Huaorani guide, Eme, shows us how hunters call a toucan

Visiting the community of Quehueri’ono

An all round cool adventure in the Amazon, but that’s only the beginning…

A visit to the Huaorani Lodge is about learning about the remarkable Amazon forest from the people who have lived here for centuries. Community interaction and education is a significant part of this itinerary. The Huaorani Lodge is a community owned and operated lodge – designed specifically to help preserve the territory and traditions of the Huaorani community.

The fight to protect the Huaorani culture and environment first came to the fore in the mid nineteen nineties. Moi Enomenga of the Quehueri’ono community was featured by the New Yorker magazine and was the principle character of Joe Kane’s book ‘Savages’ (1995); an NBC television documentary later told of his struggle to protect his people’s land from oil companies. Moi’s experiences gave him a new perspective. He came to believe that ecotourism could provide a means by which his people might receive an income while maintaining the integrity of their culture and conserving their rainforest territory.

The ecolodge is one of the outcomes of Moi’s vision. The project to build and run the lodge was developed by the Ecotourism Association of Quehueri’ono – representing five communities on the upper Shiripuno River – and a well know pioneer ecotourism operator based in Quito. Low impact and local participation were given priority.

Carefully chosen expert guides (who have spent significant time with the Huaorani) and Huaorani community members join travelers throughout this trip. Not only are travelers accompanied by local guides on this trip, but they will also spend time visiting the Huaorani Community of Quehueri’ono. There is no set agenda for the community visits – sometimes visits will include a welcome ceremony, sometimes a dance, sometimes travelers are welcomed into a household for the afternoon, sometimes they help the Huaorani in the field… It all depends on what the community’s agenda is for the day. Travelers can also purchase crafts directly from community members. It is very common for community members to causally stop at the lodge and campsite to visit travelers.

Waterfall retreat from Nenkepare campsite

The Huaorani Lodge is one of the lodges that Adventure Life has worked with on an USAID funded project with the Rainforest Alliance. The purpose of this project is to support to community owned lodges in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The goals of this project include the preservation of at least 200,000 hectares of Amazonian rainforest in Ecuador — combined with training and technical assistance to community-owned lodges located in or adjacent to protected areas. The focus is on reducing negative impacts associated with tourism — and reevaluating the most successful and practical practices of responsible tourism. The Huaorani Lodge – as all lodges involved in the project – specifically requested to be involved.

Two corrals closed. The giant tortoises can be observed from the viewing platforms. Photo courtesy of Galapagos Conservancy

The closure — rather the reasons behind this closure — is of course disheartening. The Giant Tortoise Breeding and Rearing Center has been operating for over 40 years. It is not only and important place for tortoise research and rearing (it currently holds 925 juvenile tortoises and 70 adult tortoises), it is also an educating tool to thousands of visitors who come to learn about the islands’ intriguing flora and fauna. The closure, however, does inspire me to get the word out and remind visitors that there are simple rules to being a responsible traveler on a Galapagos tour. A little refresher can do us all a bit of good.

The Galapagos National Park created the following rules for all visitors to the Galapagos:

1. To visit the National park you must always be accompanied by a certified Galapagos National Park guide.
2. Galapagos is unique and fragile environment. Take only photographs and video. Professional shooting needs authorization from the National Park.
3. Please stay within the limits of the walking trails for your safety and that of the flora and fauna.
4. To avoid affecting the wildlife’s natural behavior please avoid getting closer than two meters (6.5 feet) to the animals.
5. Camping is only allowed in specific sites. If you wish to camp, you must first obtain a permit from the Galapagos National Park.
6. Help conservation by cooperating with the authorities in their inspection, monitoring and control duties. Report any anomalies to the National Park.
7. Do not introduce foreign organisms to the islands, as these can have a negative impact on the ecosystem.
8. Please do not buy souvenirs which are made from black coral, sea shells, sea lion teeth, tortoise shell, volcanic rock or endemic woods.
9. Galapagos animals have their own feeding behaviors. Never feed the animals. Feeding them can be detrimental to their health.
10. Galapagos landscapes are beautiful and unique. Do not spoil them by writing or etching rocks or trees.
11. Do not litter while on the islands. Always dispose of rubbish in a safe and appropriate way.
12. Smoking or making camp fires in the national park areas is forbidden and can cause devastating fires.
13. Fishing is strictly forbidden, except on those boats specifically authorized by the Galapagos National Park for that purpose only.
14. Jet skiing, submarines, water skiing, and aerial tourism are all forbidden.

