Back To The Jungle

Thursday 18 January

We awoke this morning still feeling tired– must be because we are back at altitude (around 3,200 metres). Luckily we didn’t have much to do and were in the lobby ready and waiting in plenty of time before being collected by Ava and taken to the airport. We are again using only our backpacks, so had no large luggage to book in – wonderful – and were through in minutes. We had an hour or so to wait at the airport, so I was able to do a little more blogging – don’t know what I am going to do when I get home and don’t have to think about the blog every spare minute.

The plane journey only took half an hour, so we were no sooner up than the captain was telling us we were on our way down. We saw Cusco spread out beneath us as we took off but as we passed up through the cloud cover, there were fabulous, large frothy formations, looking like huge icebergs in a dark green sea – as the through the gaps we could see the dark green of the mountains with tracks and villages below. As we went further, the peaks of the Andes, snow capped, peaked through the clouds, like ships. It was quite surreal.

As we lost height, the scenery changed and we could see the rain forest stretching over the whole landscape below, disturbed only by brown rivers meandering in great loops through the terrain. As we approached the airport, there were large swathes where the forest had been cut down, and was now covered by shrubs or grass. The captain informed us it was 93 degrees outside – that’s mid 30 degrees C to us, I think. It was certainly hot and extremely humid when we stepped off the plane, and we felt drenched before we even got to the check in building - tin shacks in this case. Puerto Maldonada is a very small country airport, but not pretty by any means – just grass – and outside we met our new guide – Jesus – he made all the jokes necessary about his name. He was a young guy, mid twenties, from Lima originally, who has been at Sandoval for two years. He was very cheerful and laughed a lot. He took just us and his mate in 26 seater coach to the downtown office, passing very basic cube brick buildings along the main street and lots of wooden shacks down the side streets. This is the capital of the area, and speads out quite a long way, around the Madre de Dios river, at its junction with Inambari river. At the office we had to re-sort all our back packs as they provided two holdalls – one each – which the porters would carry to the Lodge. Anything valuable – like the cameras and the computer we had to carry ourselves. We repacked all our clothes and chemisty stuff in these holdalls and Colin had the cameras, wet weather gear and binoculars, while I took the computer. We were also provided with a pair of Wellington boots each, and told that the ground was ‘a bit muddy’ as it had been raining hard the last few days.

We returned to the bus for the short drive to the “port” on the River Inambari, now accompanied by about six other young Peruvians. Three of these turned out to be the porters. The “port” was a few shacks selling basic foodstuffs and water, and another selling hats, ponchos and the like, with some concrete steps into the river. We bought more water – we were losing moisture like mad – it is some time since we have been in this type of heat so I think it was a bit of a shock to the system – before being led to a long wooden boat – slightly more sophisticated than the long boats in Thailand, but not a lot – same principle with engine trailing on the back, but with the fuel in a large tin container on board. We clambered up the ramp – a plank of wood with a few struts on it – to cross the gap from the bank to the boat and sat down inside. Jesus produced lunch for us, wrapped in a cotton bag! Inside, in a brown paper bag, was a banana leaf, tied up with some vine, and inside that was a rice dish, mixed with meat, egg, onions, ginger and probably lots of other ingredients. We were also provided with a plastic fork to eat it. It tasted fine – quite spicy, but tasty. Also in the bag were a banana and half a dozen boiled sweets. Jesus also produced more water – he kept emphasizing that we must drink a lot in this climate.

