Peruvian Amazon Basin

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Rio Madre de Dios, Puerto Maldonado, Peru
I stayed here in a very smart ecolodge, just by the river, but well out of town. No mains electricity, but generators allowed for light, fans and recharging cameras. The main lodge is beautiful, built of local timber over two stories with no outside walls as such, just massive screens of mosquito netting. I had my own cabin, a good bed with large mosquito net, en suite and lounge with a large sofa looking out onto the jungle. Bizarrely, my first two days here were sunny, while the supposedly arid Sacred Valley had seen afternoon showers most days. Even so, it was punishingly hot and humid. On my last day I got my tropical thunderstorm, and after it cleared and the sun came out the heat and humidity were almost unbearable. With a full programme of guided walks and boat trips I had walks through two different ecosystems and visited an ox bow lake cut off from the river by a full three kilometres. I also went on a fairly rickety canopy walkway, 40m up. While it is true that the canopy has most of the vegetation, the first 30m seems to be a continuous mass of vegetation without the layers described in the textbooks. Highlights include seeing a troupe of spider monkeys crashing their way through the bush. Seeing Cayman, also giant river otters catching and eating fish. Also being high in the canopy, seeing the forest from above. The sounds of the forest are amazing, especially howler monkeys, as the sun sets the noise reaches a crescendo of so many different creatures, unforgettable. On my last day I visited an elderly couple, indigenous Indians, who clung to their traditional life while their children and grandchildren had adapted to a changing world. The children had set themselves up with small farms by clearing patches of riverbank. They produced bananas, breadfruit and other crops including cocoa beans. Their parents, however, hunted for bushmeat, gathered roots and wild fruit, grew a few crops and fished in the river. They spoke no Spanish, so communication was limited to gestures and smiles, but I was shown how to shoot a bow and make a fish trap, they were warm and welcoming, it is sad to imagine their lifestyle coming to an end. Tonight I arrive in Quito, Ecuador and the second part of my trip.

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