Paz de Ariporo
After some time, we stopped at a little restaurant in the village of Paz de Ariporo, for a lunch of grilled chicken. The heat in the village was exhausting and it was a relief to get back into the air-conditioned Toyota Hilux.

Montañas del Totumo
After an endless dirt road, we approached the village of Montañas del Totumo. To my surprise, there was suddenly a stretch of asphalt road, which stopped again as we drove out of the village. Nelson explained that the petroleum company had donated the paved road to the residents of the village.

After the smooth asphalt, the road turned back into a dirt road with big rocks. After this, the road only got worse and I was shaken up considerably.

Reserva la Aurora
Closer to Reserva la Aurora we saw beautiful birds, a caiman and capybaras. According to Nelson, Reserva la Aurora has the largest number of wildlife in the world after the nature reserves in South Africa. This, of course, made my curiosity even bigger!

Juan Solito ecolodge
By now the sun was beginning to set and this was a beautiful sight on the endless plains. In the dark, we arrived at Juan Solito ecolodge, where hostess Marysol was waiting for me with a lemonade. Jeremiah showed me my room and in the bathroom I got my first “surprise”: A giant frog was staring at me with his big eyes!

“You’re in Los Llanos,” I told myself, you’ll see more than a frog in the room!” Still, I asked Jeremiah to catch the frog and bring it outside, and he did so with a smile from ear to ear.

House deer Pippa
After the long trip, I enjoyed an ice-cold Poker beer in the restaurant and got my second surprise: “house deer” Pippa looked curiously into the kitchen with her big eyes -:)

After dinner, Jeremiah came to discuss with me what the rest of the week would look like. We decided that my first activity would be a morning walk with himself.

Back in my room, the frog was back in “its” spot on the sink. Aaaah!!!

Written by Jeanette
Travel date: February 2020
Updated September 2025

Check our travel guide Casanare -the Colombian safari- for more info on the Llanos Orientales. Need a hotel in Yopal prior to your trip, check the options here.

Llanero music
After horseback riding, we were able to stay in the Llanero ambiente for a while. Since Ted, Anneke and Gabriela were going back to Yopal that afternoon, there was a farewell with a demonstration of the música Llanera, the Joropo. In this typical music of the Llanos, the harp places an important role and the songs about life on the Llanos are performed passionately.

Chico
Chico was the dancer and singer of the show, but I heard that he would also be a good guide. That came in handy, because I was going to take a walk in the forest with him later that day.

During the hike, Chico explained to me all kinds of things about the different plants and trees and how the Indigenas used to use them. For example, he showed how spears were made from tree branches and which trees were used for cremes for their faces.

During the walk, Chico he also told me about his life as a Llanero. I was struck by how humble he was, just like the other Llaneros I met before. At the same time, Chico was full of passion when he talked about working with the horses and about nature on the Llanos.

Meanwhile, he was removing very small ticks from my pants, which were so small that I hadn’t even seen them myself. In the dry season, ticks are common in certain parts of the forest.

Howler monkey family
At one point we heard something in the trees and then Chico pointed to a group of howler monkeys, known in Colombia as monos aulladores. We saw a whole family with mother and little ones. The male was chilling out and stayed in the same spot for a while. We stayed very quiet and could observe him very well. What an extraordinary experience!

On the way back, we saw a turtle crossing the path of a capybara, but the capybara was not too impressed. After a nice walk, we boarded the boat again, back to the lodge.

The rest of the evening, the impressions of the day still went through my head and I closed the Llanero’s in my heart forever.

Written by Jeanette
Travel date: February 2020.

For more info, check our travel guide Casanare -the Colombian safari- Hotel needed in Yopal prior to your trip, check here the options.

On a boat trip in the Llanos, you can spot caimans, capybaras and turtles. Another highlight of a boat trip is fishing for piraña’s!

Walk
Before the hike with Jeremiah began, we crossed the river by boat so we could hike on the other side of the river. Because the water is low in the dry season, he didn’t turn the motor on, but pushed sticks into the water to move forward. Later I learned that the water is as much as 2-3 meters higher in the rainy season.

Caimans
We were hiking by the river, when Jeremiah said very quietly; “look next to you.” A few feet away there was a caiman in the water. We saw two more, lying motionless in the water for a very long time, ready to strike for passing prey!

Natural Selection
I told Jeremiah that the landscape was even drier than I had imagined. He said this was the end of the dry season, hence the huge drought. During the “natural selection,” the older and weaker animals die in the harsh conditions. Other animals we saw on the hike included capybaras, turtles and a beautiful macaw.

Afternoon boat trip
Together with Dutch couple Ted and Anneke and their Colombian translator Gabriela, we took a boat trip down the river in the afternoon.

It was very relaxing to quietly observe the animals from the boat, such as agoutis (they look like small capybaras), howler monkeys, many birds and wild pigs. A caiman was beautifully “posing” on a small beach. Because the river is quite narrow, we were able to observe the animals from up close.

Capybara family
We saw a family of capybaras whose little ones were drinking with the mother. Earlier we saw the babies running through the sand, soo cute! Because it is so dry and hot, the capybaras stay close to the river to cool off.

Fishing for piranhas
We stopped on a sandbar to fish for piranhas. I did not have much luck and fed the fish rather than catching them. So the piranha that was caught afterwards -with a very fat belly- was named after me -:)

Written by Jeanette
Travel date: February 2020.

Check out our travel guide Casanare -the Colombian safari– for more info. Need a hotel in Yopal prior to your trip? Then check the options here.