Where hippos became American

We are sitting in a small boat in the middle of a huge river. The heat is stifling, there is not a breath of wind. The afternoon sun is merciless, and we seek shelter as best we can in the sparse shade of the trees near the bank. This is how we imagine a safari in Africa. But actually, we are somewhere else entirely.

The heat should be perfect for observing these animals. On the first day, however, luck is not on our side. Not a single pachyderm appears. ‘Huh, aren’t you in South America?’ you may ask. Yes, that’s right, and this text is based on true events. No, we’re not at the zoo either. We’re on a hippo safari on the Magdalena River in Colombia.

Free roaming hippos in America?

We contact Yamit from Tortugario. He is one of the few who sensed a business opportunity and we book a hippo safari in Colombia with him.

The village of Estación Cocorná is located on a tributary of the Río Magdalena. It once had a railway station that connected the agricultural region with Medellín. The area was dominated by Escobar and the people were not doing too badly. They worked in agriculture and livestock farming as well as coca cultivation, and Escobar paid for the school supplies of the local children. It was just better to keep quiet.

Yamit’s family lived with this reality and adapted; but they were still a little different. The mother followed an education in biology and environmental protection. One day, while travelling on the river, they noticed that there were almost no turtles. Their eggs were stolen by poachers and their meat was considered a delicacy. So she decided to save the turtles. Her project envisaged a breeding and protection station: the Tortugario in Estación Cocorná.

More than ten years later, it has been a complete success. The turtles are back. We have seen them swimming in large numbers along the shore. But species conservation alone does not bring in any money. So, the family has set up a tour company and offers river trips along the Río Cocorná down to the Magdalena River. Exactly at the point where the two rivers meet a small hippo colony has also settled.

Coliving in the area

On the second day, we are lucky. In the morning, we drive to the vicinity of Hacienda Nápoles. There are small lagoons outside. At one of them, the landowner has a small shop and, in exchange for a Coke, he lets us visit the hippos. There are four: three adults and a baby. They lie in the pond and don’t let themselves be disturbed. That’s just as well, because there are few trees nearby where we could have sought refuge. And hippos are fast and dangerous – at least in Africa. In Colombia, Yamit claims, they have not yet killed anyone, but there are repeated attacks on humans.

In the afternoon, we decide to go down the river again. Again, a long wait. The sun is about to set. The light refracts in the water, which looks beautiful.

There, we see a hippopotamus! It keeps popping up briefly at the surface and then diving back down into the murky water. It seems curious, or maybe it wants to defend its territory. It keeps turning towards us and then diving abruptly. Yamit pulls on the gas and drives off – you never know if it’s planning an underwater attack. The locals nearby don’t seem impressed at all. Without batting an eyelid, they drive onto the beach and collect sand. The hippo must be somewhere under their boat, but it leaves them alone. Hats off, I wouldn’t have that kind of courage!

A little further up the river, we discover a second specimen. It is slowly getting dark, but we enjoy the sight. We keep a safe distance in the boat with the engine running because this hippo keeps jumping out of the water and we are clearly in its territory.

Projects worth the journey: between threats and hope in the Putumayo region of Colombia

We leave Ecuador – a country full of inspiring projects and definitely one of the most impressive on our journey through South America.

In Colombia, we venture across one of the border crossings that are considered ‘dangerous’ into the Putumayo region.

We don’t want to minimise the danger – it exists. Right at the border crossing, a policeman asks us if we don’t want to help him. He is standing in the rain and a little money for a drink would be welcome. We kindly say no – and he lets us into the country anyway. Welcome to Colombia, we think.

Caution and prejudice

There are hardly any other sources of income. Cattle farming, the timber industry and oil production drive the economy – and at the same time the destruction. The jungle hardly stands a chance.

In addition, there is drug trafficking and organised crime. This border area is a central gateway in the cocaine trade to Ecuador – and from there to the big, wide world.

The guerrillas held sway here for a long time. Despite the peace agreement, they have never completely disappeared. Although there are initial attempts to build a tourism network, the movement in the region, and in the country as a whole, is currently heading in the wrong direction: more fighting, more violence, more drugs.

In general, Colombia is changing again – unfortunately for the worse.

Projects worth the journey: brave indigenous women that unite tourism, tradition and conservation

Indigenous and woman… A combination that in itself makes life difficult all over the world. It is no different in South America. According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, only one in ten indigenous girls finishes secondary school in Latin America.

In general, being a woman is hard enough in these parts. Even I, a privileged white woman, often notice it when they explain to me how the world works, when they don’t believe I know how to drive, or when they correct my Spanish because they use a different word here and the one I use is probably made up. Depending on the day, I don’t cope too well with it.

Imagine not having had the opportunity to receive a good basic education, living in a tribe and growing up in a cultural and economic context different from that of the upper caste. In short, you are in the lowest possible status. The realities of the rich and the poor differ much more in this part of the world. But sometimes you come across extraordinary initiatives that seek to change the paradigm somewhat.

The women of the community of San Pedro, in Misahuallí Ecuador, are one such example to follow. Despite being indigenous, and women, they have created their own business from which a whole community lives. And it is beautiful.

Sinchi Warmi Lodge – Brave women

Sofia welcomes us. She explains everything to us, invites us to guayusa tea and prepares some potato chunks, which is what they have at the moment instead of bread, then takes us to the bridge and throws the chunks into the water. Bam! There is a loud noise in the water. It is the mouth of something gigantic. “A paiche of about 2.50 metres,” she explains. It spits out again the potato, the fish doesn’t like vegetables too much.