We chugged along the river, passing locals in smaller boats who had obviously been into town. There were skeins of herons flying overhead at one point, and we were told it was time to get the binoculars out. We traveled on for about nearly an hour, rich vegetation and tall palms reaching down to the muddy river’s banks, until we veered towards the far bank and stopped at a very basic wooden landing stage, like you see in old films. We got off the boat and were told to put our wellington boots on. There was nowhere to sit, just stand on one leg and then the other to take your shoes off and then tie them to your back pack – and it was wet underfoot. We set off along the track into the jungle, and were immediately beset by mud – thick brown sticky mud. The path wound its way between stagnant rivers of water, thickly forested on both sides, but was full of “lakes” itself, often stretching across the whole width of the path, with slimy, slippery mud in between. It became a test to find places to tread that weren’t more than ankle deep in this sucking substance, as it tried very hard to deprive you of a boot. We sloshed through the water, slipped on the slippery, slightly drier sides, and tugged to keep our boots on. After a short while we came to a wooden hut, manned by an ecology worker, where we had to fill out details of name, age, sex, passport number, reason for visiting (because I love walking in mud!), etc. It was then time to carry on. On and on through more and more mud – more than two miles. We joked at the beginning at how the grandsons would live it – jumping and splashing in the huge puddles and splattering everyone with mud – but after a while it became wearing – concentrating to make sure you could keep your balance as you slipped and sloshed through the slime. To make matters worse, half way along we had a tropical shower – not as heavy as I had imagined it would be – I thought showers in the rain forest would be a bit like an afternoon downpour in Thailand – this was just a gentle, but drenching rain. At one point, as I dragged my foot out of a puddle, I mistimed putting it down again and splashed mud up the back of Colin’s trousers – I don’t think he was amused. All the time birds were calling overhead, butterflies fluttered in our paths, and jungle sounds like you hear on nature programmes on the television were all around. At one point we stopped to see two yellow faced macaws sitting on a branch not far away, cawing in very loud voices, either to each other (maybe they are deaf) or to other birds in he vicinity. They made lots of noise, and it seemed most other birds went silent.

We trudged on. Jesus told us that several members of previous groups recently had fallen flat in the mud, and arrived at the lodge looking as if coated in chocolate icing! When he said we were about half way I thought we had already walked far enough for two miles, but he said no and was later quite relieved when he said we had just another few minutes to go – although looking up the track there appeared no end in sight. We suddenly came across a man, standing beside a small creek with a wooden boat. He was to be our next transport. But we had to change and wash our boots and put our walking shoes back on before boarding. Trying to take boots off that are coated in thick brown mud and put lace up shoes back on with only a wet plank bench to hold on to is not easy, but we made it. Colin slushed our boots in the river, and we stepped very gingerly aboard and sat on planks across the boat.

The young man started paddling at the back of the boat, with just one a very old looking paddle – although there was another paddle nearer the front. We edged slowly along the “canal” which was like a mangrove swamp area, with trees growing from the water, and dense jungle all around. The sun was out and shining warmly again, as we emerged on to a large lake, surrounded by trees. The birds were still calling, and one of the first sights we saw, was a kingfisher flying near the bank, and off into the trees. The poor lad kept paddling, but we were traveling very slowly – Jesus told us there were no motor-powered boats in this area to protect the wild life and not startle them. He pointed out our destination – a small white spot on the far side of the lake, probably more than a mile away. Instead of just plowing straight across the middle we kept close the edge of the lake for most of the way but as it veered off to open out into another area, we cut across to the next bank. Whilst paddling along we spotted a large male red howling monkey sitting in a palm tree. We slowed to almost a stop to watch, and he started to move off- jumping lithely to the next branch of the next tree. Then another monkey appeared and a baby followed and then yet another – a whole family. Dad, the first monkey, by this time had moved off to a couple of trees away, and we watched fascinated as first mother, and then the two children made there way through the palm fronds – no easy task for the youngsters as they could only reach the next branch at one stage, by hanging on by their tail and throwing themselves at the thin reedy leaves of the palm. The monkeys were suspended in mid air, as they had to decide whether or not to let go with their tails. The whole family managed to follow Dad in the end, and went off happily into the jungle.

Carrying on across the lake we saw several different species of birds a num bird (?), a yellow faced vulture, a flock of herons and several birds who flew by too fast to catch them in the binoculars – we were told they were parrots, parakeets and snake birds Halfway around the lake, Jesus took up the paddle too, and both men steered the boat closer to the middle. They had spotted a family group of giant otters, out for afternoon exercise. We got as close as we could and again sat for some time just watching them diving and reappearing, sometimes seeming to stand up in the water as their heads and necks reared high. There were about six or seven, and they seemed to be having great fun, and at times racing each other in a straight line across the lake. We definitely enjoyed their display.