For more information on responsible Galapagos travel, this video from our friends at the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA) makes a nice visual.

Show your conservation attitude … and travel well.

Sullivan celebrates Cinco de Mayo by riding to work in style

So come wind or snow, rain or sunshine, our Adventure Lifers found a way to commute sustainably. As a reward for our diligence, the gods blessed us with more sun than rain this week. We have a ways to go before we can stop guessing if it will snow or sleet today, but now at least we are prepared because we’ve braved it all in the last few weeks.

The greatest reward for everyone has been realizing the impact that we can make as a community if we chose to make small changes to our daily routines. Since the beginning of the year, we have saved 28.71 tons of CO2 begin emitted into the air in Missoula by biking to work, and 14.10 tons by walking. That’s a total of 47,069 miles biked and 23,124 miles walked. Not only healthy for the environment, but our bodies as well. I also appreciate that it gives me a chance to wake up before walking in the door at work. Try falling asleep on your bike in traffic – not as easy as it is behind the wheel.

So here’s to a great week of sustainable commutes and many more to come!

Gearing up!

This Missoula in Motion competition begins between businesses around town next week. Missoula in Motion is a nonprofit that promotes the many sustainable transportation options offered in the Missoula community in an effort to reduce congestion, pollution and stress, while promoting both individual and community health.

Our goal at Adventure Life next week is 100% participation for all employees! You wouldn’t think that this is such a hard goal to reach in a small office with fifteen employees, but let me tell you. It’s amazing how much our lives have adapted around the convenience of having cars. Now we are able to run errands clear across town in a manner of minutes versus hours. But with a little planning ahead and visiting to the grocery store twice a week instead of six, it can be done. Actually, we are pretty spoiled being located across from the Good Food Store in town. And to add to our commuting challenge, it’s been snowing off and on throughout the week. We wouldn’t want it to be too easy, right?

It has been a growing experience for all of us as an office over the last two months. To motivate one another, each week we have had team and individual competitions for the highest percent of participation. We began April with about 70% participation in the office, and we have ended this week with 83% participation. And now I can feel that we are about to make it to 100 percent! It has been suggested that we should find the most innovative way to commute, to challenge ourselves even more. Cartwheeling, kayaking and rollerskating were among the suggestions. Maybe that will be our goal in June – finding the most creative way to express ourselves in our commute. We have outdoor enthusiasts and creative minds to brainstorm together. For now, we’ll focus on saving the planet with our sustainable commutes. Our creativity can come into play next month.

And as always, travel well!

capuchin monkey in the Amazon

Rainforest Alliance and Adventure Life team up in the Amazon

Adventure Life staff member, Julia Kocubinski, is getting ready to depart for the Ecuadorian Amazon to review, learn from, and lend insight to the Amazon lodges currently working with the RA on this project: Kapawi Ecolodge & Reserve, Huarani Ecolodge, Sani Lodge and the Napo Wildlife Center. Adventure Life is honored to be one of three international tour operators to partner with the RA on this project. Stay tuned for updates upon Julia’s return.

Safe & successful travels Julia!

Our new Cotopaxi Group Service projects in Ecuador combine the best worlds of travel — some excellent adventure, along with the opportunity to give back to the people and places that provide such amazing memories. In other words, a simple way to say thanks.

In Ecuador’s Cotopaxi National Park and Condor Biosphere, you’ll ride, hike and bike for a little multisport adventure. Then roll up your sleeves to help park rangers with trail maintenance, and assist with an ongoing reforestation initiative to help regenerate forests that were adversely affected by wildfire and outdated practices of clear-cutting.

