Amazonia Expeditions in Peru’s Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo Primate and Wildlife Reserve

A huge Peruvian Amazon rainforest reserve encompasses over a million acres around the Tamshiyacu and Tahuayo Rivers, originally designated a reserve by the Peruvian government in 1991 to protect the range of the rare red uakari monkey, an orangutan-looking monkey with a bright red face. It is now considered one of the world’s richest areas of wildlife diversity. In 2003, on study found more species of mammals and trees here than any other documented natural area in the world.

One amazing mammal of the reserve area is the freshwater Pink Dolphin. Large, intelligent animals, they often approach tourists who are canoeing or swimming. The diversity of birds is likewise extraordinary. Over 500 species of birds have been documented near the Tahuayo Lodge, the only lodge that has access to the Tamshiyaco-Tahuayo Reserve.

A great book for more background information on wildlife and eco travel in the Peruvian Amazon is this book, Travellers’ Wildlife Guides Peru.

To visit the Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo Reserve from Iquitos you journey by boat up the Amazon River, for a distance of about 50 miles, then up the Tahuayo tributary, another 40 miles. The trip takes 4 hours by speedboat. Amazonia’s lodge on the Tahuayo River has fifteen cabins that are rustic, yet comfortable.

Each cabin is raised above the jungle floor on stilts and is connected to other buildings of the lodge by a raised boardwalk.The modern flush toilets and showers use a sanitary septic system. There is some electricity provided by solar panels and batteries, as well as kerosene lighting. The food is prepared for you by trained staff and they claim that there is no worry about getting sick from any of the food they prepare for you.

In addition to staying at this lodge, tourists can also stay 1 to 3 nights at their research center, which is located in an even more remote area of the forest. The research center also has comfortable amenities, such as private cabins and flush toilets. The research center emphasizes conservation and works in collaboration with the Chicago Rainforest Conservation Fund and other similar groups. Fund raising for the conservation program is operated by the Rainforest Conservation Fund. One major area of research here is primate conservation. The trail grid behind the research center lodge covers 52 miles spread over 1000 acres. It is the largest trail system offered in the Amazon. It is the best hike known in the Amazon for viewing primates in their natural environment.

Here is a list of just a few of the many possible items on a jungle itinerary here.

1. Swim in a blackwater lake with pink dolphins.

2. Visit a native shaman.

3. Medicinal plant hikes.

4. Swim in a blackwater lake which has warm thermal springs.

5. Excursions to see feeding or nesting Macaws, Parrots and Toucans.

6. Canoe into flooded varzea forest (Feb-May).

7. View pygmy marmosets, the world’s smallest primates, which live in trees close to the lodge.

8. Close look at the unusual hoatzin birds (when young fledge Jun-Aug).

9. Fish for piranha.

10. Hike to a manakin lek.

Sunset, Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, Luca Galuzzi 2006

A recent issue of the New Yorker magazine has a fascinating article about Lithium mining in Bolivia. It discusses the issues around how Bolivia could become the next “Saudi Arabia” of Lithium as their Salar de Uyuni salt lake flats have the world’s largest Lithium deposits and with the advent of increased production of new electric cars – could position Bolivia to become a leading force, however some people worry there may be serious environmental costs to lithium mining in Bolivia. Here is a good article that you can read online from In These Times about this issue.

In the meantime the area is largely untouched and the riches of this area are more apparent in its natural surreal beauty and amazing diversity of wildlife. This YouTube video gives a good taste of what it’s like.

Sacred Earth Travel has a great package for travel to the Uyuni in Bolivia that you can read about here.

If you decide to visit Bolivia and the Salar de Uyuni consider getting the excellent guide book Bolivia, 5th: Tread Your Own Path (Footprint Bolivia Handbook), A book by the the same people who contributed to the South American Handbook (considered the definitive, classic guide to travel in South America) since the first edition back in the 70’s.

The Everglades is the largest and most important freshwater, subtropical peat wetland in North America. The Everglades consists of sawgrass prairies, mangrove and cypress swamps, pinelands, and hardwood hammocks, as well as marine and estuarine environments. The varying water depths, diverse habitat types, and abundant food across the Everglades attract large populations of wading birds and threatened and endangered species, including wood storks, snail kites, bald eagles, Florida panthers, and American crocodiles. Over 50% of the historical Everglades ecosystem has been lost to farming, development, pollution and poor management. There are many groups and agencies such as the Friends of the Everglades fighting to help protect the Everglades and need your support.

