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...the mighty jungle, you´ll hardly sleep tonight!
Yes, it was big, it was green, it buzzed with life (mainly insects), it offered opportunities to see a plethora of wildlife, it was hot, it was sticky, at times it was damn scarey but over and above anything else, it was a fantastic experience that won´t be forgotten in a hurry (in fact I´ve still got mosy bites to remind me!). Our first jungle experience started from the town of Puerto Maldonado on the confluence of the Madre de Dios and Tambopata rivers, in the heart of the Peruvian rainforest. The airstrip was a fine slither of tarmac surrounded by lush vegetation welcoming us in and signalling the end of everything that is "urban". A young guidess named Rocio greeted us and gave us the rundown of events to come; boating on lakes, piranha fishing, night walks, fruit farm visits, visits to clay licks etc. We hopped on the bus and headed off to the small community of Infierno where we boarded a river boat that took us further down the river and deeper into the rainforest...
Our lodgings were called Refugio Amazonas - by our standards the accommodation was
luxurious: large comfortable bed, linen embroidered with the lodge logo, free soap, a proper toilet, a rain-like shower... All it was lacking was a mini-bar! All the luxuries and the quality of the newly built lodge, were a real bonus as both Laura and I, expected a shack with a bed in it. That said, even with all that luxury, we were still in the jungle, had no electricity and were in a lodge without window screens to the jungle. Our "urban" idea of living were to be tested to the max!! Our first night was met with yelps and much waving of arms as big (too big for our liking) bugs flew past us. Still, we felt some comfort under the mosquito net and I have to say, I think I had my most comfortable nights of sleep, of the trip so far.
Activities were tiring in the 90-100% humidity of the jungle but extremely rewarding. Often time was spent waiting or quietly listening for long periods without any sign of life but then like London buses, two or three sightings would be made. Most of the jungle life was of the insect variety; the Tambopata reserve has
world record numbers of butterfly and other insect species and these could be seen, heard, or their activities (ie. bites) discovered, in abundance. The area is also host to a huge variety of Macaws and although we were never quick enough to photograph them, we saw and heard (squawking) plenty either resting or in flight. Mammals on the other hand, are notoriously difficult to spot and although the jungle is host to many species, they tend to stay well out of the way of humans and are most active at night. As it happened we were very lucky seeing Capybara, Tapir (just a bum nipping into the undergrowth at night), Red Brocket Deer, Capucin Monkeys, Saddleback Tamarins and Southern Tamandua. We also spent a day on an oxbow lake (do you remember them from GCSE geography) where we spotted Caiman (small Alligators) and were I tried my hand (not literally that would have been stupid) at fishing Piranhas. Unlike Piranhas we´ve seen before in movies, these were small, translucent and wouldn´t eat you if you were just in the water with them. Throw them meat however and they tear through it nibble by nibble. As it turned out they were
much smarter than me (my hunter/gatherer instincts failed me) and they munched through my bait whilst avoiding biting the hook. Alas, no fried piranha for dinner! Apparently it´s very tasty.
The trip ended with an early morning boat trip back to the airport along the river in a storm like none I´ve seen before. The rainforest earnt its title that morning. The scene as we left the jungle was a little like the rainy bit in Jurassic Park (when the fat computer nerd gets eaten) - I kept my eyes peeled (and camera ready) for those fan headed venom squirting dinos!!
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Lesley
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Photos
Your photography is fantastic