Our Amazon Jungle Adventure

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Monday 19th December- Friday 23rd December 2022

With airports open but roads still blocked, we were still in Cuzco and overthinking every possibility and thought on what to do next. Do we keep waiting for the roads to open to be able to bus to Puerto Maldonado for our Amazon adventure, as originally planned, or do we give up waiting and just fly out of Peru, like many others, and into Bolivia; skipping the Amazon and lake Titicaca or potentially visiting these sites Bolivian side. Trying to look at options on the internet was complicated and getting thoughts and advice from the Italians and the locals here we’d met (taxi drivers, hotel staff, Inca trail people) made it feel like we were going round in circles.

Then we saw a direct flight from Cuzco to Puerto Maldonado open up for Monday, the first flight there, and decided to just go for it. This Amazon trip was one of the key things we had planned and really wanted to be able to do, and with things in Peru still uncertain but looking to settle, we risked it for a biscuit. And it was AMAZING!

Arriving a mere 55mins later in Puerto Maldonado, we were whisked up by our tour guide (Freddy, from Jungle Pro Tours) and, after a really friendly hello, chat and information about the tour given, we were at their office and before you know it, on a boat. From all that chaos and uncertainty, we were now sat on a boat, on the Tambopata River, instantly sweating, whizzing along, whilst admiring the immense jungle lining the river and eating a rice dish lunch wrapped in leaves. What a whirlwind. Already noticing the different sounds of the jungle and spotting birds along the river, the boat then suddenly stopped its engine. What was going on? Well, Freddy had spotted, there on the river edge, in the long grass, two brown spots; Capybaras! Giant rodents munching happily on the grass. With instant cool jungle animal vibes and feeling lucky we carried on and were soon at our lodge.

A steep set of steps up from the river, and along a wooden boardwalk, and we were greeted with cold fruit juices, welcoming smiles, and a beautiful setting of wooden lodges surrounded by the jungle; lush green vegetation, speckled with brightly coloured flowers, tall palm trees, fragrant fruit trees, and so many birds whizzing around. It looked, smelt and felt like a huge Eden Project but with no dome in sight. In fact, from the plane, we saw just miles and miles of jungle and river. And the sounds were crazy with so many different chirps, beeps, flutters, squawks, screeches, buzzes and howls of varying intensity surrounding us. With no one else joining us (low season but also likely due to the Peru situation) it was just us and our guide again (getting pretty lucky with these private tours!) and I think our room (lodge) may be the nicest room we’ve had on this trip!

Feeling very lucky again, and still so sweaty, we soon headed out for our first jungle walk, and well, it was one of many super cool experiences we had on this tour. In fact, we had so many amazing experiences during this tour, I’m not sure I can summarise and still give it justice. We did the three nights and four days option, staying in two different lodges, enjoying some amazing breakfasts, 3 course lunches and dinners, completing a few different jungle walks (including in the dark!), a couple of river boat tours, canoeing on a lake a few times (again, including at night!) and some jungle board walking. It was incredible for so many different reasons.

Firstly, the jungle itself. It just kept giving. It may be super hot and humid with plenty of annoying mossies, and not allow you to feel dry at any point while you are there and force you to have an interesting perfume of sweat, suncream and insect repellent, but it is so huge and immense and like nowhere else we’ve been. Standing so insignificantly against huge trees and smelling the garlic trees and various fruit trees and learning about what you can eat or use to help medicinally was really interesting. With all the different plants and trees, fruits and flowers, smells and colours, simply being there, part of it, was super cool.

Add into that, the animals. You hear them all the time and when you see them, it feels like you’ve won the lottery. From so many different birds, to small mammals, bigger cats, and giant rodents, to the many varying species of monkeys, to the reptiles both big and small, and to the frogs, insects and creepy spiders, there is wildlife around you all the time. We were really fortunate, having an amazing guide and just good timing, (and at times, patience!) to see so much:
Capybara, Brown Agouti, red squirrel, river otter, Night monkey, Duski-Titi Monkey, Squirrel monkey, Brown Cappuchin monkey, Red howler monkey, Saddle-backed monkey, frogs, bats, giant fish, Black Caiman, a caiman eating a caiman!, lizards, river turtle, yellow footed tortoise, stinky bird, vultures, ivory toucan, three types of Macaw, parrots, parakeets, swallows, hummingbird, woodpecker, kingfisher, snake bird, different herons, millipede, spiders, and a pink footed tarantula just to name a few. It just felt a bit crazy, being out there in the jungle with all these animals (and the ones we didn’t spot) all around us just doing their thing. Particularly when you hear and see them from your room, right there, just playing around or eating or doing whatever it is they do. Life just being.

Hearing the change in the jungle from day to night was a unique experience too, noticing the sounds change and definitely get louder; particularly the high pitch constant buzz of the mosquitos hanging around the lake. It was also cool when, towards the end, we could start picking out specific sounds and knowing what was making them, thanks to our guide teaching us. From sounding like chainsaws to generators it was funny how we related most noises to machinery and technology. It was also crazy how, on two occasions, with the weather changing, we could really hear the wind and then the rain coming from far away, as it got closer and louder, and then gave such intense downpours. I guess it is called the rainforest for a reason!

Finally, our guide Freddy, really made the trip. A born local, he grew up in the jungle and still has family farming the areas. He was open and friendly with good humour, and so many funny, but often life threatening stories to share with us, which really put things into perspective. He has experienced so much change in the area and how they now do things but also shared an understanding as to the why’s behind it all. He had so much knowledge and a strong passion for the jungle it really showed, and we learnt a lot from him. A massive bonus to this, was his ability to hear specific animals and know where to look to find them. Great guy.

It may have cost us extra to get there, but it was so worth it. And as we left the jungle, and arrived back in Puerto Maldonado city, we instantly missed the jungle; back to the real machinery and technological sounds. With the night bus already full that night, we actually stayed a night (Copasu hotel, fab!) and enjoyed walking around a town not typically for western tourists. It was nice to not be constantly approached to buy things, but rather, to be able to sit and see Peruvian holiday makers around, enjoying the heat, shopping and eating and starting their Christmas festivities. It was also good to hear Peru’s political situation had calmed, with a truce called until January. This meant we didn’t have to spend more on another flight, but have been able to bus back, as originally planned, to Cuzco. Ready to celebrate Christmas here!

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