8/3, Wednesday: Cusco ->
Puerto Maldanado -> The Amazon
We were shocked by our arrival in
the Amazon. It was not only pouring rain, but it was super cold. We later heard
that the temperature had dropped from 35 to 10 degrees C overnight.
At the airport, the various lodges
greet visitors for their journey into the Amazon. To get to our lodge, the
Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica, we took a bus to a check-in center about 5 minutes
from the airport. Then it was a 20 minute bus ride to the boat. The transport
boat looked like a large canoe with a small roof and an engine that previously
was part of a car (similar to the Thailand river boats). We put our life jackets
on, gave thanks to the fact we had rain coats, and began our 1 hour (very wet
and cold) journey into the rainforest. The Inkaterra is one of the “remote, yet
accessible” of the Amazon ecolodges. One of Lila’s YGL friends owns a few
ecolodges but they are 3-8 hour boat rides further than where we stayed (we
just didn’t have the time on this trip for visiting his award winning
lodges). At our lodge, we were shown our cabana - #8, which
overlooked the river. The “resort” has 35 stand-alone cabanas all with only 1
wall, the rest was wood frame covered by mosquito screens. In warm
temperatures, that architecture would be lovely. Instead, we put on 3-5 layers
of the summer clothing we brought in an effort to stay warm. The cabana had
running water (toilet, bath), a bed with additional mosquito netting, a sitting
area, and 2 hammocks – all inside our framed house, several feet above the
ground (in case the river floods &/or animals come for a night visit). The
Inkaterra is supposed to be one the most luxurious of Peruvian Amazon lodges.
During our stay, we learned the
difference between a rainforest and a jungle. A rainforest has 4 layers of
vegetation, with the highest being ~200 ft. A jungle only has the 2 bottom
layers. More light shines through a jungle, because it doesn’t have the tall
trees. Therefore, more vegetation grows on the ground level. In a rainforest,
due to the lack of light, less grows on the ground – and therefore it’s easier
to walk around. In the Amazon, the jungle is a subset of the Amazon rainforest.
At the adventure center, they
outfitted us with mud boots that came up to our knees. For the next 2 days,
we’d be living in these! By the time we really settled in, it was already 4pm.
We went into the jungle on the grounds of the Inkaterra for a 1 hour walk,
followed by a night walk a few hours later. A few observations …. Birds don’t
like cold – just like humans. They were all hiding. Little light made it
through the 4 layers of the rainforest. It was very calm with little movement.
And, if there was movement, it meant there was some creature moving (or the
rain!). The spiders are really big and ugly, and we saw several walking sticks
and beetles.
All meals were included in our
stay. We got to choose from a set menu, all very good tropical-inspired
cuisine. In fact, the Inkaterra is supposed to have the best food in the
Amazon. The restaurant, like our cabana, had screens as walls.
By 9pm, we retreated to our cabana
for an interesting night. Karl managed to sleep with a single layer, whereas Lila
slept in about 6 layers. The blankets were warm, so it really wasn’t too bad.
At 11:30pm the generators were turned off, and we were without electricity. The
lanterns in our room provided enough candle light, but we weren’t prepared for
Karl’s sleep breathing machine turning off.
8/4, Thursday: The Amazon
Our first activity started at 7am,
Thursday morning. Thank goodness we woke up to overcast skies – but no rain! –
and slightly warmer temperature. Our wake-up call was someone knocking at the
door – but the birds were already starting to make their morning sounds! All
excursions are included with our stay at the ecolodge. Excursions are led by a
native guide with no more than 8 people to the group. In the morning, we
selected to visit Lake Sandoval inside of the Tambopata National Reserve. It
required a 30 minute boat ride up the river, then a 1 hour hike, and then we
took a canoe on the lake. We were joined by a young Italian newlywed couple and
their private guide. Luis, a native of the area and our guide, explained
that the native people are more interested in mining and a variety of other
businesses – not ecotourism. In fact, it often causes problems within a family
because their older relatives don’t understand why someone would do ecotourism.
Why save animals in the jungle when they should be hunted/eaten? It’s
slowly catching on, but still slow.
During our hike, we saw a variety
of birds (including a toucan), some monkeys hiding in the top of a tree, some
leaf cutter ants (they use the cut leafs to grow fungus), and a few other
insects. The walk was muddy and tough. During the canoe ride, we saw some
really unusual birds like cormorants and blue herons. We didn’t see any
piranhas although they’re supposed to be in the Amazon.
