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CABINS AND ACCOMMODATION
AT THE CUYABENO LODGE
| What is it that
makes the Cuyabeno Lodge so special? |
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Our
mission is to make the jungle more accessible for more people. One of the reasons why the
Cuyabeno lakes
were still natural when they were selected for their conservation was their isolation from
the outside world. It takes a flight, about 130 km traveling
over land and about 60
km over water to get to the lodge. |
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Our lodge has been built within
the reserve, and as we have been very ecologically aware, none of the wood
for the cabins and other accommodation has come from
ecologically sensitive areas. Every piece of building material came from a great distance
from the reserve and had to be trucked in to the border of the reserve and
transported by canoe to the building site. Particularly the last part was a logistical
nightmare and involved the skilled operations of our Siona friends. All the construction
of the cabins and accommodation was
done with maximum involvement of the Sionas. Our skilled master carpenter and other
skilled workers trained them in carpentry and construction as we built. That way our
construction cost twice as much, but we assured that our cabins and accommodation
generated maximum economic
benefits for the Sionas. How difficult is it to move about? Occasionally we get requests from visitors in a wheelchair. The
Cuyabeno Lodge is
not accessible for fully walking disabled visitors. The Lodge is located on a small
insular hill and under those isolated conditions, it is impossible for us to make it
accessible for wheelchairs .
Having said that, we
went at great length to make the lodge accessible for
most visitors by building a network of stairs and trails between all the buildings.
As the Cuyabeno lakes are located in an extremely flat region (the site of our lodge is
the only exception, which prevents it from ever being flooded), none of the trails involve strenuous climbing.
For those who prefer
to do so, we can arrange all our excursions from motorized
canoes only, thus limiting walking to
no more than than 100 meters per day for visitors with
limited walking abilities.
Our guides are trained
to be helpful whenever a visitor has some walking
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Our Cabins have been designed to provide
functional comfort and working space to our guests, providing
comfortable wide beds, mosquito netting, showers with hot water
and a small desk to work out notes after an excursion.
Sleeping in Cuyabeno is in fact quite pleasant, as the
reserve is still so close to the Andes, that the nights cool down to
very comfortable temperatures. In fact, one needs sleeping under a
blanket, to be comfortable.
 How bad are the bugs?
In general, the
Cuyabeno Lakes are much better off than some of the areas more towards the East. (For
instance, near the border with Peru, a lake is called Zancudo Cocha, which means Mosquito
Lake). |
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Over the many years of our work in the
reserve, we have found that every night is different. Of course the jungle is home to a
fabulous variety of the most wonderful insects, big and small: colorful
moths and butterflies, odd shaped
beetles, dragonflies, etc. etc. Some nights our lights attract great numbers of very
different insects, while other nights insects abound, but most of them only belonging to
one or a few species.
During our
nightly excursions, we go looking
for nocturnal insects on the ground. Cuyabeno has some really
strange looking critters that you only can see at night with
flashlights.
There are also many nights however, when only few insects
fly around. So, at night, usually insects are part of the
entertainment as their
movements, shapes colors and noises never fail to draw the attention, but rarely do our visitors
withdraw to their cabins for avoiding the bugs and they never stop
you from sleeping comfortably.
Mosquitoes are always present, but
strangely enough rarely in big numbers and with the mosquito netting they
never affect your sleeping. Now, that does not mean they are harmless. They do
carry malaria and you should consult your medical provider about the best prophylactics
for
you, and you are also advised to take insect repellent.
We on our part provide all
beds with mosquito netting. So we do have insects and mosquitoes,
but as the lodge area is elevated, mosquitoes
are not a serious nuisance and the other insects are beautiful
and exiting!. All
the beds have mosquito netting, but still, you are advised to
bring mosquito repellent. See our packing
list.
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Homo sapiens is not the only monkey species that has taken
the Cuyabeno Lodge as its preferred residence.
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Why don't we have air-conditioning?
Simply
because we don't need it. The Cuyabeno lakes are still so close to the foothills of the
Andes, that the nights cool off considerably and in fact, usually they are quite
comfortable. Most of the time, our visitors prefer sleeping under a light blanket.
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