Ecuador Adventures and Frogs

A walking Spanish lesson and a visit to a butterfly farm were the highlights of this day.

At Casa Divina, we spotted yellow fungus, green bamboo, and yellow orchids—along with lovely frogs—on our evening frogging walks.

The trail near Papallacta has many colorful borrachero trees, which yield the dangerous substance scopolamine.

Renowned wildlife photographer Jaime Culebras, who photographed this Ecuadorian rain frog (Pristimantis ecuadoriensis), gave us wildlife photography tips.

A beautiful caiman was among the wildlife we saw as we lingered by a caiman pond at sunset.

Among lessons on Ecuador’s natural medicine sources and the environmental ravaging the country is suffering, we managed to spot a tiny frog on a leaf. Perhaps it was a hopeful sign.

A monkey’s comb is a bristly, doughnut-shaped casing that monkeys use for grooming. In the Ecuadorian forest, we discovered a natural terrarium growing in a monkey’s comb.

We learned much during a hike on Anaconda Island. Wooly and capuchin monkeys live nearby on the mainland, but not on the island because they are afraid of water.

During an evening frogging walk near the Anaconda Lodge, we saw frogs as well as other interesting creatures of the night.

After a fascinating daytime hike, we and our luggage traveled via motorized canoes to our next stop, Anaconda Lodge on Anaconda Island.