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Published: September 19th 2012
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14
th September
We were picked up from our hotel at 5.45am and taken to the airport for our flight to Puerto Maldonado. Magnificent views from the plane of the Andes all the way to Cusco where the plane landed to drop off and pick up passengers for Puerto Maldonado. Very very warm and humid at our destination. We were met by our guide and driven to the World Expeditions office to separate our luggage for the trip up the river. We were only allowed to take a backpack to the lodge as were were travelling by large canoes. We were taken down the river and had lunch on board – some very nice rice dish with a banana. After the boat ride we had to walk 3kms to the next boat (really a canoe) where we canoed across the Sandoval Lake to the lodge. Very eco friendly place – the power only comes on for a set number of hours per day. Wonderful set up with mosquito nets over the beds and you don’t really need a hot shower. Weather is very warm and humid as you would expect in the jungle. We heard a great number of howler monkeys
on our canoe trip. Before dinner we went for a walk in the jungle with our guide (pitch black mind you) to see if we could find some of the local wildlife. Saw a pair of birds (looked like owls) and a huge chicken tarantula. We were all worried about running into a jaguar but apparently there are none around that area.
For dinner we had some quinoa soup followed by catfish with local potato and a great salad. For dessert we had this pie very similar to lemon meringue but much nicer. There fruit juices are nothing like we have in Sydney, the fruit is incredible over here. Going to bed now as we are getting up at 5.30 to go for a boat ride on the lake to see the sun rise and hopefully the river otters. They grow to 1.8m long.
15
th September
Up at 5am for a 5.30 boat ride around the lake. We spotted a number of different birds, caymans and were lucky enough to spot a family of otters that live in the lake. Our guide informed us that only 1 family of otters live in the lake at a time.
Lucky otters. After breakfast we went for a walk in the jungle with our guide and was shown a great variety of trees, shrubs and the plant life. We spotted a red macau, brilliant. Of course it is very humid and warm, reminds me of a 40deg summer day in Sydney with the humidity. After lunch and a rest we went for a late afternoon/evening cruise around the lake to see caymans and the Howler Monkeys.
16
th September
Returned to Puerto Maldonado today the same way we came and have to say I’m not feeling too great. It is very hot and humid so feeling a bit lightheaded. Caught a plane to Cusco where we were met by our guide who took us on a mini tour of the city and checked into our hotel. A great mixture of Incan and Spanish buildings here. We all had a rest to acclimatise and went out for dinner. The restaurants are all great but didn’t really do dinner justice as feeling quite crappy. Been drinking heaps of coca tea but going to bed in the hope I am better in the morning.
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