Upon return to the pick-up point,
the boat wasn’t there. Lila walked around until I found cell service (it was
the first time we had a connection since arriving into the Amazon). Our guide
was new to the lodge and a bit hesitant, but after 1.5 hours of waiting, we
convinced him to take action. We used our phone to call the check-in lodge, who
then radioed back to our lodge. We couldn’t believe it – they left us! We
complained later that our guide didn’t have a radio, and that no boat came. The
lodge manager explained that something happened to one of the boats, and that
our guide should have had a radio. They put the blame on the eco coordinator
who was getting disciplinary action. We got (and took!) credit for “saving” the
group of stranded folks. All it took was a bit of impatience and determination
to find cell service. J
In the afternoon, we went on a
walk through the rainforest, including a canopy tour with hanging bridges. The
bridges were connected by 7 towers. It was fun to walk 100 ft above the ground…kind
of scary occasionally, but with a very cool view. During the hike to get there,
we found a vine hanging from a tree that was a few hundred feet high. Of
course, Lila had to swing…not too gracefully though. She was out-swung by the
North Carolina kids that were with us (there was a family of 6 along on the
hike).
In the evening, we went on a
twilight cruise on the Madre de Dios river. It was absolutely incredible to see
the sky of the Southern Hemisphere. In fact, seeing the stars so close and
clearly, it was easy to understand how the Incans connected to the sky. The
Milky Way looked like a reflection in the sky of the river! We spent an hour on
the boat cruising up and down the shoreline spotting white caimans (like
crocodiles). It was exciting and fun.
Afterwards, we had dinner &
enjoyed a fun time with the Italian lawyers. The wife didn’t speak much English
but could understand when we talked slow. It was a lovely end to an exciting
day. That night, we slept very well again – aside from the generator going off
and Karl’s machine not working. Basically, if you go to the Amazon, you have to
be ready for no cell service and intermittent electricity.
8/5, Friday: Puerto Maldanado
(Amazon) -> Lima
As our trip in the Amazon came to
an end, we still had a half-day left. We went with another guide on a boat ride
to the river island (aka Monkey Island – although we didn’t see monkeys).
The island was called money island for the recently relocated monkey
families moved there by one of the local universities. Our guide
questioned the study – he was concerned they had didn’t release enough of one
species to ensure long term success/breeding.
On the way to the island, we
spotted a variety of birds and white caimans along the shore. We also saw these
machines that looked like old wooden manual contraptions. The locals use these
for sifting for gold. They can find 5-10 grams per day in this area of the
river (and as much as 50 grams a day further upstream in a frontier part of the
river that even the local police don’t try to patrol).
Upon arrival to the river island,
we went on a 2 hour hike. The weather had warmed up so the birds were finally
out. It was unbelievable how much noise they made! During the wet season, the
island is flooded by the river. The result is the vegetation was so different
than other parts of the rainforest we had seen. It sounded, smelled, and felt
like a stereotypical jungle. It’s worth noting that unlike the Galapagos, the
animals in the Amazon don’t come close to humans. They’re often in trees or
hiding. We borrowed binoculars to see the vibrant colored birds. Who would have
thought that we would be so into bird watching! What was really amazing was to
watch our guides. They grew up learning animals sounds and being able to
imitate them (to attract the animals so they could hunt). The guides would hear
the birds and be able to name the specific species. It was amazing!
Back at the lodge, we packed up
and prepped for the boat ride back to civilization. The ride back to Puerto
Maldanado was so much better than the cold, rainy trip into the Amazon. The
weather was improving so well – another day and we’d see even more animals.
Nevertheless, it was an exotic and interesting adventure. In Puerto Malanado,
we had a chance to visit the butterfly house to see some of the 3800 Peruvian
species flying around. They were beautiful!
Our flight out of the Amazon
stopped back in Cusco for 30 min to pick up more passengers, before continuing
to Lima. Our transfer guide told us more about the country and capital – so we
got a good overview of Lima and about Peru overall. We stayed at a small
B&B type of place in the Miraflores neighborhood, had an amazing dinner at
a restaurant nearby, walked back along the coast, and called it a night by 9 pm
(we had another 5am departure the next day).
Overall our trip to Peru trip was
– Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, the Amazon, and a quick stop in Lima.
It’s amazing how much we can cram into 7 days. J
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