We Bought a Jungle
The Ecuadorian Amazon
As a foreigner buying land in Ecuador, there are specific places you CAN NOT buy land and one of those restrictions is next to the border. The area that we were looking at buying is close to the reserve of Cuyabeno and that huge, protected area backs into Peru, but it’s also extremely close to the notorious Colombian border. With this in mind, I had spoken to people prior to this in the Ministry of Environment and they had assured me that the area that we were looking at, was just outside of the area of restrictions, so it was possible to buy this land, if we wanted to.
With that weight off of my shoulders, I still knew that this process was not going to be an easy one, however, I knew that it was at least possible.
A week before flying to Ecuador, I got news that the owner of the land was in the hospital. All I knew is that he was not well and he didn’t have any money for the surveys that needed to be done in order to sell his land. I hadn’t even gotten to the jungle yet and problem one had already happened. I worked with my lawyers to try and get more information on if he was one, doing ok, and two, able to actually sell the land in his current state. I figured his age was maybe a factor as he is an older gentleman, but I was completely in the dark.
Taking off from Seattle to Quito, with a stop in Atlanta, I was nervous that this trip could be for nothing as I was still unsure on the seller’s condition, and if the transaction was going to be able to take place. During my layover I actually received word that he was okay, however he needed help paying for a survey as he didn’t have the funds and I automatically thought “Oh no, I'm getting taken advantage of!” I replied quickly and agreed to the payment of the survey, only if it was taken off of the end sum. Everyone needs a little help from time to time, but I needed to ensure our money was going to be safe. I don’t know this man, he doesn’t know me, and this is a completely new process.
After landing and spending a few days with my good friend Angel, who is joining our Ecuadorian board, we finally made it to the Amazon. Making the most of the weekend, we went into the Cuyabeno reserve and spent a few days hiking and relaxing at Tucan Lodge. This is a lodge I have spent lots of time at and have a great relationship with all the workers, so it's like my little home away from home. I needed to get back into the local town on the following Monday to meet my lawyers and knew that the next three weeks were going to be hectic to say the least. With several snakes found, a few sloths and pink river dolphins spotted, plus hundreds of bird, insect and mammal species found, I was content and felt ready to take on the town and all of its paperwork.
The process took 15 days, from start to finish. I don't want to bore you all with the ins and outs, so I want to keep this as brief as possible. Mistakes on three different forms were made, causing setbacks. The elections stopped everything for a few days, as well as Easter Sunday, which lasted from the Friday before to the Tuesday after. Multiple trips forwards and backwards from the city which was a total of three hours driving each time for silly errors and a whole load of issues including no electricity for a few days because of heavy rain storms, that being said, we finally signed everything, paid for everything and I shook hands with someone who 15 days ago was a complete stranger but now, was someone that was happy I was going to take over the care of this land. We had talked about fruiting plants, wildlife and memories on this land over the past two weeks and his excitement and smile filled the room when I would show him photos of animals I had found on the border of the land. He allowed me permission to walk the edges of the property before buying it but did not give me permission to fully enter or make changes, which I completely understood and respected.
The exchange of the keys and contract was a beautiful moment between us all. The seller and his daughter thanked me for this transaction. They mentioned how the land was just too much for him to take of, and how they wanted it to go to someone who actually cared. I think that my enthusiasm and excitement made them feel comfortable that it would be in good hands. I told them about my story with the military, Khan and Keanu and when I told them about my documentary Wildcat, they couldn’t believe that a gringo would do such things for the forest and the animals that call it home. As we shook hands, I truly felt so grateful that, even with the speedbumps, things went pretty smooth.
Harry Turner & Don Carlos
As the purchase and paperwork took so long, it meant that I only had five full days on the land to put up camera traps and collect as much information as I possibly could. I cut trails and collected GPS tracks and points, including stream systems and clearings. I also had to, with the contract in my name, changeover specific titles and payments. I cleared out one of the houses and made it livable, plus conducted surveys on wildlife found on the land. Spotting two of the three anteater species known in the area was a highlight. Plus, an aquatic coral snake, fer de lance and anaconda. Caiman, tapir, giant armadillo and nine banded armadillos. The tarsier leaf frog and white lined leaf frog, both in the family Phyllomedusa. Plus, five species of monkey, saki, tamarin, squirrel, night monkey and titi. All of this and more was found over a few days, which honestly was an overwhelming amount of fauna that I truly was not expecting, so as you can imagine, we are really looking forward to seeing what our cameras capture over the next few months…
