Our home for the next four nights was in a camp owned by a local Siona family. The Siona are one of the four indigenous groups that inhabit the Reserve, with the Cofan, Secoya and Quichua being the other three. The camp consisted of tents pitched on raised wooden platforms covered by a thatched roof, and included modern comforts such as showers and flush toilets. It was, however, the inviting-looking hammocks that caught my eye.

The trip's excursion's were divided into jungle walks and boat trips, granting insight into life on the riverbanks and deep inside the thickly vegetated forest. The jungle is unpredictable and since its fauna is wild, it is luck of the draw as to what you will actually see. When I asked Renato why he continues to enjoy the jungle, his response was: "Every time I come here, there might be something that I've never seen before. I never get bored of sunsets over the Cuyabeno lagoon, or seeing Giant Otters."

As far as I was concerned, we hit the jack pot on our first boat trip - the water near to the boat rippled and then broke as a squat, gray dorsal fin appeared, followed by a second one - two pink, freshwater dolphins had chosen to accompany us. Usually shy creatures, the dolphins tantalized us with glimpses of their distinct dorsal fins and trademark pink skin. These prehistoric-looking animals are graceful reminders of times gone by, when parts of the vast ocean became landlocked.

Other mammals we spotted from our canoe were our distant cousins - monkeys. Small Spider and Tamarind Monkeys swung noisily through the canopy along the river. The most unusual though, and without a doubt the hairiest monkey I have ever seen, was the Monk Saki Monkey; its long black shaggy hair made it very hard to tell front from back. There are also manatees that meander beneath the murky, muddy surface, but since they are even shier than dolphins we sadly did not see any.

The Cuyabeno's riverways are linked by various lagoons, one of the largest is Laguna Grande. Although we visited the lagoon a number of times, it was the sunset swim and subsequent nocturnal explore that made the biggest impression.