29th September - Jungle Trip Day One

The rest of the overnight bus journey from Arequipa to Cuzco passed without any noteworthy incidents but it was still pretty bumpy and cold. We reached Cuzco bus station just before 5:30am and it was only barely starting to get light. We then decided to walk the 5km or so to the centre of the city to see if anything was open yet. Our flight to Puerto Maldonado was not until 11:30 so we had 4 hours to kill before making our way to the airport.

Unfortunately nothing was so we had to sit in the Plaza de Armas for about an hour to wait. There were a few drunken youths still sleeping off the effects of the previous nights drinking dotted around the square as well as a large contingent of local police. After we´d been waiting for some time we decided to ask one of them when the shops or cafes would open and he pointed out a cafe on the northern side of the square which was now open. So we went there for breakfast and found a few other tourists who had had the same idea (although it seemed to be the only place open anyway).

After breakfast more places had now opened and we then paid a visit to the large and very impressive cathedral where a mass was being held followed by a walk up Hatunrumiyoc street, home of the famous 12 sided stone Incorporated into the Inca wall which runs down most of its length. I´m not going to go into too much detail about the various sights of Cuzco as they were covered in the blog of my previous visit in 2006.

We then visited the main market where we tried a delicious fruit juice made up of about 6 different fruits and then spent about half an hour sitting in the Plaza San Francisco to enjoy the warm sun and watch the people milling about there.

However, when it came time to catch a taxi to the airport it was noticeable that pretty heavy clouds were building up on the hills surrounding Cuzco and it seemed that a rain shower was imminent, something that is quite common in Cuzco at that time of the year. By the time we reached the Alejandro Velasco Astete airport some of the clouds in the distance were looking quite black and ominous, not really what we wanted to see when we were due to fly in a few hours!

Our flight to Puerto Maldonado actually turned out to be delayed for about 30 minutes due to it arriving late and by the time we took off the weather was a bit overcast but there had been no rain. There were still a lot of clouds around though, which meant it was difficult to see much out of the window and it took quite a while before we rose above the cloud level into clear sky. There was quite a lot of turbulence, some of it pretty rough, during the 30 minute flight but shortly before we were due to land the clouds cleared slightly and it was possible to see that vast expanse of green jungle spread out far and wide below us. The Inambari and Madre de Dios rivers and the road which ran from Cuzco to Puerto Maldonado (a journey which can take many days during the rainy season) were also clearly visible as were numerous fires dotted here and there, presumably for land clearance.

Once we stepped off the plane at Padre Jose Aldamiz International Airport (named after a missionary who did much work with local communities) in Puerto Maldonado it was like stepping into a sauna. It was very hot, 30°C or so, but the air was also very humid (around 80% humidity) and I was soon sweating quite heavy.

After we had picked up our luggage we choose to make our way into the centre of the city by one of the ubiquitous motor-taxis, something which I´d never used before. The ride to the Plaza de Armas took about 30 minutes, was a lot smoother than I expected and cost us only 3 sols. Private cars are almost non-existent here and instead everyone buzzes around on either the motor-taxis or normal motorcycles.

Once we reached the Plaza de Armas we managed to find a tour agency very close-by and went in to enquire about possible jungle trips. We were told that it was still possible to join a 4 day\3 night trip but that the boat to the lodge would be leaving very shortly and if we missed it we would have to wait until the following day for the next one. But first we had to pay for the trip and there then followed a madcap rush around the various banks dotted around the main square looking for suitable cash machines from which to take the necessary funds. It took us around 10 minutes to do so and we made the boat just in time!

The trip down the Madre de Dios river took around 45 minutes and we passed through jungle-lined river banks before arriving at our home for the next three nights, the Corto Maltes Amazonia lodge, located in an attractive position right by the river.

The first thing we did once we had arrived was to enjoy a welcome drink in the bar and listen to the introduction given by one of the guides who worked there. We were then given the key to our hut, based in the very attractive grounds (2) (3) of the lodge. Each hut in the complex was equipped with a front patio containing a small sitting area plus two hammocks. Inside were two beds, one double and one single, with a canopy made up of a mosquito net which could be dropped outside the edge of the bed if required. There was also a small bathroom with a shower. However, the electricity to the huts was not constant and was only available for 3 periods per day, for a few hours each in the morning, afternoon and evening.

