Travellers Tales - Otorongo Lodge My Jungle Home from Home
Travellers Tales
Otorongo Lodge My Jungle Home from Home
By Brendan Flynn, New Orleans, USA
I came to Iquitos, as many do, to experience the rainforest of the Amazon. After several confusing arguments with the ´motocaro´ drivers at the airport, I ended up at Mad Mick´s. I didn´t even have time to ask about Amazon Expeditions. Before I had set my bags down I had two offers for tours. Not being one to accept the pushiest salesman, I decided to wait and ask around.
Upon speaking to another traveler and patron of Mick´s, I learned about Anthony Giardenelli and his new Otorongo Lodge and Expeditions. It sounded different and exciting, so we called Anthony and booked a five day trip leaving the following day.
Sunday afternoon, Anthony and his friend and guide Luis met us at Mick´s with a taxi and after a short stop to collect gear we were boarding his covered speed boat. After two hours cruising the Amazon we arrived at Otorongo Lodge where we were greeted by a friendly couple from the neighboring village, Oran (3 minutes by boat).
We were each shown to our spacious private rooms, complete with private bathrooms. Each room is plumbed from a water tower filled from rainwater and the river, so ask if it has been treated before you drink any!
The lodge, with its thatched roof and stilt palm floor boards, fits right in with the surrounding forest. The complex also offers large screened areas, including the dining hall and a hammock room, to ward off the mosquitoes.
After setting in we took a short tour of the immediate grounds. Otorongo has a delicious variety of fruiting plants within 100 meters of the compound. Throughout my stay I enjoy vanilla bean, papaya, caimito and aguaje along with many other sweet or sour fruits whose names, but not tastes, I have forgotten. After a filling dinner I settled in for my first night in the rainforest.
Monday morning, after breakfast and more compound touring and fruit eating, we took a small fishing boat 10 minutes upstream to a parcel of forested land also owned by Otorongo Lodge. Here we trekked while learning about local plants and wildlife. I enjoyed some ripe avocados and sweet miniature bananas. After harvesting several fruits we went back to the lodge for lunch. I spent the evening fishing off the dock then enjoyed a meal prepared with the many foods we had collected that day.
Late that night several members of Oran were invited to eat wiht us. I listened to (and participated in when I could) the conversations. Anthony translated many jokes and folk stories told by a fiery elderly couple. Both Anthony and Luis speak excellent English.
Tuesday morning was lazy with a late breakfast. Around midday I watched one of the villagers harvest aguaje by climbing 20 meters up the tree! I learned how to shell the fruits with my teeth, and though laborious at first, the aguaje fruit is addictive.
After a late lunch we boated to Oran to try and start a futbol game. After a bit of friendly wagering we got going Otorongo Vs. Oran. Oran is a village of less than 200 people, yet they have a small concrete stadium! The Oran team was very good and we lost 5-3, though it was a close game. A rematch left us victorious 7-0 and ended when we couldn´t see the ball anymore. All bets evened out and we enjoyed a cold beer with the other team. After some chat about the game Anthony found a guide for a forest expedition to start early the following morning. After showers and dinner I fell asleep in the peaceful hammock room.
Early Wednesday morning we met our guide and shared a hearty breakfast while talking about local issues. We left in a small flatboat and travelled upstream until the boat could go no farther (too shallow). This took about an hour. We then began our trek into the forest.
The trek was slow paced as we stopped constantly to learn about small animals, animal tracks, trees, medicinal plants or folk lore. Our guide was very experience and showed us how to make rope, baskets and a bowl out of plants in the forest. We found some very beautiful large trees that were too far into the forest to be harvested yet. My favorites of the trip were the giant trees, the colorful butterflies and the shiny green scarab beetles.
We made it back to Otorongo around 3 pm and promptly passed out in the hammock room to the sound of a powerful rainstorm. We woke and spent the remainder of the evening eating and telling stories. Then we packed and went to bed. We woke up the following morning and returned to Iquitos.
Overall the trip was everything I was looking for. Otorongo is new and Anthony had already worked out almost all of the
problems of a new company before we arrived. The atmosphere was laid back and the variety of things to experience was excellent. If I find myself back in Iquitos, I will certainly consider visiting my friends at the Otorongo Lodge again for a peaceful visit to my paradise in the jungle.
