Puerto Maldonado

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Ok we're on our way in the morning. We'll post something when we get to Cuzco, so that will be sometime after the 19th.


We fly all day May 15th and arrive in Lima the morning of the 16th, well it's 12am. We have several hours to wait for our next flight. So we're hoping to find a bench to catch a few hours of sleep.

Our first four days will be spent in the Amazon (Puerto Maldonado), we'll be staying at the Refugio Amazonas. We will not have internet access while we're in the Amazon so you'll have to wait till we get back to civilization (Cuzco) to hear about our trip. We plan to find internet cafes or use the computer in the hotel if ones available. In the meantime here's some information on Puerto Maldonado and our stay:
Here's a little information on Puerto Maldonado:

Puerto Maldonado has grown tremendously over the past twenty years, transforming from a small, laid-back outpost to a thriving, busy frontier market town. The rubber industry brought settlers here at the turn of the century, followed by game hunters in the 1920s and loggers in the 1960s. Today, the economy consists of ecotourism, gold prospecting, agriculture, lumber extraction and Brazil-nut gathering from the rivers and rainforests that surround the town.

1st day
Upon arrival from Lima, reception and transfer to the Tambopata river port in Puerto Maldonado. Puerto Maldonado is situated at the confluence of the mighty Madre de Dios and Tambopata Rivers and is a bustling, booming tropical frontier town. Its principal activities are gold mining, Brazil nut collecting, timber extraction, agriculture and ecotourism. Their will be a 2:30 minute boat journey by motorized canoe to the Lodge. During our voyage we may see bird species typical of the river or forest edge such as: Black Skimmer, Pied Lapwing, Capped Heron, Jabiru Stork, Roadside Hawk, and several species of kingfishers,swallows and flycatchers. When we arrive at the Lodge we will unpack and unwind. Refugio Amazonas is a comfortable yet unobtrusive 24 room lodge owned by Rainforest Expeditions. We will receive a short orientation and a complete briefing on the lodge before our afternoon activity: the canopy tower. In this activity, we will visit a 35 meter scaffolding tower. The scaffolding tower is built so that you safely climb using the internal staircase with verandahs on each side, and rest in platforms present every 2 meters. From the top you not only get spectacular views of the river and the surrounding forest but also excellent opportunities to observe birds from the canopy including parrots, toucans and macaws. A presentation on the Ecotourism Project will be given after dinner.

2nd Day
We will be up at dawn for a visit to the Sachavacayoc oxbow lake. After an early breakfast we depart on a 1:30 minute walk that will take us to the lake shore. From here we take a long, easy canoe ride around it. We will look for giant river otters, turtles, hoatzin, and wading birds. Then we will return to the lodge for lunch before embarking on our afternoon outing. In the afternoon we will visit the ethnobotanical trail. We will hike the trails and learn the everyday uses of forest resources in medicine, construction, food and fiber. We will return to Refugio Amazonas for dinner and overnight. After enjoying our popular happy hour and refurbishing your ours, you will be up for an optional night walk to look for amphibians and insects

3rd Day
We will leave to the lodge’s trails in time for a visit to a small parakeet clay lick. Dozens of BlueHeaded Parrots, Orange-Cheeked Parrots, Cobalt-winged parakeets, and sometimes even the rare Rock Parakeet congregate here on clear days to ingest clay. In this activity, we will visit a trail that covers the brazil nut forest in part of the Refugio Amazonas property. Brazil nuts are one of the few non timber industries of the Amazon forest. After lunch we´ll visit a local slash and burn farm. Slash and burn agriculture systems are often thought of as wasteful because the fields are burnt, cultivated for a few years, and then abandoned. Many resident studies, however, have shown that this is far from the truth. The secret of their success is mixed planting in small patches, so that the crops are not decimated by disease and pests spreading through monocultures. That evening we'll enjoying our happy hour’s amazonian concoctions.

4th Day
Up early for our boat trip back to catch our flight to Cuzco

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Photos

Amazon Room
What our room should look like

Amazon Canoe
Our Canoe