Tambopata

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Hello everyone. I´m afraid that I'm a little bit behind on entries... it´s been a very busy few weeks. So this entry will focus on last week.

On Monday morning there were lots of jobs to be done to make sure that everything was in order before we all departed to Tambopata. I was on lodge maintenece, yet again... not that I mind, so we had to make sure that everything was clean and tidy. Something I specialise in... hmm. After lunch we had a free afternoon so that everyone could pack for the trip. In addition, myself and Kayleigh, another volunteer, were taking ten days off to go travelling around Peru right after the trip, so we had lots of extra packing to do. That day it was Kayleigh´s 21st birthday, so we decorated the bar with streamers and balloons and put up a pinata for the party.

After supper we went on another caiman hunt. The first caiman that we saw lives right at the mouth of the creek next to the lodge, and is about 2 metres long. Sometimes we see it sunbathing... however it does make swimming in the creek rather less appealing as an activity. I´m not too dissappointed that the water has gone right down now that the rainy season is over and there´s not enough water for swimming... we left that caiman and headed on down the river to look for a slightly smaller one that Stuart could catch. After about 10 minutes we found a spectacled caiman. Stuart bought it onto the boat so that everyone could have a look, and then let it go again. The next one that we caught was a black caiman, and it was probably the largest caiman that Stuart has caught since I arrived here. It was also rather wriggly. There were several near escapes, and after each one everyone edged a bit further away and removed their feet from the floor... Stuart had to throw it back into the river before it bit him.

We returned to the lodge and entered the bar for Kayleigh´s party. We made two cakes and bought her a tiara. The pinata was a 2ft Winnie the Pooh, and it was rather amusing to see everyone trying to hit it and failing hopelessly, not helped by the fact that at this point most people had had a few drinks. Finally Kayleigh succeeded, and there were lollipops for all, though the flavours proved to be rather interesting... The party ended fairly early as everyone was very aware of the fact that we had to be up at 5 in the morning for the start of the trip.

The next day we packed all our stuff onto the boat and set off for Puerto to buy last minute supplies before the trip. It was very hot in Puerto and were all looking forwards to a nice refreshing boat journey. We had two boats for the trip - one of our own and one slightly larger one that we hired, as well as two hired drivers in addition to the four Taricaya staff members who came on the trip. The first hour of the boat journey was very pleasant, sunny with a breeze, and everyone relaxed on the boats. By time we got to our first stop, it was starting to feel noticibly chilly. We got back on the boat and it started to rain. But that´s OK, we all thought, it´s temporary... four hours later and the temperature had dropped right down and it was still raining. We arrived at our first camp site for the night, and it seemed apparent that we were at the beginning of another friaje (cold weather spell). At this stop there were a number of buildings (little wooden huts with reed floors and rooves that bent when you stepped on them, no doors, windows or mosquito netting) and Rachel arranged with the owner for us to stay in them over night so that we didn´t have to put up tents in the rain. We were all a little bit dubious as to whether or not the floor would support us... fears were confirmed when I put my foot through a hole and almost dissappeared through the floor. The campsite was located by small waterfall where you could swim if, but the weather was so grim that only 2 people braved the water. We spent the evening huddled together playing cards as it got colder and colder and colder... finally by about 9, we were all out of ideas for things to do, and we all went off to "bed". Of course, we were all expecting 30 degree weather, so hardly anyone had packed a sleeping bag or warm clothes. This meant that "bed" consisted of a sleeping bag liner on a bumpy floor, and as many layers of clothing as you could get on. In my case, this meant two pairs of trousers, one pair of socks, six t-shirts, and a long sleeved top. I think I got a total of about one hour's sleep that night. The floor was incredibly uncomfortable and it was very cold.

The next morning, everyone without a sleeping bag appeared as soon as the sun came up wearing all their clothes with big bags under their eyes, and those with sleeping bags appeared at about 8, looking bright eyed and bushy tailed. There was a certain ammount of resentment in the air...

After breakfast, we piled back onto the boats to head for the next stop. It rained for the whole of the journey, and almost all of the animals were in hiding because of the friaje. We saw a Taricaya turtle on the river bank, some skimmers, a few unidentifiable birds in the distance and some vultures. Fortunately, the river was so high that we took a pretty direct root to the second camping stop, as opposed to having to zig zag to avoid rocks.

