In Cuzco we get our first glimpse of the Andes, and the city we will visit later. Wendy takes me through to meet the pilot and check out the cockpit while we wait for other passengers to board. Soon we are in the air again, for a fairly bumpy but short flight to Puerto Maldonado. As we land and get off the plane, the humidity hits us like a wall, and its jackets off! It's a tiny airport and we don't have to worry about passports or customs or anything. We are met by Naun, who will be our guide for the next few days, and we hop into a bus with other tourists, to "Rainforest expeditions" headquarters. Here we are asked to pack only what we need for the next few days and leave the rest of our luggage behind. We also buy some insect repellant with "DEET" - the only thing that works against "Los bichos", the chiggers in the Amazon.
We hop back into the bus and start the trip to Puerto Maldonado port. We're given snack baskets for the trip - woven baskets filled with plantain chips, oranges and frosted brazil nuts. It starts raining and we watch the dirt roads turn to mud. Soon we are slipping and sliding our way along the roads, and it's getting pretty hairy! At one point we stop, as two buses are stopped in front of us, they are not moving. Looks like a jungle traffic jam, the guides go and check it out... It seems another vehicle has got stuck in the mud further down, and there is no way we can pass. Waiting for a vehicle to get him out could be a long time. So we reverse quite a long way and pull over on the side of the jungle. We will get to the river from here, but we will have to wait for the boats to come upriver. Thankfully it has stopped raining!
We walk to a small hut in the jungle, and eat our lunch while we wait. Lunch consists of banana leaves wrapped around a mixture of rice, veg and cheese, seasoned with soya sauce. It's yummy and very filling! The guides spot vultures in trees nearby and we try to take photos. We also admire the impressive termite nests built into the trees, and interesting bright orange mushrooms around, eventually the boats arrive, and all the luggage is brought from the bus down to the boats.
We walk the plank to board the boats, they are basically long canoes with seats along either side, a roof and an engine with a long prop. It's getting late, and we are warned that it could take up to four hours to reach Refugio Amazonas, since we are now leaving very late, and traveling a further distance due to the boats having to come and fetch us. We watch the sunset and it starts getting cooler and cooler. Soon it is very dark, and most people are snoozing. Naun is scanning the river banks with a powerful torch. Amazingly, he spots us a caiman! This one looks like a small croc, and he is sleeping, resting his head on the bank.
After 7:00 we reach the port of Refugio Amazonas, and we have a 10 minute walk to get to the lodge, through thick forest lined with the odd lantern. Our headlamps are essential here and we walk single file, tired and hungry. Along the way, we spot a tarantula, just resting in the foliage on the side of the path, he is both beautiful and terrifying! We get to the lodge and it is such a welcome sight! And an amazing sight at that, the place is huge, all constructed out of wood, and lit up by lanterns. There are many other people here, enjoying their dinner, and we are shown straight to our tables with Naun and our other guide, Lucio ("Luis"). Dinner is an impressive buffet of carrot cream soup, followed by chicken in a nice sauce with rice and many different veg, and yummy honey roasted sweet potato. Dessert is a very sweet cake doused in ideal milk or condensed milk...
We are shown to our rooms, the 8 of us are all in consecutive rooms next to each other. The rooms are large, also wood, with private bathrooms. Ours has both a single and double bed, covered neatly with a very effective mosquito net, as well as a hammock, two candles and two side tables. The most significant aspect of the room is the fact that one wall is missing! It is open to the jungle, giving the real wild effect! The bathroom is large and has a nice shower with a really high "rain spout" shower head. There is no real privacy here, the rooms have curtains rather than doors, and the walls don't go all the way up the ceilings, so we can hear the chatter and any other noise in the other rooms.
We head back to the large lounge area for a whiskey for some, and a first try of coca tea for others. The coca tea is made from coca leaves, the same plant used to manufacture cocaine, and also coca cola... Its not related to cocao, which is used for chocolate. It has a pleasant taste, not very strong. Soon we are tired and head for showers and bed, and sleep well on our first night in the jungle!
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Location:Amazon jungle, Peru
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