Yasuni National Park – 4 Days at Sani Lodge. Experience Report Part 2
Maria S.
Parrot Clay Lick, Hike in the National Park, and Kichwa Community
In the last blog post, we wrote about the arrival and the second day in Yasuní National Park. Today’s blog article is all about the well-filled and very diverse Day 3 of my stay in the Ecuadorian rainforest.
Visit to the Parrot Clay Lick
After breakfast, we set off for the first destination of the day: the parrot clay lick. To get there, we traveled upstream for about half an hour by motorized canoe. The clay lick is located directly on the riverbank and is basically a patch of eroded hillside where the birds find essential minerals and nutrients in the soil. The soil also helps them detoxify, as they ingest some toxic substances with the fruits and seeds they eat. There are several clay licks in the area, but interestingly, not all species go to the same ones. We mainly saw green parrots and green parakeets with blue heads.
After watching and listening to the spectacle for a while, we continued by boat to the actual entrance area of Yasuní National Park. Along the way, we even spotted a few howler monkeys sitting in the trees.
Hike in the National Park
There are only a few lodges located in this area. Most, like the Sani Lodge, are on the opposite side of the Napo River. The flora and fauna on both sides are not that different, but the geography of the national park is significantly more hilly.
We set off on a roughly two-hour hike along a trail through the forest. I especially felt the humid heat during the uphill parts, but we often stopped to look for animals. On the ground, we spotted – despite their good camouflage – tiny frogs, beetles, caterpillars, and other insects, as well as tracks of red deer.
In the distance, we heard a group of wild boars, but we didn’t get to see them. For a longer time, we were again able to watch a group of monkeys jumping around in the trees above us. Eventually, we reached a ridge where the trees thinned out a bit, and we enjoyed a beautiful view over the Rio Napo. Back at the park’s entrance, we were served a small snack and juice before moving on to the next stop.
Kichwa Women Project at the Sani Community
We traveled about 15 minutes downstream by canoe and docked at a clearing. This is where the center of the Sani community is located, with a school, a small medical station, a garden, and a community and cooking building. We paid a short visit to the school, where the children sang us a song in Kichwa, Spanish, and English – very sweet. A local teacher is responsible for the general lessons, and a German volunteer currently teaches English.
In the main building, the women of the community welcomed us. They introduced themselves and their project. Through the sale of handicrafted jewelry – both on-site and at regional markets – and activities with guests, they have found additional productive occupations beyond the traditional house and garden work, and they can contribute to the community’s income.
We then prepared lunch together. For this, we wrapped a piece of fish and chopped palm hearts in large leaves.
Along with ripe and green plantains, large seeds from a cocoa-like fruit, and Chontacuro (the regionally typical edible fat larvae), we placed them on the grill. To drink, there was Guayusa, a typical regional beverage that can be consumed hot or cold and has a stimulating effect.
After about 15 minutes, the food was ready, and we ate it with our fingers, which wasn’t so easy – but it tasted very good. However, I didn’t touch the larvae – that was a bit too special for me. After the meal, we said our goodbyes and began the return journey to the lodge. This time with rain ponchos, as the sky had darkened and the first drops were falling. Otherwise, I had been quite lucky with the weather during my entire stay; it had only rained a bit at night.
Back at the lodge, I still had some time before the final dinner to let the impressions of the last few days sink in. You really experience and learn a lot in such a short time, and now, while writing everything down afterward, I already find it hard to remember everything in the correct order.
There was a farewell speech by the lodge manager and a goodbye drink, and after dinner, it was time for an early night again, since breakfast was already scheduled for 5:00 a.m. the next day, with departure around 5:30 a.m.
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