One way to support the Everglades and gain further appreciation and knowledge is to go there yourself. The best way to experience the Everglades is by canoe, kayak or other boat. The canoe is more intimate and direct, you can move in as silently and as close as you want and it allows you to see the Everglades in a far more engaging manner than the relatively superficial glimpse that you get from the various park walkways and structures.

The Wilderness Waterway is a popular canoe route once only traveled by the hardiest pioneers and Native Americans. If you’ve got a week or more for paddling, the Wilderness Waterway is well–marked inland water route that stretches from Flamingo to Everglades City. Sequentially numbered markers guide you along its 99 miles (160 kilometers). Boats more than 18 feet (6 meters) long or with high cabins and windshields should not attempt the route because of narrow channels and overhanging foliage in some areas. The route takes a minimum of six hours with an outboard motor or seven days by canoe. One-day round trips are not advised. Campsites are available on the route; backcountry permits are required.

If you are thinking of going check out the excellent book by Johnny Molloy Paddler’s Guide to Everglades National Park Sept 2009 Many people consider this book an indispensable guide for planning and conducting an Everglades backcountry canoe expedition.

The Everglades feature the most extensive warm water paddling area in the United States. Outings can range from two hours to two weeks. Settings range from the ultra-narrow Hells Bay Canoe Trail to miles-wide Florida Bay and even more open Gulf of Mexico. There are so many backcountry sites that you could canoe for years without repeating yourself. There are several excellent designated routes for day trips in the canoe that will give people with more limited time a wonderful overview of what the Everglades can offer. The Everglades Diary website is an excellent resource of information that goes into canoeing the wilderness waterway in the Everglades in depth. The Everglades Area Tours site has various guided tours for kayaking and canoe eco-tours that you may want to consider as well.

Ecocamp is an environmentally friendly place to stay when visiting southern Chile’s rugged Torres del Paine National Park. This camp provides a comfortable home base made of several geodesic dome tents at in which to explore the surrounding wilderness park which offers world-class mountain vistas and where it’s possible to view wildlife such as the llama-like guanacos, puma, condors and rare birds like the ostrich-like Lessor Rhea.

The domes tents are big enough to comfortably walk around in, has its own bathroom, heated with low-emission wood stove and electricity is generated by solar panels and micro hydro turbine. These tents, echo the early dome-like dwellings of the nomadic Kawesqar tribe, an ancient native people who lived in the area. The dome shape helps maintain stability in high winds, which are common in Patagonia. The tents are linked together by boardwalks and have wooden floors, beds, round windows for amazing views. There is a common-area tents for meals, chilling out, and socializing.

The camp is deep inside the often windy park along dirt roads and in a valley surrounded by awe-inspiring granite mountain peaks, glaciers and azure lakes. In the summer months (end of September through end of March) you can get up to 17 hours of daylight, so you will have lots of time to explore the park. This camp in Chile’s Patagonia is as about as far south as you want to get, but if you want to get even closer to the end of the world then you will need to make complicated travel plans that will eventually get you about 300-400 miles further south in Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego.

Details on the various options to book a trip are on the EcoCamp’s website

Panama is the ultimate destination in the America’s for diversity of wildlife. Panama is a natural land bridge connecting two continents and is home to many species from South American as well as North and Central America. About 29% of Panama’s land area is protected in 14 national parks, more then a dozen forest reserves and 10 wildlife refuges. Birdwatchers have long flocked to Panama’s some 1,000 species of birds. It is also home to over 220 mammals and 354 reptiles and amphibians. There are hundreds of islands and miles of protected coral reef, sheltering an amazing diversity of marine life.

Frank Gehry, the famous architect of Guggenheim museum and other renowned buildings, is blending art and science in his latest creation in Panama, the Bridge of Life Museum of Biodiversity. It is nearing completion and was planned to open in 2010 but it maybe a bit longer before the doors open due to a variety of reasons. More info here.

Panama is becoming one of the most exciting ecotourism destinations in the Americas and there are now several exciting ecotourist possibilities you may want to consider. For most of us with limited time and desire to rough it in unfamiliar rainforest, you will want to join a tour group of some sort.

The Panama Family Adventure has a 8 day package deal reasonably priced and geared for a couple traveling with children that want a relaxed easy eco-tour of top rainforest locations as well as some time to do some tropical chilling out.

Another fascinating adventure could be the Rainforest Awakenings, on their 8 day “youth rites of passage retreat” where you get intensive close up study of the tropical ecosystem. Hiking through the rainforest,a community service day where you can help build a water catchment system for a nearby community. Also go snorkeling and discuss the tropical reef ecology, and also hike along with a Ngobe tribal member to a sacred waterfall.

