Isla Corazón, Canoeing the Mangroves and Bird Watching

Isla Corazón (“Heart Island”), declared a wildlife refuge in 2002, is quite possibly one of the most fascinating Ecuadorian experiences, period. Casa Ceibo guests start this tour by taking the hotel’s private pontoon boat across the bay to Portovelo. This waterfront community is adjacent to Isla Corazón and home to caretakers and workers of this 130-acre sanctuary. The people who live here have built a rustic, yet impressive interpretation center, where local guides talk about the refuge’s 60-plus species of native and migratory birds.

When the tide is just right, our guests will re-board the boat with the hotel’s own local guide, and head to the island itself — a massive, dense mangrove forest. Here, they can explore on foot, walking about on handcrafted boardwalks and watchtowers that run under the canopy of tangled trees. Amid this grey, damp forest, brilliant red crabs skitter about the mud floors — a perfect backdrop for hearing stories of the once-prolific shrimp industry and the threatened mangrove forests, which are being restored today thanks to aggressive conservation efforts.

After another short boat ride, our guests transfer to canoes and float leisurely through tunneled waterways, into the heart of the mangrove forests. Swamp critters scurry about the branches as an occasional fish jumps beside the canoe.

Upon exiting the forest, colorful activity explodes, thanks to thousands of Magnificent Frigate birds, swirling, swooping and even flirting overhead. Isla Corazón is home to one of the largest Frigate colonies in the South Pacific. The wingspans of these giant birds reach up to seven feet wide, with the males making an even greater impression, flaunting their red gular pouches in the breeding season. This is nature’s law of attraction at its finest — one Ecuadorian show our guests simply shouldn’t miss!