A Solo Adventure in Ecuador

Eating lemony tasting ants out of a pod, sidling up to a black caiman, and swinging on a vine in the Ecuador Amazon Rainforest definitely took me out of my comfort zone.

Thirty years ago, I taught at an American International School in Lima, Peru. On my school vacations, I explored Peru and Ecuador in South America. The Galapagos Islands were not endangered, Machu Picchu had few tourists, and the Amazon Rainforest was, for the most part, unravaged by oil pipelines and deforestation.

Through the years, Ecuador remained a "soul" place in my memories. My quandary: Should I return after all these years? Should I leave it as it was in my memories? Should I go solo?

My answer came while recently traveling in Uruguay. I met a vital woman of 62 traveling around the world by herself. She said, "My husband couldn't go with me due to health problems and friends don't have the time. I decided that if I don't go now, I never would see the world as I have dreamed of doing". Although unaware of it, she became a mentor in helping me make my decision to return to Ecuador, solo.

Warnings of volcanic eruptions, pirates on the Amazon, stealing, and women advised not to travel alone, created a new question: "Why am I doing this alone when I can be home with my dearly loved husband, Bill and cat, Buddy"?

It took a few days of news and CNN to get things into perspective. Problems are everywhere in the world. Fear can keep us from living life fully. I spent many hours surfing Internet sites such as: EcuadorExplorer, Journeywoman, CheapTickets, CDC, Amazon and more. A Lonely Planet Guidebook, Frommer's Ecuador and Insight Guide provided the additional information I needed for this solo journey.

I set my itinerary for twenty-three days and reserved a room at the Hotel Santa Barbara in Quito, Ecuador. This became my base as I made trips back and forth to Quito. The rest of my itinerary included trips to the Cloud Forest, Amazon, Andes northern and southern highlands, Cotopaxi Volcano and the Paramo (high altitude) grassland regions.

September, 2007 - let my trip begin. At 9300-feet, Quito squeezes onto a narrow highland valley ringed by the jagged peaks of the Andes. Flying at night, the glowing lights of 2.1 million inhabitants illuminated the ground below.

On arrival, I quickly lapsed into my survival-plus Spanish as "holas" were exchanged with the taxi driver and hotel manager. Waking up in Quito, my mental adrenaline skyrocketed while my physical energy faded in the high altitude. After a day to acclimatize and visit the historical old town, I packed for my adventure in the Amazon.

Sani Lodge was the destination. It is an ecolodge owned and operated by the Sani Isla Quichua community. Getting to Sani Lodge was an adventure in itself. I flew from Quito to Coca, a thirty-minute flight on Icaro Airlines. A covered boat met me at Coca, a jungle town on the Napo River, to transport me deep into the rainforest. Several young travelers hopped aboard from Switzerland, Belgium, Holland and England.

Dodging 126 sandbars on the Rio Napo provided time for glimpses of indigenous communities along this "freeway to the Amazon". Four hours later, we switched from the larger riverboat to a dugout canoe. Silently, the guides navigated expertly through low hanging vines, submerged branches and five-foot high spiky grasses along the riverbanks. Distinct sounds of chirps, screeches, and crashing branches filtered through the forest.

After an hour ride on the Yacu stream, we reached Laguna Challuacocha. The brown sediment of the stream gradually dissipated into the inky black water lagoon, famed for caiman, piranhas and imaginary creatures. Looming ahead was Sani Lodge, my rainforest home.

My cabana had fine mesh screens and a palm-thatched roof. Dim lights lit the rainforest home, no fan cooled the tropical heat but a cold shower reinvigorated me each day. Sleeping under a mosquito net, I intently listened to the noises of the forest. I tried to forget the hairy-legged tarantula residing in another cabana or the occasionally seen Anaconda.

Four days in the Amazon was challenging, yet it was as fascinating as I had imagined, with its leaf cutter ants, black caiman, macaws, toucans, tarantulas and howler monkeys. Orchids, birds of paradise, epiphyte and strangler vines flourish in this world of tropical searing heat and drenching humidity.

During the days, it was get on your high top rubber boots, push your pant legs into your socks to discourage creepy crawlies; pack water, sun block, mosquito repellent, hat and a rain poncho. Geared up, we hiked on primitive leaf - and branch - strewn paths for three or four hours at a time. Binoculars out, our eyes searched trees to spot some of the 550 species of birds in this region.

A 90-foot observation tower was built around a kapok tree. The steep wooden stairs felt rickety, as did the handrails we were advised not to lean on. "Oh great!" Step by step, I trudged up to the platform, trying to ignore my fear of heights. The effort proved worth it for the "birds eye view" of trees forming a leafy canopy for the understory of the forest. A macaw flew teasingly by as chatter from squirrel monkeys taunted us.

Nights, we sat in the dugout canoe while our Finnish guide, Elina, and Quichua guide, Hugo, paddled through the lagoon. We spotted a black caiman with red eyes that glow in the light of a flashlight. Another night, we trekked in hopes of finding a jaguar or tapir in the wilds of the rainforest. We didn't spot either but knowing that they were somewhere out there was thrill enough.

The Amazon Rainforest was just one in a string of escapades, such as: bird watching in the Cloud Forest region northwest of Quito, exploring Cotopaxi Volcano (second highest active volcano in Ecuador), strolling through indigenous markets and villages, famed for their textiles, leather, felt hats and shaman, straddling the Mital del Mundo (middle of the world), staying at an ecolodge at 9500-feet, and 16th century haciendas.

My confidence grew each day on this adventure in Ecuador. Excitement replaced worry. Traveling alone is not a curse, even at this age. Fears such as, "I don't like eating alone at a restaurant", "Will I feel lonely and afraid?" "Will I get sick and be alone?" "Can I keep up?" and more disappeared. In the ecolodges, I ate at communal tables. Younger travelers were welcoming. One remarked, "I wish my Mom would take a trip on her own."

Rarely did I feel lonely. Exploring solo doesn't always mean being alone. The path to adventure is filled with fellow travelers and helpful staff in accommodations. I loved my solo travel in Ecuador. My constant companion was my journal. If I had let my fears dominate my decision, I would have missed out on "feeling alive" experiences, interesting people, new cultures and opening my life to new opportunities, at 62 or 92.

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