Health, Safety & Climate
Climate
Playa de Oro's temperature is fairly pleasant, only reaching 30 degrees C in the heat of the afternoon (siesta or hang-out-down-by-the-river time), and that only on days when there is full sun. Most days it is sunny or cloudy in the morning, with rain in the afternoon. April is the rainiest month, but during all months, rain can be expected some part of every day. The main difference between "wet" seasons (March-April and Sept-Oct) and "dry" seasons (June-July and November-December-January) is that in the dry seasons, it normally rains for only a couple of hours in the afternoon, or at night, leaving the better part of the day sunny. In the wet seasons, all-day rains are common. Months not mentioned above are "on the cusp" and can go either way.
December and January are the best months for birds. May and June are the best months for butterflies.
Health and Safety
There are no crocodiles, piranha, electric eels, or human or industrial waste in the river which flows through the Playa de Oro Reserva de Tigrillos. The same is true of the reserve's pristine jungle pools.
According to regional health authorities there have been no cases of malaria along the upper reaches of Rio Santiago where Playa de Oro is located, nor is malaria a problem along the route you would take to get to the reserve, from Quito through the highlands. Malaria is only known to be a problem in two parts of Ecuador: coastal port cities and El Oriente (Ecuador's Amazon basin). If you plan to spend time in those areas, you would be well advised to take malaria prophylactics. But you will not likely need them for Playa de Oro. Nor are you likely to need yellow fever vaccinations for Quito, Playa de Oro, or anywhere in the highlands of Ecuador. However, it's not a bad idea to make sure your tetanus vaccination is up to date before travelling in any Third World country. If you are going to the reserve as a volunteer and expect to be handling animals, a preventive rabies shot would also be a reasonable precaution.
You will need insect repellant and lightweight cover-up clothes at Playa de Oro, not so much for mosquitos (of which there are very few), but for the small biting gnats (no-see-ums) which come out just before sunset. Sunblock is also necessary, this being virtually on the equator and much of your time being spent out of doors and on the river. Sunblock and insect repellant should be supplemented, whenever possible, with lightweight cover-up clothing.
There is no danger from the Columbian conflict now, and in fact there never was any danger in the northwestern part of Ecuador where Playa de Oro is located, simply because there are no through roads from Columbia down to Ecuador on the western side of the Andes. What problems there were, a year or two ago, were on the eastern side of the Andes, in that region of the Ecuadorian Amazon which shares a border with Columbia and where there are connecting roads between the two countries.
Getting from Quito to Selva Alegre (the village on Rio Santiago where the reserve's boat picks up guests), either by overnight bus from Quito or by jeep or mini-bus during daylight hours, is considered quite safe.
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