World Peru Madre de Dios Puerto Maldonado

Liz's Trips of a Lifetime BackpackingWithWheels!

into the Amazon jungle May 4, 2011

6:30a and we are in the lobby with Christina and on route to the airport, she has our tickets sorted out and we get checked in, just enough time to grab a coffee and breakfast sandwich before heading to the gate for our flight. Airport security here is great… you can bring your coffee or drink with you through to the gate! Our flight has a short stop in Cuzco and then to Puerto Maldonado … and off to our Amazon adventure. The Tucan Travel guide is waiting at the airport for us (yeah) … and 2 others (Rob & Carli who are from just outside London, England not with our group but going to the same lodge) and transfers us to the Lodge office in town so we can go to the market for last minute supplies and snacks. We pick up water and some fruit, and while waiting for another flight to arrive Rob even went to one of the cobblers lined up along the street and had his shoe fixed! The side had split open and he had it stitched …only 2 Soles = $0.65 and he was done in a few minutes! The others arrive and we are shuttled to the motorized canoe to take us 1 ½ hours (35km) down the river to the Eco Amazonia Lodge … the lodge is fantasic, there are about 50 wooden bungalows with private bathrooms all screened in (NO mosquitos!) after a quick lunch we were off to Monkey Island. The lodge owns 10,000 hectares of land in the rainforest (only about 3 are used for the actual lodge) that is protected land and part of that is an island that they take monkeys that have been sold for pets or rescued from traders and let them live on the island, all the babies are returned to the jungle but the more socialized ones stay on the island. The guide brings bananas to feed them and quite a few show up for the free food offerings - several types appeared, even a spider monkey swung around through the tree tops over us to see what was going on. Back to the lodge for dinner, chicken, rice and vegetables steamed in a banana leaf, then we would go out on the motorized canoes to spot caimen and alligators along the banks of the river (Madre de Dios River) no sightings tonight, the river is too high. But the amount of stars that were out pretty much made up for the lack of animals. It’s incredible how many stars are really up there and what we are missing back home from the light pollution! Unfortunately the pocket digital cameras just don’t photograph it! The lodge only uses power from 5p - 10p at night so there is a short time to recharge some batteries or be able to sit in the lounge (bar, pool, ping pong, darts) and then you need your flashlights to get very far. The bungalows are all open, just screening so you can listen to the insect symphony at night, in the early hours of the morning we heard a Red Howler Monkey howling. It sounds a bit like a lion roaring.

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