Jungle and Lake

---

---

From where I finished last time we had one more day in Cusco and we saw some other sites in the sacred valley. The one I had been looking forward to most was Tipon and it proved to be the highlight of the day. It is another terraced hillside for growing crops and used for experimentation like Moray, but this one has a working irrigation system. It was cool to see how the channels worked to provide water for all of the crops and I just love it when things so old still work.

From the crisp cool air of the Andean highlands we took off for the humid Amazon jungle. Our destination was Puerto Maldonado and when we got off the plane a number of touts were calling out for our business. We had a good look at one and went back to his office to hear what he had to offer at Yakari Eco Lodge. And two hours later we were kayaking down the Rio Madre de Dios, a tributary to the Amazon. The three night experience in a secluded jungle lodge was fantastic. Wild life was at our doorstep, there were no roads, the transport was always by river boat, and we ate well three times a day. We went to Monkey Island by Kayak, where we saw no Monkeys and Nathan renamed it Cat Island. Not because we saw cats either, but we did see plants, birds and insects that our guide explained to us. Then after dinner we went Caiman spotting and saw three of them close up. One was picked up by the guide and brought into the boat for a closer look. These little critters are not man eaters, but they can draw blood from your finger as Leanne discovered. Apparently it is best to keep your body parts away from the sharp bits on the Caiman. So that was the start and end of Leanne’s career as the next crocodile hunter.

We spent a full day walking to Sandoval Lake, which is promoted as the highlight of a visit to Puerto Maldonado. The path is about 3 kilometres long they have every type of mud here; slippery slimy mud, stinky sticky mud as well as the deep gumboot eating type of mud. We all had fun getting dirty and by the end we were very hungry as we made it to the boat then paddled across the lake to our lunch spot. We had been given a packed lunch, wrapped in a banana leaf to keep the rice warm and it was scrumptious. Anything would have been tasty given our appetite at this point. Then we completed the boat ride and trek in reverse. Along the way we spotted monkeys high up in the trees, industrious colonies of ants carrying many times their body weight each, colourful butterflies (so many different types), bats, turtles, giant otters in the lake and a flock of blue and yellow Macaws flying overhead as dusk approached. Add Amazon Jungle trekking to the list of things you can do with a four year old!

On one morning we rose early to go to a parrot clay lick. You are wondering, ¨What is a parrot clay lick?¨ Well, parrots eat food from the trees which can be hard to digest and Magnesium and other minerals can help their digestion. So they go to this cliff face near the river and eat or lick the mud, because it contains the minerals they need. They are most active at dawn, hence the early rise. After breakfast we got back in the boat to go zip lining and walk the canopy bridge, but then we experienced a tropical downpour for an hour or so. We were in the shelter of an old ranger’s station and had been resting for a while, when our guide decided to show us some wildlife we had not looked up to see. Tarantulas!!!!! Not as big as your hand like I’d been told to expect, because this was a smaller species. However I didn’t like the idea of sharing my accommodation with them. So I convinced myself that they only lived on one side of the river. That is logical right; spiders can’t swim.

Later in the day it dried up enough and we did get to zip line and walk the canopy bridge. Then the usual evening soccer match took place in the hour before sunset. The men who work there play every night and guests are welcome to play too. I had a blast running around with them and some Portuguese and Spanish guests. I thought I might be a little out of my depth given the nationalities participating, but I am so glad that I had a game as it turned out to be a most memorable experience.

We did some more ‘back backing in your 40’s’ style transit by plane and not the overnight bus to arrive in Puno on the shores of lake Titicaca late in the evening and we went from a steamy 37 degrees to crisp 6 degrees. Back to high altitude again. This time 3800 metres. They need more air up here! Incidentally I have given up on jogging until I am closer to sea level. The last time I tried was in Cusco and my lungs were not designed for high altitude exercise. After two weeks of acclimatisation I realise that I come from the wrong gene pool for this sort of thing. None of us have had altitude sickness because we ascended gradually to this height. But we all puff a lot when we climb a moderate hill or stairs.

Our first day in Puno was spent seeing the floating islands of lake Titicaca, or the Uros islands. This turned out to be an ordinary experience as we did it independently by purchasing a 10 Soles ticket from the pier. Then they took us further along to buy the 5 Soles entrance ticket and we were on our way. We got off and were told about the islands by an uninspired local who explained things in Spanish only and too fast for us to get much out of it. Then they charged us an extra 10 Soles each to get on the traditional boat that goes to another island from which we would be picked up from. The traditional boat was pushed by a less traditional dinghy that had an even less traditional outboard motor. A well thought out tourist trap!

Next day we decided to get an organised tour to the island of Taquile and we were glad we did. Again we visited a floating island, but this time the local lady clearly enjoyed explaining how the islands were made and how they lived traditional lifestyles and our guide translated for us. Then on to Taquile where the men knit and the women weave. We had a great lunch (trout from the lake) looking over the blue lake Titicaca and under the deep blue skies that are a consequence of high altitude and learned about another culture where headwear indicates your statuys in the community.

The other side of the lake is the Blivian side and the main town is Copacobana. The weather was very nice, sun, sun and more sun. Hence the name of the nearby Isla del Sol. But only I visited the island of sun because Nathan was sick again and Leanne spend the day with him, never too far from a toilet. On my trip to Isla del sole I met two Austrian doctors and later that night we saw them again in the restaurant of our hotel. We all had a nice dinner and they gave us some free medical advice and a pill that fixed Nathan's diohreia almost instantly. Everything was good again and today we are heading off to find the salt pans of the altiplano.

---

Photos

Tipon
Water channels like these flow all over the site. The sounds are everwhere and we really liked this one.

Stevensons at Tipon
Rock steps used for climbing up the terraces.

First day in Puerto Maldonado - Kayaking
Nathan rode in the river boat and gave us instructions on how to kayak properly.

Ouch!
Don't put your finger in the Caiman's mouth, Leanne.

Amazon Mud
Trekking to Lake Sandoval. About 3 km of pure Peppa Pig fun (each way).

Blue headed parrots
Not a very creative name.

Clay lick
We saw heaps of parrots but not many on the cliff, licking dirt like they were meant to.

Tiny humming bird
It's nest is the size of an egg cup. There were two tiny eggs inside too.

Zip line in the tree tops
It was a log way down!

Floating Islands
You can see the 'banana boat' that everyone paid 10 soles to ride in. This was the second say we went to the islands and they used traditional means of propulsion; a long pole that touches the bottom like a Venetian Gondalier.

Man knitting
On Taquile this was a very common sight.