If you’d rather avoid the tour groups and want to strike out on your own you may consider the 400 acre Mount Totumas Cloud Forest Preserve, started in 2008, which borders La Amistad National Park. Their website states: “The cloud forest habitats of western Panama and neighboring Costa Rica are rich in endemic species. The site provides a great potential for studies of the local biodiversity, birdwatching, orchid photography and other related areas of natural history interest.” There is a three bedroom home with off-the-grid electricity (that is available for rent to the public) They also state “Visitors to the Reserve should be prepared for an isolated wilderness “retreat” experience. The site and home is at the top of a valley bordering an immense national park.” They also have a blog and it states they are actively seeking skilled carpenters, plumbers, ecologists with cloud forest knowledge and organic and conventional gardeners, and trail designers. Check out these great photos on their flicker photo site.

Days are hot, nights much cooler; temperatures range from 90 °F during the daytime to 70 °F in the evening practically year-round. Humidity is always high at about 80 percent. The rainy season takes place between October and November, and the best months to visit are mid-December and late March. Temperatures vary according to geography. The climate is less tropical at higher elevations. In mountain areas the average annual temperature ranges from 10ºC to 19ºC

We’ll pack up our woolies, just in case, and head off for a seven day tour of North East Scotland. The itinerary will be flexible, just the way we like it. It will provide for lots of exploration including Findhorn Bay, with a stop at The Findhorn Foundation spiritual and environmental community.

Also a visit to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, the Moray Firth from both land and sea, a workshop lead by a local artisan, and a ride to the summit of Cairngorm Mountain (after ample treks, of course). These are just a few of the highlights of this tour. Brought to us from our friends at ecoscape.org who put out a truly fine and informative publication.

For full Booking Information, CLICK: http://www.ecoescape.org/tours/wild-places-in-northeast-Scotland.php

Delphi Mountain Resort
I’ll just say this, if you’re a greatgreentraveler in Ireland and you can’t find what you’re looking for here, you have simply got to rethink your needs!

In a beautiful setting within 400 acres of the Connemara forest, sheltered between Killary Harbour and the Bundorragha River, the location is ideal for all types of mountain, forest, and surf activities. Alternatively, the spa in the resort is available for an organic seaweed wrap if what you’re looking for is to just lay back and relax.

Meals are prepared with organic ingredients locally sourced; variety of room types and suites available. Educational resources furnished to the community and visitors.

For Full Booking Information, CLICK: http://delphimountainresort.com

Thanks to Catherine Mack and a suggestion that if you’re traveling through Ireland an excellent resource is her book, Ecoescape Ireland: The handbook to responsible escapism: A travel Guide to the greenest places in Ireland

This is perhaps the first ever “ecolodge.” Bathhurst Inlet Lodge, located on the Central Arctic Coast in Nunavut is the perfect place for greatgreentravelers to immerse themselves in the virtually untouched beauty of our land while supporting the people who live there.

During the brief summer season the area is rich with life. Over 80 species of birds are present, with more migratory sightings. An abundance of mammals like muskox, caribou, and barrenground grizzlies roam. Wildflowers come out by the thousands to celebrate the sun! The arctic land is host to vast geological wonders and awe inspiring views of waterfalls, gorges, canyons, and eskers.

The lodge is co-owned by the Warner family and the Kingaunmuit people, the indigenous Inuit residents of Bathurst Inlet. The history of this lodge is long and exciting, culminating in its present state of partnership. After your long and eventful day on the tundra you’ll be treated to a great meal and to story sharing.

Departures are out of Yellowknife. There are five 1-week programs scheduled beginning June 26-July 02 through July 20-26. Reservations are still being accepted, I just checked.

For reservations and full booking information, CLICK: www.bathurstinletlodge.com/

Photo courtesy & ©: www.jaymsramirez.com

Your visit to Kapawi Ecolodge and Reserve will transport you to a time and place so remarkable, so utterly unlike any other you have experienced. Deep, deep, in the Ecuadorian rainforest, accessible only by plane is this wonder of confluence where ancient life and tradition gently lights your evening path with solar power.

This is the home of the Achuar, the last indigenous people of the area, some 6,000 in population now living in 64 communities throughout their two million acres of nearly pristine land in the Amazon.

A partnership was formed in 1996 between Canodros, an Ecuadorian tourism operator and the Achuar with the shared goal of bringing economic stability and sustainability while conserving the natural state of the rainforest. The Kapawi project was planned and its successful execution over time has resulted in the full transference of management and ownership to the Achuar people as of January 1, 2008.

This trip helps support the Achuar people and helps to preserve their land.

For full information on the lodge, activities, and 20 available bungalows, CLICK: http://www.kapawi.com/index.htm