Venturing into the heart of the rainforest

After 2 full days exploring Bogotá, JJ and I set off for Leticia, Amazonas. The Amazon basin borders in Colombia are shared with both Brazil and Peru. With a history of territory disputes the region has passed through turbulent times but is now considered safe. Tourism in the Colombian Amazon is still in its early years, but definitely on the rise.

WHERE WE STAYED

Calanoa Jungle Lodge nestled in the rainforest is a small settlement only accessible via the Amazon River. The lodge picked us up from Leticia airport and transferred us by speedboat to Calanoa Reserve. Our boat journey took 1-2 hours and we enjoyed dolphin and bird spotting along the way.

Lodge entrance

All of the buildings in Calanoa Reserve were constructed combining traditional techniques with contemporary touches. The cabanas have woven palm roofs and minimal walls to improve air circulation (they’re also raised on stilts for this reason). In the bathroom, there’s a cold water shower, sink and separate flush toilet cubicle. Electricity is available 3-11PM daily, but there’s no WiFi. Calanoa is a great place to disconnect from your devices and appreciate nature.

As you’ll see from the below pictures we had plenty of private space to relax in between activities. This really was the ultimate bucket list Amazon glamping experience!

Cabana 5 downstairs lounge and bathroom

The social pavilion at Calanoa is a flymesh tent with a large dining table that overlooks the river. At the edges of the pavilion are hammock swings and benches. A wooden deck connects the dining area with the kitchen pavilion which is open for guests to visit.

Meals at Calanoa are included in the room rate. Food is prepared using delicious organic and fresh local produce cooked over a wood fire, they even bake their own bread. The dishes served are a fusion of indigenous Amazonian, Colombian, Brazilian and Peruvian – seriously tasty.

JJ getting into his brekkie

DAY 3 – MONDAY

JJ and I arrived in Calanoa at around lunchtime. At the boat ramp, we met Ronal who showed us around our cabana and explained all the features. I should mention at this point that the Calanoa staff speak Spanish only, but you can arrange a translator for excursions. We speak beginner/intermediate Spanish and had no problems getting by.

Ronal then led us to the dining area where we scheduled our included activities and picked up loan rubber boots. We were the only guests on this day and it was pretty special to have the whole lodge to ourselves. After lunch, we hung out in hammocks until sundown when the spectacular fireflies appeared.

Our first activity was a night hike. We met our guide Jorge after dinner and headed out into the reserve with torches. If you don’t like spiders you should probably quickly scroll past these pics 🙂

Tarantula

DAY 4 – TUESDAY

Once we’d finished breakfast we met Maria, our guide from the local Ticuna indigenous community. We walked around the nearby village of Mocagua and Maria explained what daily life is like for the people living there. All of the houses were painted bright colours, each one with a different animal mural. The community is dedicated to conserving and protecting endemic wildlife, often rescuing them from illegal trafficking.

After the village tour, we sat down in the school playground and Maria attempted to teach us how to braid friendship bracelets. Both JJ and I were hopeless at it so Maria had to finish the bracelets for us – que embarazoso. I blame it on the local kids who created a distraction by tapping us into their game of tag, they were too cute.

Mocagua giant water lily pond

We returned to the lodge before our second activity which was an early afternoon hike through the reserve with Jorge. We came across a pygmy marmoset and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I never thought I’d spot the world’s smallest monkey on this trip, it was so tiny – just extraordinary!

Pygmy marmoset eating tree sap

Squirrel monkey

Before dinner, we met another guide for a canoe trip along the River Matamata. The winding river borders both northern Calanoa Reserve and Amacayacu National Park. As we returned to the lodge we experienced our first sunset over the mighty Amazon River.

DAY 5 – WEDNESDAY

At sunrise on our final day, we headed out for a bird watching hike. Our guide was Jorge again, he was really amazing at wildlife spotting and very knowledgeable about the reserve’s flora too. On the way back to the lodge we saw tamarins and titi monkeys which were wonderful to watch.

Crested oropendola nesting

Black-mantled tamarin

On the way to breakfast, I learned a valuable lesson about walking around barefoot in the Amazon. It’s really not a good idea. Especially with these guys just chilling on the deck outside our cabana.

Next on the itinerary was a visit to Isla Mocagua, just a 15-minute boat ride away. Apparently, the island is a good location for sloth spotting but sadly we didn’t have any luck. The afternoon was spent learning about the traditional uses of various rainforest plants and piranha fishing.

Isla Mocagua

The final activity of our stay was a short boat ride to Peru, where we saw pink river dolphins. The dolphins are the subject of many South American legends. One story claims that during the night, the dolphins morph into handsome men and seduce women in nearby villages. Another claims that if you go swimming alone, the dolphins might whisk you away to a mysterious underwater city. Their status as semi-magical beings has possibly helped protect the species by encouraging humans to leave them alone.

Although we saw plenty of pink dolphins, getting a photo of one was tricky because a majority of their body is submerged. Also, you just never know when they’re going to pop up to the surface! I did, however, manage to snap this beautiful sunset.

Last night in Los Amazonas

DAY 6 – THURSDAY

Time to head back to Leticia airport and leave the captivating Amazon for a flight to Los Llanos. You can read my post and see photos from our safari in Colombian cowboy country here.

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