We then went for a short walk around the complex which included a small swimming pool with a bar and was also home to a toucan and two large macaws, one scarlet and the other blue and yellow The main building contained a small shop, selling various locally made souvenirs, a large dining area and a bar with a pool table, games and a selection of books which could be borrowed.

Later in the afternoon we went out on our first excursion of the trip, a visit into the section of jungle directly behind the complex. The 3km walk took around 1.5 hours and our group was quite small, just the two of us along with a 4 Israelis, and our guide seemed a bit unenthusiastic but he did give a reasonable explanation about the various trees and plants that we saw. These included wild papayas, passion fruit, lemons, bananas, guave and cocoa trees, the garlic and uña de gato (Catsclaw or Acacia greggii, commonly used in Peru for its medicinal properties) plants as well as the huge Kapok tree with its cotton-like seed pods. We didn´t see too much wildlife however, apart from huge wasps nests up in the trees, a brief glimpse of some wild turkeys flying overhead, lots of different types of butterflies (including the Owl Butterfly with its large "eyes" on its wings) and long trails of ants carrying bits of leafs back to their nest. Creatures like that we heard, but didn´t see, included various frogs and insects such as the cicada which produced some very weird and wonderful sounds and made the jungle a very noisy place.

Other trees we saw were the Walking Palm (Socratea exorrhiza) which, due to its long stilt-like roots, can move up to 1 metre per year looking for sunlight. Then there was the Strangler Fig, which grows around the outside of trees and slowly strangles the life of it it until the original tree dies and the Fig takes its place, and the Ironwood Tree (Minquartia guianensis) which produces an extremely hard, strong wood which is used for many different purposes.

In the evening, at 7pm, it was fully dark and the noisy jungle cacophony was in full swing now that the nocturnal creatures had awoken. One of these nocturnal creatures was the Spectacled Caiman (so named because of the bony ridges around its eyes which resembles a pair of glasses) and we were now going on a night-time boat trip in order to try and find some of them.

Just down the river from the lodge were some river cliffs which were home to many of this species. The boat we were travelling in was equipped with a large spot-light to help spot the caiman, or any other nocturnal animals that may be around.

This time we were in a much larger group, along with a number of travellers from France and Canada who were with their French-speaking guide (actually a guy from Arequipa who was a lot more enthusiastic and informative than the guide we had).

The first creature we noticed in the boat´s spotlight were Greater Fishing Bats (also known as the Greater Bulldog Bat due to the appearance of its face), large ghostly flapping things that swooped low over the river looking for a meal.

Once we reached the river cliffs it was also possible to see various pairs of Caiman eyes, glowing red in the spotlight, either just sticking out of the water or up on the cliffs or river bank. In a bunch of tree branches we spotted one individual perched very still and we were able to get in very close for a good look. Shortly afterwards we saw another one up on the cliff and after boat landing on the bank one of the guides was able to climb out and catch it. Caimans, like many reptiles, are able to go into a sort of catatonic state when approached very possible predators where they appear to be dead. In this way the guide was able to just pick it up and carry it back to the boat where we were able to have a very good look (2) at it and even touch it without any danger at all, a very special moment. After he had released it back into the wild again it woke up after only a minute or so and was off into the water never to be seen again!

The evening meal afterwards brought more caiman, this time in the form of steaks in a papaya sauce. Very tasty! Then, after a long, tiring day we retired to our hut to sleep. Dotted along the paths within the lodge were small oil lamps, used to light the way and there was also one of the lamps in the front porch of every hut which was a pleasant touch.
I attempted to sleep outside in the hut but had the porch light on in order to read. However, it attracted so many insects, of various shapes and sizes, that I was under almost constant attack. Turning off the light improved things somewhat but I still found it quite difficult to get to sleep, despite the hammock being extremely comfortable, and soon decided to go back inside the hut where a peaceful nights sleep ensued.