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Published: April 20th 2015
Sarah (Day 3): We were disappointed to miss the clay lick due to adverse weather conditions that morning, but we were promised that we would hope for better weather and try again the next day. Once brekkie was out the way, the rain had finally stopped and at 8am we set out for a four hour jungle hike to take us through to lunch. Although it's quite a long time, we weren't going much further that a few miles, going slow and keeping quiet to try and catch some animal action.
Before too long Jose had spotted a rather sinister looking centipede that Nick was brave enough to have a hold of - it 'fell off' my hand when passed over! We also found some carnivorous ferns that clamp their leaves around any unsuspecting insects that care to land on them. There was more bird life, including an eagle (not sure which kind, but it was impressive) and a little family of tamarind monkeys that are much harder to spot as they hop from trunk to trunk rather than branch to branch and so make a lot less of a ruckus as they move about compared to other monkeys.
We found a mega snail that the locals eat and have also started to breed smaller varieties to sell to Europe as 'speciality Amazon escargot'. The highlight of the hike however was the bees nest that Jose showed us that was home to the hair-cutter bee. He reassured us that they don't bite but they have a bit of a hair fetish and do actually cut hair, not to eat or to build their nest with, just for the fun of it! Jose directed Nick's newly grown facial hair close to the nest and we waited... Within 20 seconds, scores of bees had flown out of the nest and were biting at Nick's beard and eyebrows. We all watched in amazement, wondering what it felt like. We didn't have to wonder for very long...the bees sensed long haired ladies in the area and they were soon covering every one of us! It didn't take long for it to get a bit much (particularly when they start on your eyelashes) and we spent the following five minutes picking bees off each other like grooming monkeys!
Lunch was ready on our return. We had a traditional Peruvian potato starter followed by
Male Palm
If you look closely at the roots, you'll see where this palm got its name...bean stew, rice and salad - another triumph from Orlando. The next hike was planned for later in the afternoon so we had a few hours to digest, Nick did some writing while I, along with just about everyone else, found a hammock and promptly fell asleep! When I woke, the local howler monkeys were feasting on the leaves right out the back of our lodge!
For the afternoon hike we took one of the longer trails from the lodge. This meant that we had to go a bit quicker to get back in time for dinner and fit in another night hike. The speed meant that we were less on the hunt for animals, but the vegetation was a lot denser and more 'jungly'. After all the rain of the previous night we were wading in our wellies across streams and through muddy bogs. I still hadn't quite come to terms with the fact that I was actually in the Amazon rainforest and every time I thought about it I was filled with excitement. It's a really, really amazing place and about what I expected of the jungle - but never really thought I'd be right in the
thick of it! There is a constant soundtrack of hums, buzzes, chirrups, squawks and other indescribable sounds that leave your imagination to do the work as to where/what they are coming from.
The night hike after dinner was a much drier affair than the previous night with much more chance for spotting frogs! As well as frogs we were also treated to a wolf spider, stick insects, giant crickets and a leaf insect (spotted by Nick)! Another early night was had in preparation for our early start to get to the clay lick in time to see the parrots getting their minerals and socialising!
Day 4: It was a dry if not entirely clear morning and so at 5:30 a.m we were hopping on to the boat to travel to the nearby clay lick. As for previous mornings, since we were having mega early nights it didn't seem like too much effort getting up at that time and everyone was in good spirits. The sun was coming up as we travelled up stream, arriving at the clay lick about half an hour later. We were a bit early for the parrots and as it was not yet the
dry season we had been warned there may not be too many anyway, since they can feed on fruits and don't need the extra minerals the clay provides. We could hear the parrots, macaws and parakeets before we could see them. Slowly but surely they flew and were perching in the trees. We saw blue headed macaws, chestnut fronted macaws and white eyed parakeets. It was a pretty grey morning which puts the parrots off a bit and that coupled with the fact that a road side hawk had decided to perch right in the thick of it meant we didn't really see much clay licking. In the words of Darwin, our guide, 'the parrots were bastards' that morning. Hey ho, that's the life of jungle explorers! We were treated to a cheeky little otter that was swimming around in front of us and popping his head up to see what we were up to. Soon enough people's thoughts turned to their stomachs and we were keen to get back for brekkie!
We were due to head back upstream to retrace our journey back to Cusco after breakfast and so packed our still soggy things (we'd bought lots of
plastic bags so we could separate the wet from the dry from the downright stinky) and got back in the boat. after a short trip in the boat we pulled over at some hot springs which were by far the hottest of all the hot springs we'd been in so far (almost unbearably so at point where the hot water entered the pool)! It was good to wash off some grime and sweat out any bugs that may have crawled under our skin! Suitably relaxed it was back in the boat to continue our journey. The trip upstream was a lot slower than coming down and again Orlando rustled up a hot chicken and rice lunch from the back of the boat accompanied by a Peruvian cinnamon flavoured juice - yummy. People read and napped while Jose and Darwin pointed out more birds that they spotted as we went. I think by that point people were a bit 'birded out' and the binoculars were not pulled out so often!
Back on dry land we got in the bus to drive back to the first lodge for our final night. On the way we stopped at an orchid garden, run
by a very enthusiastic Peruvian who had discovered a new species that had been named after him. The flowers were mostly really tiny, not like the orchids you may have at home. Nick and I spent most of the time trying to keep our feet moving to stop the ants crawling over our flip-flopped feet!
Day 5: The final day arrived and involved a long bus journey back to Cusco. It was broken up by an hour's walk in the cloud forest. I spotted a family of woolly monkeys and we saw some more new birds that were bright blue. The views were spectacular and we were sad to be leaving the forest but looking forward to getting back on the grid and being in less humid conditions! We stopped for lunch in Paucartambo where we had had breakfast on the first day and after another couple of hours on the bus, we were back in Cusco!
We had arranged to meet our Rainforest companions for dinner and drinks that evening to let our hair down without having to worry about an early start. Good fun was had by all and we have just returned from coffee with
the same group (we had planned a walk but the thunder started and the late night was telling on some people so coffee it was).
I think that the five days in the Amazon were some of the best so far for me on this trip, all helped by having excellent company, really well organised tour guides and an excellent chef. I'd love to go back again one day, but for now a break from the humidity, lack of electricity and bugs is definitely welcome!
Today (Monday 20th) is being claimed as a rest day before trying to figure out the complex system that is 'self-arranged Machu Picchu tour' tomorrow. The plan is to head to Aguas Calientes, which is the town closest to Machu Picchu, with a view to getting up there first thing on Wednesday to try and beat the crowds (it opens at 6 a.m). It's all a bit bus-train-bus so hopefully all will run smoothly and we won't miss our train who's fare makes a peak-time day travelcard from Reading to London look reasonably priced!
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