Blogs from Amazon Rainforest, Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios, Peru, South America - page 9

(by Callum) After yet another wild night bus we finally made it to Cusco!! We had a day to quickly look around, checking out the many Spanish churches built on Inca ruins. Cusco is a beautiful city loaded with cobblestone streets which cater for traffic in both directions even though they are singled laned and tiny!!! It has loads of great restaurants, bars and of course the ever present handy craft markets! We had just enough time to learn the layout of the city and get our gear ready for our Amazon adventure. We always seem to be in a rush to get to the next place, but there is so much to do in this region there is just no time to muck about. We did have some extra days after the Amazon trip ... read more

We had to get up extra early (0400hr) so that we could get to a nearby lake in time to see the wildlife, including the resident river otters. Our wooden catamaran went along the edge of the lake. Despite the fact that it was still early morning and not very hot, mosquitos were already everywhere and feasting on us. I wore a long-sleeved shirt most of the time in the jungle and applied 30% DEET everywhere else that is exposed except my face, but still got bitten all over my neck and hands. We saw a number of birds, including herons, kingfisher, parakeets and some I couldn´t name, as well as bats and pirranas. The river otters didn´t show themselves, probably fishing on the other side of the lake, explained our guides, as they each ... read more

Amazon Jungle... read more

This was our last day in the Jungle and we both felt that it had not nearly been long enough. We got up at 4 o’clock, way before dawn and had our bags packed before breakfast at half past 4. The reason for this early start was because we had to get back on the motor canoe at 7, for the three hour boat journey back to Puerto Maldonado, and we still had one more activity ahead of us. We stumbled with torches to the canoe and headed to the nearby “claylick”. After a very short climb, we reached the look out hut and waited for the sun to rise. With the sun came the many parrots and macaws who feed on the clay. It seemed to take ages for the first one to arrive but ... read more

After leaving chilly Cusco (where we transferred by plane), we arrived in the extremely humid Puerto Maldonado. The mugginess was a strange change from the thin air of Arequipa and the Colca Canyon. From the Airport, we had a short drive to the river, followed by a three hour motorised Canoe trip to our lodge. On the way we were lucky enough to see the Capivarra (see picture for explanation!) and experience the many sounds of the Jungle. We also saw numerous birds and fauna on the way. Arriving at the picturesque lodge as the sun set, we were greeted with a cocktail by candle light. After unpacking in the dark (no electricity), we set off for a night time trek of the Jungle, armed only with head lamps and Wellys! We waded through swamped paths ... read more