The
Amazon Rain Forest
The
short forty-five minute flight from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado provided some
spectacular scenery. We flew across the Andes Mountains, west to east. The
terrain changed from the grey, barren Inca rocks of the sacred valley to lush
greenery of the Amazon rain forest that is fueled by the constantly melting
snow flowing down from the Andean mountains. We were met by the efficient staff
of the Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica who bussed us to their port along the Rio
Madre De Dios and then by river canoe about fifteen kilometers down river to
their camp in the Amazon rain forest.
On the canoe cruising on the Madre De Dios to our resort
Our cabana, located on the river, we got upgraded!
Cayman laying on the riverbank by our cabana
This
place was a very upscale eco lodge with about thirty cabanas and accessible
only by water…no telephone, television or internet. Electric power was provided
by generator during occasional hours and otherwise; kerosene lanterns were used
for light. Our cabana was right along the river that provided a spectacular and
fascinating perch for observing life along the river. This river, along with
many others, eventually ran into the Amazon River. Wide, fast flowing and
muddy, it drives the economy for many Peruvian families that live along its
banks.
Being
all-inclusive, there were three excellent meals a day and service was superb. During
the day, there were numerous hikes, treks and classes provided by expert guides
into the rain forest. One thing that dawned on us the first morning about two
a.m. was the realization of the true “raining” of the forest…massive condensation
falling from the tree canopy for about three hours until sunrise which sounded
like a three-hour rainstorm. Then, it all started to evaporate again until the
next night. It’s an amazing cycle that is the backbone of the ecological system
there.
Day one tour: The canopy tour and Wetlands. The tree canopy bridge, one of South America’s largest, makes it possible to literally walk through the treetops for more than ¼ mile, suspended 98 feet above the ground, near Tambopata.
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| Blue Headed Parrot |
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| Peeing red howler monkeys |
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| Mom and baby |
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| The monkeys used the canopy walk too! |
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| SQUIRREL |
Leaf cutter ants; Seeing these guys in action was fascinating. For more on these amazing little insects click here:
Leaf cutter ants
Although
we did not see any giant anaconda snakes, we heard plenty of stories about them
and were reminded that they are everywhere and are indigenous to the area. One
of the half-day trips was to a lake where we could swim with the piranha fish.
Bill just about laughed in their faces at this proposal and commented that he
would just as well opt for the rattlesnake wrestling as swim with flesh-eating
fish. Of course, Andrea was ready to experience it. We didn’t.
Day two tour: Fruit farm tour (Andrea went solo). She had to be up and ready to go at 5am and captured the sunrise.
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| Drying bananas for banana chips |
We
didn’t know until afterwards, but the actor (Tony Goldwyn) who portrayed the young bad-guy who
was stealing the bank’s money in the movie “Ghost” was there with his daughter.
Once our guide told us, we looked at his webpage picture when we eventually had
Internet access and immediately recognized him from being in the dining area
several times when we were there at the same time.
Day 3 tour: LAKE SANDOVAL
A 30-minute ride by motorized canoe takes you to the Tambopata National Reserve, where wildlife surrounds you as you enjoy the one and a half hour walk along three kilometers of trails to reach Lake Sandoval.
Macaws along the hike, they were beautiful.
On lake Sandoval. River otters, they were so cute!
The canoes did come equipped with a large machete just in case that Anaconda slithered on board.
We
had two issues while there. One, our computer died. We suspected that it was
from the extreme moisture. Thus, our blog entries came to a screeching halt.
Since there was no Internet, we really didn’t feel the effect until we left the
resort. The other issue was that we both got a bad case of “altitude
bronchitis” from Cusco that hit us pretty hard upon arriving at Inkaterra. In
fact, Bill spent a morning in bed and spent the afternoon in the porch hammock.
Andrea felt as bad, but pushed through it so as not to miss any of the guided
walks.
Saying good bye to the Amazon rain forest.
So, after a very relaxing four days we effectively started the long journey home. River canoed to Puerto Maldonado to the three-hour flight to Lima. We scheduled one full (and last) day in this huge, fascinating city to explore and were glad we did. The traffic is awful, as the Peruvians make their own lanes and the auto emissions are way behind U.S. standards so that makes for watery eyes. But, it is a typical colorful South American city and the people are reasonably friendly.
Wheels
up at 0630 on June 26 so it was a very early wake-up call (which incidentally
never came but fortunately we set our Iphone clocks as backups. We raised hell
at the front desk but the night clerk seemed clueless to the potential disaster
that was averted by their incompetence at such a simple task).
Because
we were short on the Delta miles when we made the reservations last August, our
last leg was not only coach class but also required an overnight layover in
Miami. We made the best of it and in fact had a most memorable last meal with
plenty of cold beverages overlooking Biscayne Bay and reminiscing of the
amazing trip we’d just completed (without incident, by the way).
After
a short hop up to Atlanta the following morning and an Uber ride back to Marietta
where our car was, our driver pulled into the Park at Piedmont to see Grandmom
and Grandman standing exactly where we had left them sixty-six days before at
four a.m. when we left on our journey.
Amazing,
this world-traveling!
