Into Amazonia - Puerto Maldonado

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Armed with plenty of insect repellent and malaria tablets, we boarded our Star Peru flight to Puerto Maldonado to begin our sojourn into the Amazonian basin. This was a journey that was on my “must do” list; to visit the Amazon region and see wildlife in its natural environment.

We investigated visiting the Pantanal but we decided it was not quite what we were looking for and not very practical with our itinerary. Then there were other options, Manaus and Iquitos, but these options would have budget and time challenges which did not work well for us. I was becoming a little frustrated by the various obstacles when, at last, a young Lima travel agent came up with a solution. His solution turned out to be a great choice!

Our transfer was seamless from the time we stepped off the plane to opening the door of our bungalow at Corto Maltes Amazonia. First we were greeted at the airport by our guide, Yomi (originally from Cuzco), before we travelled by minivan to the office in town to complete the check-in process. With our bags tagged and our thirst quenched, we were back in the van and off to the boat dock on Rio Madre de Dios where we boarded our 'longboat' for the 45 minute journey to the lodge.

Our arrival was marked with a delicious welcome fruit juice while our bags were being delivered to our bungalow. During our first of many delicious meals prepared by the French chef at the lodge, our keys were delivered to us and our program for the rest of the day was outlined by Yomi.

After a short rest and a liberal application of insect repellent, we were off with Yomi into the surrounding jungle where he provided information about the various plants, trees, insects, butterflies and animals we saw and heard. We returned to the lodge and had time to watch the beautiful sunset before we were back in the longboat for a night-time caiman spotting expedition. We were fortunate to see several caiman and a capybara family, two adults and three young, before we headed back for dinner and a well earned sleep.

Day two had us out of bed very early to take the 5:30 am walk to a riverbank where parrots ingest the clay to gain essential nutrients. Unfortunately the morning was very misty which meant the parrots could not spot potential predators and so they chose to feed at other clay banks. However, back at the lodge we saw squirrels, hummingbirds, agouti, and we had a ‘chat’ with the resident three macaws and two toucans.

At mid-morning we travelled in the longboats to “Monkey Island”. We trekked to the viewing point and waited while our guides went to lure the monkeys with bananas. The guides and one or two monkeys arrived about 15 minutes later. Slowly other members of the troop joined the free banana feast and we delighted in the photo opportunities. Finally the alpha male cautiously arrived and immediately dominated the space. It was intriguing to watch the behaviour of the troop change as soon as the alpha male approached. We saw both Brown and White Capuchin monkeys. Just before the bananas were finished, the guides asked us to head back to the boats explaining that the animals can become aggressive when there is no more food.

Our longboat motored out into the river and then we were served a traditional hot lunch of a chicken drumstick and a boiled egg on a bed of savoury rice wrapped in banana leaves.

After lunch we motored to the landing point to start a trek to Sandoval Lake in the Tambopata-Candamo National Reserve. This is a beautiful place and well worth the 3.2 km walk through large areas of boot-sucking mud, attacking mosquitoes, energy draining heat, and no toilets, to get to the canoes which take you along a narrow channel and on to the lake.

Long ago the lake was once a forest with the river running through. As the river changed course over time, this section became cut off and the water flooded the forest. Now 30 metre tall Mauritia palms growing straight out of the water give the impression that the edge of the lake is close by, even though you cannot see dry land from your canoe.

Sandoval is home to a family of giant otters which we were fortunate enough to see swimming, eating, playing, and watching us! Also we saw bats, insects, caiman, turtles, a Spider monkey, a Sloth, many species of butterflies, and a variety of birds including Cormorants and the noisy Stinky birds.

When it was time to head back, we met another canoe full of tourists and suddenly the paddles were flying as we had a friendly race across the lake towards the swamp area where we entered the lake. Just as the light was beginning to fade, we arrived back at the canoe landing point and then we negotiated the same 3.2 km track back to our waiting longboat. We arrived at the river’s edge at dusk and we were sweaty, muddy, mosquito bitten, physically exhausted and very satisfied with our expedition. We travelled back to the lodge and finished the day with dinner and an early night.

Day three gave us a gentle and later start to the day. We boarded a longboat and travelled 1 ½ hours to a local native community, the “Palma Real”, where we met some members of the Ese Eja tribe. Through a translator, the 50 year old leader of the group introduced us to aspects of his culture; the cultural values of his ancestors, his language, customs, clothing, and dances.

Our host demonstrated his prowess with his spear to kill a monkey, his bow and arrow to kill fish, and he made fire using friction with wooden tools. We had been told that one of the reasons that it is difficult to spot wildlife in the easy access areas of the Amazon region is that farmers kill animals that threaten their crops and stock. I wondered if this indigenous community's food supply and eating habits had been affected by this trend or whether, like the youngsters' and women's clothing, they were already embracing 'modern' foods.

The “chief” asked the men how many wives they had. He announced that his status as a man of power and wisdom enabled him to have five wives. He went on to tell us that one of his ancestors was a great man and so the “chief” had allowed him to take 20 wives!

He began to move around each of the men in our group, gripped their shoulders and looked into their eyes before announcing how many wives each should have; one wife for this young man, three for this man, none for another man, and ten for someone else. There were “oooo”s, “ahhh”s and some laughter from the women and smiles from the men as he went from one man to the next.

He came to Leigh, gripped his shoulders and looked into his eyes then he stepped back with an “oooo”. He stepped forward again and then announced that Leigh should have 15 – 20 wives!! Leigh’s smile stretched from one ear to the other. His face was beaming when he turned to me and said “don’t worry; you can be number one wife!”

The “chief” taught the women a local dance, gave the men an opportunity to try their skill with a spear, a bow and arrow, and then he offered photo opportunities. We browsed the selection of handcrafts for sale before we said farewell to the community members and moved on to our next destination - a local farm.

At the farm, Yomi walked us to each type of plant where he talked about the fruit, collected some fruit, and invited us to try it. We had noni, grapefruit, limes, oranges and sugar cane which are all grown for the local market. Also there were ears of corn lying on the ground drying in the sun. The day ended with another delicious meal back at the lodge.

After dinner we went to the bar where we noticed Yomi sitting alone at the chess set while the other guides were playing pool. He explained that someone taught him to play chess about a year ago but that person had moved away so now he did not get the chance to play very often. Enough said! Leigh pulled up a chair and the two of them enjoyed several games while I headed off to bed.

Our last day was just as efficient as our first. While we were having breakfast our bags were collected from our bungalow and loaded onto the longboat. We said our farewells and Yomi travelled with us back to Puerto Maldonado where he gave us a quick tour of the local market. Yomi took us to a stall where he said all the merchandise was locally made. This type of stall is becoming a rarity he said, because now 60% of the goods for sale in the market are imported from China. Leigh took the opportunity to buy a couple of gifts for his grandson.

With the market visit done, we were driven to the airport where we said goodbye to Yomi who had been an excellent guide for the duration of our stay. As we said goodbye I had only one regret - that we could not stay another day to see the work of the wildlife refuge centre, “Taricaya Biological Centre”. But who knows ... we may have an opportunity for a similar experience elsewhere on our continuing adventure!

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