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Published: March 24th 2007
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I´m afraid that this is liable to be rather a short entry, because I just wrote it all out and then the computer shut down and deleted it all... I am unimpressed... I´ve now spent a complete week in the rainforest, and I think that I´m starting to get used to the environment... gradually. On Monday morning I had my first early start at 5.45 am to go and do farm maintenence. I´m still working things out, but I think that Taricaya has two farms, one which is a ten minute walk away called New Farm, and one which is across the river, called Percy´s. We started off by cleaning out guinea pig cages (there are about 50, including lots of little baby ones - they sell them to people to breed for food). We then moved on to spraying donkey wounds with antisceptic. Spraying the goats was even more interesting, owing to their large horns and violent tendencies. But luckily we got through it without anyone shedding blood. After that we went to gather some papayas, which involves prodding them with a large stick until they fall, then attempting to catch them. We were all finished by about 7.30
and got a lift back on the boat.
After breakfast we headed off to Lake Sandoval, a tourist destination in a national park where we would spend the night. On the way we stopped off in Puerto Maldonado, where I stocked up on oreos, and had Chinese food for lunch. Then we got back on the boat to go to the lake. By this time in the day it was getting rather hot... and none of us were really relishing the idea of the five kilometre walk to the lake at the other end, which we had been warned would be muddy... they weren´t lying. We arrived at the lake and signed ourselves in - you have to provide your passport number as it is a national conservation area - and then we set off on the walk. The mud was so deep that in places it came up to your knees, and every time you put a foot down your boot would stick, and you had to wrench it up again. Wellies were futile. I realised fairly early on that it would be a miracle if I got the whole way without falling over once, and in the
end I fell over twice... in particularly wet, muddy, sticky places. My clothes were completely covered (the mud still hasn´t come off - I think I have died them all permanently brown... it would be nice if the smell would fade). Finally, after an hour and fifteen minutes, we arrived. Everyone was in a complete state, so we all immediately changed into swimming gear and jumped into the lake. We then took a boat ride around the lake, which was beautiful as it was hot and sunny. As the sun set we headed towards the observation tower that looks out over the whole lake, and stayed up there as the sky turned orange and the sun went down. We then headed back towards the jetty in the dark beneath the stars, which always seem to be especially bright here.
We got back to the lodge at which we are staying and had supper, sharing the dining room with a tarantula that had made its nest in the roof. Apparently there is a luxury $100 a night lodge across the lake where all the other tourists stay... but we made do with our cockroach infested rooms...
The next morning
was a 5am start so that we could be out on the lake during dawn, which is apparently the best time to see the otters. The sky was still a pale yellow in the morning light and the mists were rolling out across the water. Everyone was perfectly quiet (or asleep, it was hard to tell), and it was beautifully tranquil. After an hour, we started to see the wildlife. First of all we saw a flock of parrots, which was exciting for me, but possibly not so for everyone else, as it´s not such an unusual sight in the rainforest. Then we saw a family of three howler monkeys in a tree, including a baby, and then we finally got to see the otters, a group of about 15 swimming out into the middle of the lake. We headed back for breakfast at 8, and then started the walk back towards the river. Luckily I only fell over once on the way back, in a fairly non spectacular fashion, and the boat ride back to Taricaya was warm and sunny enough to be pleasant. We had a lazy afternoon in the sun recovering from the walk. Unfortunately I don´t
think my clothes will ever recover.
Wednesday was another early start. I started the day by going down the river to gather fence posts - which consisted of hanging around whilst Eugenio cut down baby trees and sharpened the ends to points, then carrying them back to the boat. I did wonder how ecologically friendly this activity was, but I have to assume that they know what they are doing... after breakfast I was on lodge maintenence duty, which initially consisted of cleaning the kitchen, but we then got to go and feed the animals that the lodge looks after. I also got to see Preciosa, the full sized jaguar, for the first time. She is spectacular, but I wouldn´t want to get to close... we (by which I mean staff member Rachel) also tried feeding the baby jaguar, who is also called Rached, meat for the first time. Human Rachel got in the cage with a piece of meat on the end of a broom, which she then proffered tentatively towards jaguar Rachel. It didn´t go down too well. Rachel just hissed and sniffed at it, then ignored it.
In the afternoon I went to the observation
platform at New Farm to bird watch - a daily activity at Taricaya, so that they can monitor the various bird populatoins in the area. We didn´t see very much, and I couldn´t tell you what I did see... for the first hour or so it is rather calming to be up there looking out over the rainforest and the lake, but after that you begin to realise how hot it is, and then it starts to get rather boring...
Thursday´s duties entailed picking coffee beans for three hours in the sun, and then going up to a different observation platform, where we saw even less, and got even muddier.
On Friday ew went to pick flowers at Percy´s farm, which they sell in Puerto Maldonado. In the afternoon one of the staff members gave us a talk about frogs, which was fairly interesting, and in the evening we went on a frog hunt through the rainforest. In my group of four we found three tiny frogs of one species (not sure which one) that are about the size of my little finger nail, and two of a bigger species.
This morning we set off for Puerto
at 6.30 (I´m not sure I will ever get used to the early starts, especially having being up for half the night with rats running all over my mosquito net!) where I will be staying for the weekend.
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Joya
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Gross...cockroaches..
You are loving it all! The earle starts would kill me! Take care Alex! joya x