Adventure Life’s fearless-leader, Brian Morgan, gives us a taste of this stunning region while exploring on mountain bike.

Looking for more chances to lend a hand during your travels? Take a look at some of our Peru Service Projects, and our award winning Cachiccata service trip.

Adventure Life traveler, Doug McCallum, assists biologists at the Pacuare Reserve

The Pacuare Nature Reserve, or Reserva Pacuare, was established by the Endangered Wildlife Trust in 1989 and protects 800 hectares of lowland tropical rainforest and 6 km of deserted beach on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast.

The special mission of the reserve has been to protect the Leatherback Turtles, which nest along its beach – one of the most important nesting sites in Central America for this critically endangered species. March to June is the nesting season for these giant turtles and from June to September Green turtles also nest here, though in lesser numbers.

While staying at the reserve, travelers have the opportunity to join biologists on their turtle rounds. During nesting season, your job is to walk the beach looking for leatherbacks laying eggs. When you find one, you’ll wait with the researcher until the turtle is done laying eggs. Then, you’ll have the chance to approach the turtle and assist in measuring and tagging it before the giant leatherback returns to the sea. Turtle egg poachers are a major threat to the survival of leatherbacks, so your next job is to carefully dig up the eggs and rebury them in another location so poachers cannot find the nest.

When the turtles begin to hatch later in the season, you’ll have the chance to observe dozens and sometimes hundreds of baby leatherbacks scratching their way to the surface and making their way into the surf. The process is grueling. Hatchlings at the top of a nest often pack the sand below them so that their siblings cannot escape to the surface. This means that in the morning you might be invited to play midwife to these trapped baby turtles. By loosening the sand in certain nests, you allow hatchlings at the bottom a chance to escape to the sea to begin their lives. While the leatherbacks are hatching, 250 pound green turtles come to these same beaches to lay their eggs, and visitors will be out searching for these turtles, measuring, tagging, and hiding the nests of these endangered turtles too.

Click here to learn more about this Costa Rica trip and how you can join scientists at the Pacuare Reserve in protecting Leatherback turtles.

Giant Tortoise - the Galapagos' namesake

Snorkeling with sea lions in the Galapagos

Endemic to the Galapagos, Sally-lightfoot crab

Frigate bird and chick in the Galapagos

Despite a long tradition of research on a variety of Galapagos species, our scientific knowledge about biodiversity in the archipelago is still far from complete. As in many other parts of the world, iconic and emblematic species have received greater attention and are therefore better known than less conspicuous species groups.

Conservation efforts nevertheless rely on an objective understanding of all key species, their distribution, and ecological requirements. We need to know which native and endemic species are rare or threatened, and we have to evaluate which introduced species pose a significant risk as potential invasives that could be harmful to the natural ecosystems.

The Galapagos Islands are celebrated throughout the world for the rare and intriguing wildlife that played such an important role in Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection. The wildlife that amazed Charles Darwin still captivates today. Isolated from the mainland for thousands of years, some of the most unusual species in the world evolved here, including giant tortoises, marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and even the world’s only equatorial penguin.

Technically referred to as the Galapagos Known Species Checklist (and abbreviated as CDF-GSC), the Charles Darwin Foundation presented the list to the general public at their conference center on Santa Cruz island on May 21, 2010. Completing 50 of great works, the CDF is an international non-profit organization that provides scientific research, technical information and assistance to ensure the proper preservation of the Galapagos Islands.

And remember, if you do decide to use the list for your own research, be sure to credit the researchers who worked their tails off to assemble this information. Cite the source.

Bungartz, F., Herrera, H.W., Jaramillo, P., Tirado, N., Jímenez-Uzcategui, G., Ruiz, D., Guézou, A. & Ziemmeck, F. (eds.) (2009). List of all known species from the Galapagos Islands – Lista de todas las especies conocidas de las Islas Galápagos. Online repository of the Charles Darwin Foundation / Fundación Charles Darwin, Puerto Ayora, Galapagos: http://www.darwinfoundation.org/datazone/checklists/ Last updated 08 Jun 2010.