Back from the Amazon

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December 15th 2009

Published: December 15th 2009

Hey All,

I made it back to Lima from the Amazon yesterday afternoon. Our group had its fairwell dinner last night and we said goodbye to our great group leader Bruno and some of the travellers who were flying out late lst night. Ive still got today and tomorrow left in Lima before flying home late Wednesday night.

The Jungle was sspectacular. We were picked up by *Jungle Specialists* from the Puerto Maldonado airport and transferred by bus to the Jungle Office. We all packed two nights worth of clothing and supplies into a duffel bag for porters to transport to the lodge. The bus then transferred us to the marina on the Madre de Dios river where we boarded a 30foot long motorized canoe riverboat. While cruising we were iven a delicious lunch of stir-fried rice. We cruised down the river for 45 minutes in which time big dark clouds had moved in and rain began coming down in torrents. We all through on our rubber boots and ponchos and headed out, despite the storm, into the Jungle for a 2 hour walk. The trail in parts was completely flooded, and we needed to traverse the muddy water hoping that our boots were high enough. After 2 hours we got to another set of canoes, where our porters were patiently waiting, soaked through, to paddle the boat to the lodge. As we got into the canoes the rain stopped and we were able to take off our ponchos. A short ride down a narrow channel brought us out to a lake where we soon heard, then got a close up view of a troupe of Spider Monkeys flying through the trees. Amazing.
Another hour on the lake and we had made it to the Sandoval Lake Jungle Lodge where after a short briefing we were shown our rooms. I had a nice hot shower and an hour nap. The lodge was all wood, with 50 rooms, a large dining room and common area and an amazing view of Lake Sandoval. The rooms were nice, beds were comfortable, and the water was hot and plentiful. Not bad for a jungle lodge in the middle of no-where. Apparently to book independently costs $250 US/ night.
We met at 6pm for a night walk to look for bugs. We took 45 minutes to circle the lodge and found three hand'sized tarantulas, a tree frog, a nest of social spiders, and a group of leafcutter ants. I had a blast, the girls didn{t.
Dinner was at 7pm and was amazing. Soup, chicken, veggies, desert. At 830, we were all exhausted and ready for bed. Our wake up call was scheduled for 5am.
5am came and went... it was pouring rain. At 545 we were woken up and told that the rain had stopped and we would be going on an excursion in 30 minutes. At 615 we boarded a wooden pontoon boat and headed out along the lake shore in search of wildlife. It didnt take long for us to see macaws,¨stinky birds¨, king-fisher, comorants, as well as a group of Howler Monkeys, and a few baby cayman. Despite the early morning wake up, it was a very nice boat ride.
Back at the lodge we were served a full breakfast of toast, cereal, fruit, pancakes, and eggs. We later headed out on a walk (the sun had come out) and were able to see wild basil, cilantro, brazil nut trees, lemongrass, etc.. as well as a ton of different types of jungle flora, trees, vines, etc. Along our walk we found a troupe of Capuchin Monkeys swinging high in the trees. So cool.
Lunch was delicious back at the lodge, then an hour long video on the Amazon was played. It was a great movie, but we were all falling asleep by the end. We all retired to our rooms and I had a nice nap. At 4pm we again boarded our pontoon boat for another circle of the lake. More cayman, howler monkeys, and a ton of different birds. Then a large troup of Spider Monkeys heading to their nesting spot... the guide estimated 70-80. They were flying through the trees, running across branches and swinging down vines... our boat stayed along the shore and followed them as they made their way around the lake. Amazing.
Back at the lodge just after sunset we had another great dinner. Afterward, a few beer each and at 9pm we were all falling asleep. On our way back to our rooms a big crash in the jungle alerted us and my flashlight caught a group of nocturnal monkeys foragging in the trees right outside our rooms. We watched for a while and they moved on.
500am wake up call. We had another nice breakfast and were on our boat heading back to the real world by 6am. Canoe to the trail, 2 hour walk (not as muddy this time), and 45 minutes up the river. We were eventually dropped at the airport for the 30 minute flight to Cuzco and 45 minutes on to Lima. We arrived to our starting hotel in Lima at around 3pm. A nice hot shower and again... another nap before our farewell dinner.

Slept in today, as planned. I´m gonna do some shopping this afternoon and a friend from works sister in law is picking me up at 6pm for dinner at her place. Should be great! Tomorrow I plan on checking out a museum or two before heading to the airport at around 10pm for a 2am flight to Toronto. I will be home at around 1pm on Thursday.

I´ll send a final post soon.

Adam

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