The paiche, also known as arapaima or pirarucu, is one of the largest freshwater fish, reaching up to four metres and weighing up to 200 kilos. It has large black scales and a huge red tail. Its eyes and tail scales reflect the light of torches at night. It looks like a giant monster approaching with only its eyes showing.

It feeds mainly on other fish, but also eats birds, insects and other small mammals. They hunt them by suction: they open their big mouths and create a vacuum that attracts their prey, which causes that characteristic noise.

At Sinchi Warmi they have three giants, the oldest is about eight years old. The fish accompanies us throughout our stay and, at night, we can hear them hunting as they propel themselves quickly to catch their prey. By the way, it is also a very tasty fish to eat.

Projects worth the journey: an animal paradise on the Pacific side of the Andes

We continue our journey through Ecuador, a country full of contrasts. While there are many private initiatives to protect species, the extraction of raw materials is also booming. The country’s biodiversity is immense, both in terms of species and raw materials.

In 2021, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Energy expected to have reserves of 1.3 billion barrels of oil, most of which are located in the Amazon Basin — and this is just one of the smallest countries in South America! There are also rich deposits of gold, silver, copper, zinc and much more besides. These are all highly sought-after products in world trade.

However, legal mining can also be problematic, particularly in countries where the government does not enforce environmental regulations. Consequently, heavy metals find their way down the rivers into the Pacific or to the Atlantic through Brazil.

While we were in Ecuador in mid-March, an oil spill occurred in Esmeraldas. An estimated 25 000 barrels of oil spilled out when the oleoduct burst and affected 300 000 people in one of the poorest regions of the country. And this happened in an area where the rivers do not still have thousands of kilometres of land to cross.

A bird paradise close to the capital

Isabel welcomed us with a beaming smile and perfect English. She had lived in the USA for a while because her mum studied and worked there. Her parents wanted to turn part of their home country Ecuador into a protected area.

The Maquipucuna Foundation was established 35 years ago. The land had lain fallow for a long time, but the Chocó Andino region of Ecuador, characterised by its biodiversity, had become a second home to the family.

They had reforested much of the area with wild avocado trees. A native tree species. They also began to develop a tourism project involving a small lodge.

The trees grew and the forest recovered, and around 20 years after planting, the first bears arrived. Without realising it, they had created a new food source for the spectacled bear. These animals love wild avocados, but the season is in August and September. So, we were unlucky. We were definitely there too early to see them.

However, the lodge and the park attract many other animals. The area is renowned for its diverse birdlife, particularly hummingbirds, and it is also home to a variety of snakes. That’s why we were there. We were allowed to walk up and down their hiking trails, and they trusted us completely. It’s nice because it’s often forbidden to walk alone on clearly signposted paths. We’re not talking about treks through the middle of nowhere in the jungle.

During the night, we saw giant snails and a kinkajou. During the day, our long-awaited wish was finally granted when we spotted an American lance snake, Bothrops asper. In Ecuador, it is known as ‘Equis’ because of its X pattern. It was curled up right next to the hiking trail.

We walked past it first. My heart stopped for a moment when I looked back: “Michi, there’s a snake right here!” First, we put some distance between us and calmed down, and then we got the camera ready. The snake lay there and watched us. And we watched back.

Yes, I’ll answer the question up front: it’s venomous. It’s also known for causing most bites. However, as we often repeat, as long as you don’t attack the snake or step on it, it won’t do anything. This is the best example. It was less than a metre away, and we both walked pass it really close.

Sumak Kawsay in Situ: Science and tourism on the edge of the Andes.

People are an integral part of any journey. No journey is complete without them. Although people often cause trouble, nature itself rarely does — unless a swarm of insects invades the car or it rains for weeks on end. However, although problems usually originate from people, they also make travelling a special experience.

Encounters with new people, large and small projects, and spectacular hospitality make travelling an adventure. In the Places of the Future series, we will present some surprising and memorable projects, we’ve come across along our journey.

We spend a lot of time travelling in nature and looking out for animals, so most of the projects focus on nature and species conservation in harmony with tourism. These are all places that should be visited, and we hope to revisit them at some point.

Because they all show one thing: there is another way.

The 300-year-project

The property is located at an altitude of just under 1,400 metres on the Ecuadorian Andes. The view stretches from the El Altar and Tungurahua volcanoes to the Amazon rainforest and from Llanganates National Park to Sangay National Park. In the middle of this corridor, unspoilt nature thrives. This is thanks to a private initiative.

At the end of the 1990s, the family cultivated much of the land using traditional methods: They planted lulo, a very popular citrus fruit in South America. However, before they could clear more land to expand cultivation, young Henry approached his parents with a strange idea. What about protecting the forest and focusing on tourism and science? He had clearly been watching too much National Geographic on TV.

Almost 30 years later, researchers and experts from elite US universities come to sleep on mattresses in his jungle camp.

Sumak Kawsay in Situ is a biodiversity paradise, and, unlike in the lowlands of Ecuador, visitors won’t be swarmed by mosquitoes, which is very pleasant. There is plenty to discover. Tourists can bathe in crystal-clear streams, enjoy a clay cure for their skin, listen to a live frog philharmonic orchestra, trudge through the forest in rubber boots in search of animals, and enjoy delicious dishes prepared by Mama Gloria.

Scientists enjoy a prime-location laboratory with a forest view instead of white walls, exploring new paths and repeatedly discovering new plant and animal species. A mere half a hectare is home to 145 different plant species, offering plenty to see. Therefore, the hope of finding the fountain of youth here is high. Nevertheless, it is already a source of life as it is the water source of the Amazon basin.