The Kāpŏk Tree

We paddled back to where we entered the lake, crossed over and came to a small dock. This is part of the Sani Lodge. We exited the canoe and hiked up a wooden trail to a large covered deck overlooking the lake. There were a couple of picnic tables and even a hammock for relaxation. Dario was there from the Manatee preparing our lunch. We ate lunch right there with a wonderful view.

Lunch View from the Sani Lodge

It was a great lunch. After lunch, Kathy took to the hammock for some relaxation. I took some time to find turtles lounging by the river.

After a rest period of about 45 minutes, we took to the forest for another hike. We saw three species of monkeys (Squirrel, Howler and Night), lots of birds, and interesting trees and other plants.

We returned back the area where we had eaten lunch, and boarded the canoe once more. Raul and Jose paddled us back west along the lake, and then southeast into another small stream. This stream averaged about 10-15 feet across and was much more densely covered in vegetation.

There was a school of fish in front of our canoe, and as we paddled along, they would be herded in front of us. They would all jump out of the water at once and make a loud splashing sound, like throwing a handful of gravel in water. The only other noise was some birds in the forest, so it was very loud for the quiet surroundings. They continued to do this about every minute for quite some time, until at one point the stream widened to about 25 feet and they escaped back down the stream towards the direction from which we had come. Along this stream we encountered a Red Howler Monkey and a Tiger Heron. I tried to get pictures but they disappeared too quickly into the forest. The Tiger Heron was orange with black stripes, just like its namesake. Other birds and plants were fascinating to see as well. We continued on for another 1km or so and came to a small dock. We exited the canoe for another hike into the jungle.

After about 30 minutes hiking through the jungle, we arrived at one of the largest trees I have ever seen. Its base was enormous. It was very tall. Its trunk was just as straight as could be. This had to be the grandfather of all Kapok trees. It must have played an important part in the stories told by the indigenous populations of centuries past. Just breathtaking!

Standing right next to the tree was a steel tower with stairs. Up we go! The tower was 130 feet tall and exited onto a deck tree house at the point where the trunk started branching into its gigantic limbs. At 130 feet up, we were above the main canopy of the rain forest, but still with a lot of Kapok tree above us. You could see for miles in all directions. The view was stunning! We spotted, Macaws, Toucans, and many other birds. There were bullets ants, tarantulas and other insects lurking about. On the next tree over, we could see a Red Howler Monkey sitting there looking back at us. It was truly an amazing experience.

We stayed up on the tree’s deck for about an hour, taking in the unique view this opportunity provided. There was plenty of time to take pictures, and then even more time to put the camera down and soak it all in. The view was absolutely amazing.