Dispatches
Cristalino Jungle Lodge – Brazil, Part I: Arrival
April 7, 2009
Five plane rides, 12 hours by bus and a 20 minute boat ride through the Amazon under a moonlit sky and we made it to our first stop – the Cristalino Jungle Lodge. From the moment we arrived, they welcomed us with open arms and could not have been more gracious. Upon touring the grounds, we were impressed not only by the accommodations and the facilities on the site, but also by all of the amazing socially and environmentally responsible projects that they are undertaking. The lodge opened in 1992, and over the last 16 years, they have built environmentally sustainable and energy efficient buildings, grow a majority of their food in an organic garden, compost all of their waste, and have special grey and blackwater gardens behind each lodge to take care of waste shower, sink and toilet water.
In addition, they have solar hot water on all buildings so guests are always guaranteed warm and cold water whenever they need it. Hey, they’re in the jungle, and resources are hard to come by, but sun power is not one of them. Guests are treated to short and long hikes through the jungle, including one tour that takes you to a 150-foot observation tower, where you can see the more than 600 birds that live in this part of the Amazon (this area is home to more than 1/3 of all known bird species in the Amazon).
