which, in turn, was quickly followed by an assortment of sounds and sights - an all-sense-touching experience.
It was the noise that affected me most - it was so loud. A cacophony of cicadas, crickets, birds, wind, the occasional monkey, and the constant hum of the boat's motor. At first the jungle appears as a blanket of different hues of greens and browns. As your eyes grow more accustomed to the color scheme, you begin to see the jungle's endless layers and to appreciate the multitude of life forms present.
I have never been much of a bird watcher but the privilege of having two ornithologists in our group, coupled with Renato's knowledge, turned the rest of our small group into enthusiasts. You couldn't help but pick up their excitement at hearing the call of a White Plumed Antbird (apparently quite rare in this region), the ego boost of being able to identify a Ringed as opposed to a Green Kingfisher as it darted and skimmed the river's surface, or pointing out the strange hanging nests of the Oropendulas. I was surprised to learn that an astonishing third of all birds found in the Amazon Basin can be found here.
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