We finally paddled up to another small wooden landing stage and climbed out. Jesus led the way to the Lodge, up a decked walkway and steps, towards a large thatched wooden building. It had the appearance of an information centre, but no, this was where we would be spending the next three nights.

On entering we were presented with a welcome drink of yellow wild tomato juice – which tasted not sweet, but more like a fruit juice. A man came and gave us our key, and told us about the Lodge, and some of the do’s and don’ts and Jesus arranged to meet us at 20.00 for dinner. Electricity here is only on at specific times of the day – 05.00 – 05.30, 12.00 – 16.00 and lastly from 17.30 – 22.00 – so no late nights sitting round the bar (there is quite a large bar in the lobby) for us while we are here. Hopefully will be able to keep the computer charged sufficiently to download the piccys and catch up on the blog. We made our way to our room, by way of a long straight verandah, leading off the dining area. On opening our door, we realized that the rooms were really little more than square wooden cubicles, with mosquito screens for windows on two sides, and a small bathroom area where the door didn’t shut unless you used a wodge of toilet paper – out of four prototypes, number two was best. The side walls of the main room were only about ten feet high, and then the roof space became communal. There was a fan, one bare electric light bulb and one electric plug, and the bathroom has a shower that issues hot water, but the sink only has a cold tap. The toilet is European, but with the regulatory paper bin. So all in all it is far more modern than the Thailand village. I have religiously carried my hairdryer everywhere, but not this time to save weight – so its “Sod’s Law” that there is no such appliance here. Never mind – its not like I’m a celebrity in the jungle.

We had about three hours to settle in – which actually doesn’t take long as there are no storage cupboards to put your clothes and other belongings in, just a small table with a lockable drawer which poses as a “safety deposit box”! I spent some time blogging, being able to recharge the batteries when the lights suddenly came on at 17.30. While I am blogging, in the dark – supposedly to stop attracting the insects - the bugs started flying around, some very small, and some larger, colliding with my arms and head . . . and then a huge cockroach lands on my arm, and then on the computer. I squealed and Colin tried his best to swat the thing. He is eventually successful, but insisted it wasn’t a cockroach (later at dinner Jesus told us it probably was!) At this point I remember my vow when I left the Thailand jungle - no more jungles in anything but 5*AA, and this definitely isn’t that. It’s strange how you forget all the nasty things once you are away from them for a while, and only recall the good things when relating your adventures! This experience is bringing it all back.

We had a shower and changed for dinner – out of our damp, sweaty clothes that are never going to dry in this humidity – and made our way to the bar for a drink, just before dinner was served. Jesus met us and explained that the office in Puerto Maldonado had tried to get our boarding cards for our flight back to Cusco on Sunday, but our reservations had been cancelled! We provided him with all the information we had, and explained that other flights had been changed before, so maybe that was the case this time. He hoped it would be sorted tomorrow – do I want to be stranded here?!!!!

On the table, as we sat down, were already a bowl of homemade potato crisps and small jar of dip made from brazil nuts, garlic and onion, with pepper to make it hot. To eat we had a smooth vegetable soup, beef casserole with quinoa and deep fried bananas and a banana custard concoction for dessert – Colin ate mine - he does love desserts. This was a typical jungle meal, using local products as much as possible. It was then time to retreat to our cubicle, to prepare ourselves for bed before the lights went out. We found that we had not brought the pouch for the stills camera, so no extra battery or memory card! I think us and cameras have been jinxed on this trip. I had time to write up the food log and read a while, as the lights didn’t go out till almost 22.30 – some people were watching the video that I believe we are seeing tomorrow evening.

It was still very hot in the room - of course the fan no longer worked - and we had to use the mosquito net – all very claustrophobic. We have to be up at 05.00 tomorrow, at first light to watch some more wild life, on the lake.