Amazon - Day 2

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August 23rd 2010

Published: August 26th 2010

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Zpet

Yes, We're Going Down There

Manoli and J.C. posing in front of Upper Madre de Dios River, Amazon

Amazon - Day 2
Friday, August 20th

After a good night's sleep, we reloaded the minivan and after a nice walk down the road to observe wildlife, we got back on the road in Manu heading to Atalaya, the little town where we'd get our boat to our lodge for the next two nights. Along the way, we stopped at a coca farm for a brief talk and met the owner's two Macaws and her picary. They were sooo cool. One of the macaws walked up my arm and played with my hat, and the picary nuzzled me for a bit to get some scratching on its tough hide. Pilcopata was gigantic compared to Atalaya, and the road was better than in the mountains, but not by much. We reached Atalaya well before lunch, and while they offloaded everything from the minivan, Manoli and I wandered around the few buildings of the town, most of which appeared to be restaurants and/or stores. Soon, we boarded our cool little boat and were headed downstream to our lodge. After just a few minutes, we pulled into shore and walked a short ways to the lodge. The lodge consisted of a kitchen/dining room,

Breakfast in Pilcopata

Manoli having breakfast at Little Cock of the Rocks Hostal

two "duplex" buildings, and a long building for staff and guides. Jaime gave us a while to settle in and take showers (which we delayed) before calling us to lunch. Lunch was a very good noodle soup followed by a plate with a beef filet, cauliflower, yucca, broccoli, green beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

After lunch and another break, we reboarded our boat for a quick trip downstream to a laguna for some serious birdwatching and a cruise on the laguna in a crude raft. Besides some really cool birds, we spotted a capybara foraging in the reeds. Then it was back to the lodge for some more rest before dinner. Again, dinner was good, wholesome, and plentiful. Of course, after dinner and a long day, we went to sleep after putting the mosquitoe netting in place.

Additional photos below

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