We arrived in time for lunch. This campsite was located close to the first of the two colpas (claylicks) that we aimed to visit on the trips. The colpas attract macaws and other birds because of the minerals they contain. After lunch we walked to the colca, and we spotted about 10 macaws flying in the distance. There are five types of macaws that we see in the area: red and green, scarlet, blue and yellow, scarlet bellied, and chestnut fronted, and we saw the first three of those. We also get them around Taricaya, but they tend to be quite distant and they fly over quickly. After that we walked back via the beach. A few people got stuck in the mud and lost there welly boots. Instead of helping, everyone went to get cameras. Because of the cold and the stony beach, it almost felt like you were somewhere in England, except for the rainforest in the background and the big cat footprints in the sand... That makes things a little bit more interesting.

That evening was another cold evening playing cards followed by early bed, although the night time was ever so slightly better because we had tents, which were slightly more insulating than the open air room the night before.

We woke up at 5.30 to go to the claylick at dawn, the time that the macaws are usually most active. After about half an hour they began to arrive. They were all quite distant and we could only see them through the branches in the trees, but at one point about 25 scarlet macaws all took off together, which was quite spectacular.

After that we went back for breakfast, then packed up our tents and set off on the boat for the next and final stop, the second largest claylick in the world. The boat journey was suprisingly short, only taking an hour and a half, which was a relief to all as the weather was still pretty chilly. We arrived in time for lunch again. As we were eating, a red and green macaw flew down and perched on the branches above us and then started eating the bread that we laid down for it. The staff thought that it was probably a macaw that had been released from the research centre down the river, so whilst wild it was used to people. It made for some good photo opportunities.

We then went for a walk down to the beach. On the way we saw a group of dusky titi monkeys, a type that I have never seen before. They are very good jumpers (not woolly jumpers, jumping jumpers...) A few of us decided that it had been far too long since we washed, changed into swim stuff and braved the river. It was cold but refreshing, and after a while lots of other people joined. A few of the boys decided to swim across to the other side of the river. The current was so strong that we feared they would end up back at puerto before we did, but eventually they made it, although they did then have to walk about a kilometre to get up to where they started. The rest of the day passed in much the same way as all the other evenings - huddling together and trying to stave off the cold.

At 4.30 the next morning we got up to head to the colpa to see the macaws. It was still dark, which made walking through the jungle rather interesting. There were lots of muffled expletives as people bumped into branches, people, and stones. After a 15 minute walk we made it to the clearing from which you can see the claylick, and settled down to wait for the birds. As the sun rose we could see the bright orange colour of the clay, and then the birds began to arrive: first the parrots and parakeets in flocks of up to about 50, and then the macaws in groups up to five. More and more arrived and perched in the trees above the claylick. At the height of it the noise was quite spectacular. The hope was that the macaws would descend onto the claylick itself so that we could really see them clearly, but unfortunately there were two hawks perching in the branches, so the birds stayed hidden in the trees. Still though, we got some fairly good views, and we also saw howler and dusky titi monkeys. We walked back to the beach at about 7.30. The sun was up and it was a clear day, and in the distance we could see the Andes rising up. It is a weird site because it reminds you how close you are to the edge of the Amazon, even though it feels like you are deep in the heart of it.

We had breakfast and packed up, and then started the seven hour boat journey back to Puerto. Fortunately it was a bit warmer by then, and for the first time in days I went down to one pair of trousers. We stopped off at the waterfall where we camped on the first day, and it was a lot more pleasant in the sunshine.

The trip was certainly an experience to remember... looking back at my last entry I see that I wrote I was looking forwards to a relaxing week off... ha. I don't think I've ever been stiff in so many places. But it's something that will stick with me, and it gave me a chance to see a bit more of the rainforest and the wildlife than our little bubble at Taricaya.

This week I am travelling around Peru on holiday with another volunteer from Taricaya, so the next entry will be all about that! Love to all xxx

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Photos

Volunteers on a log
That tree really smelt bad.

Comments

[Joya]

Poor Winnie!
How could you guys violate Winnie!?!?! Monsters! Photos are great Alex! Hope you have a great time in Peru! Take care. jx