In the Jungle

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When we stepped off the little plane that took us from Lima to Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon Basin, it finally hit us that we are no longer in England. The heat, that we hadn´t had in Lima, the heavy humidity and the vibrancy of the trees and sky created a different world.

We took a motorised canoe down the Madre De Dios river, where we were given our lunch in a leaf, and then trekked three very sweaty miles through the jungle. It was on this hike that we had our first real taste of the Amazon; The thick canopy overhead let in streams of sunlight and through the leaves of the banana and fig trees we were able to spot monkeys, blue and red macaws and various lizards. Probably the most memorable of the Amazons creatures were the trails of Army and Leaf-cutter ants carrying leaves of disproportionate size to their bodies. Yet we didn´t see one Mosquito!
At the end of the trek a second, smaller, canoe was waiting for us in a narrow stream which was home to hundreds of gigantic tadpoles which made me slightly nervous of the size of the frogs that must have been hiding in the reeds. After a while the stream began to open out and our little boat suddenly seemed very little in the vast lake we found ourselves in. The water was like glass and perfectly refleated the panorama of trees which surrounded us.
At the other end of the lake we disembarked, carefully so as not to tip the boat and end up sharing the water with the Caiman our guide had just pointed out.
We really are living too luxuriously for backpackers; the lodge was set on the bank with views of the lake and the surrounding jungle and along the windows were hammocks we could relax in and admire the view. We only had two visitors to our cabin, a centipede that would crawl back out of the plughole eveytime we washed him down, and a moth that resembled a bird. That is one notable thing about the Amazon; every creature is at least twice the size of those in England, I saw a ladybird the size of my big toe and the lake is famed for its giant otters.
That night we went on a night-time hunt for arachnids (yes, I really did, Mum!), the second we stepped out of our lodge our guide pointed casually to a tarantula hidden very well on a tree, and we got up at five the next morning for a wildlife tour of the lake, what our guides could spot among the trees was amazing.

We really enjoyed our time in the jungle and adapted surprisingly well, when you´re surrounded by creepy crawlies you just have to get on with it! I´d love to go back one day.

Next stop, Macchu Picchu!

R&J x

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Photos

Tarantula
One of many tarantulas on our night hunt.

The Lake
A local boat

Comments

[Phil]

Amaz(ing)on
Guys, The Amazon looks absolutely amazing! Sounds like you've already had a great time, but there's lots more things to see. I can't wait to join you. Enjoy Macchu Picchu Phil PS Jake - the DVLA sent a letter to confirm your car has been transferred to a new owner. Well done for officially getting rid of that heap!