Days 4 - 6 - Jan 23 - 25, 2008
We left Lima early in the morning to catch a flight to Puerto Moldonado via Cusco. When we landed in Cusco I could feel the thin air and my head was starting to hurt from the altitude. We hadn´t even gotten off the plane, just stopped to pick up passengers. When we finally got to Puerto Moldonado we had to wait in the plane for 15 min because there was a heavy down pour of rain. Since we are let off on the tarmac it would be unsafe to make us climb down the stairs and walk to the terminal in this type of weather. They told us rain doesn´t last very long in the jungle.
Puerto Moldonado is a little town which is used as a gateway to the Amazon. We stopped off at an office to pack 3 days worth of clothes into duffle bags which our porters would take to the lodge. We had to make sure we had sunblock and bug spray in our carry on since we wouldn´t see our bags until we go to the lodge at the end of the day. We were also provided rubber rain boots.
We then were transferred down to the port and took a motorized canoe down river for about 30 min. They fed us lunch (rice with tofu, egg, etc wrapped in a large leaf) on the boat. We saw a
capybara on the shore which is rare. Our guide had only seen 2 of them previuosly and he lives in the amazon. When the boat docked we had to put on those rubber boots and we all grabbed walking sticks. Now we had to trek for 3km along a mud trail through the jungle. We stopped off at a check point since we were now entering a reserve. They stamped our passports and we continued along the trail. Some parts the mud was a foot deep and extremely difficult to walk through.
At the end of the trail there was a canoe waiting for us. We all hopped into the canoe and were paddled through a lake. Our guides saw movement in some trees so we paddled in that direction. As we got closer we could see through our own binoculars that there were monkeys jumping through the trees. We managed to get the canoe withing 5m of the shore and watched them jump back and forth. Not sure if any pictures turned out since it was getting too dark and they were moving too fast. It was wonderful to see wild Squirrel Monkeys playing in the Amazon.
When we finally got to the lodge it was already dark. Our room really only had 2 walls. The front and back was just a screen to keep out bugs and a curtain for privacy. We were in bed by 9:30pm since they only run the generator for a few hours in the evenings. Lights go off at 10pm. Waking up in the jungle to the site of the trees and the sounds of the birds was quite the experience.
We got up at 5:30am and boarded a catamaran which was just 2 canoes with a platform on top. We saw many different types of wild birds. Lots of macaws flying overhead. We stopped by a tree with some bats sleeping until the boat bumped the tree and they scattered. We also saw a black caiman swimming in the distance.
We returned to the lodge to have breakfast. Then went on a nature hike through the jungle. We learned of lots of different plants which had numerous medicinal properties for the locals. Saw many insects like the thorny spider and termites. Our guide even ate a termite. There is a garlic tree which smells exactly like garlic you would want to eat the bark, but the locals use it as insect repellant.
After lunch was siesta time and I managed to nap in a hammock inside the lodge but facing all the trees. Just a large bug screen in front of me.
Sunset we were back on the catamaran and looking for more animals. We got to see the squirrel monkeys again playing in the trees and as it got dark we could see bats swooping down on the lake to catch bugs. They came pretty close to our heads. In darkness the guides aimed their flashlights on the shoreline to try and find the red refletive eyes of the black caimans. We managed to see about 5 of them in the dark. They estimate that there are over 200 living in the area.
Back at the lodge we took another hike, but this time in the dark. Our night hike for about an hour took us to see many frogs and large tarantullas. We even found a tarantulla nest with lots of babies in it. Can´t imagine that we´d ever get the chance to explore the amazon let alone in the dark!
The next morning we departed the lodge and made the 45 min canoe ride back to the muddy trail. On the way we saw 6 giant otters and another 2 caimans. The 1.5h long hike was a little more difficult than coming in because the mud was more sticky, but not so deep. With the heat and humidity we were just completely wet and I bet very smelly. We still had to ride a boat another 30 min to get back to Puerto Moldonado to pick up our bags and head to the airport for Cusco.
I really feel sorry for the poor people that had to sit next to us in the plane. We had just trekked out of the jungle completely sweaty and splattered with mud. After a brief 30min flight we were now in Cusco 3500m above sea level.
We were told to take it easy to help us adjust to the altitude. So we slept most of the afternoon and just woke up long enough to have some udon noodle soup and walk around the Plaza de Armas.
Sorry there are no photos on this posting, but the internet is too slow. I´ll add one here later and there will be lots in our online album when we return.
