From the Andes to the Amazon
Unfortunately, Wade didn’t sleep any on our second night in Cuzco either. When I woke up at 3:00am he was starring at the ceiling. He’d even watched the Democratic Presidential Debates on CNN and that didn’t put him to sleep!!! Thus, we departed for the Amazon after two sleepless nights for Wade. He was rather jovial, all things considered.
After breakfast we took a bus to the Cuzco airport and boarded a 45 minute flight to Puerto Maldonado. Our wonderful guides from the EcoAmazonia Lodge met us and took us on buses into town to buy snacks before getting in the boats to travel one hour down the Madre de Dios River to our home for the next two nights. The market in town was incredible. Peru grows like a billion types of potatoes and we saw tons of them in the market. We also saw people buying hard boiled quail eggs for a snack. I was intrigued, but since my Acapulco debacle I’ve become much less adventurous in the food department!
Upon arrival at the Eco Amazonia Lodge we were greeting by the squakings of two Scarlet Macaws. We also heard other birds chirping and spent some time investigating which ones made a sound that I can best describe as a drop and then rippling water. One of the students described it as the sound the aliens make in Signs, but since I’ve never seen the movie I can’t verify that. We dropped our bags, explored our bungalow and went for a 2:00pm buffet lunch in the main lodge area. After lunch, we walked around the deck and were promptly met by two wild turkeys which stalked us throughout our stay! Emma was in tears more than once as a result of these creatures, one of which bit Wade. Yes, it was provoked.
At 3:00pm we crawled into boats and traveled to Monkey Island. I’d say this was the highlight of our five day excursion, especially for Emma. Her first sighting came as a Spider Monkey hung by his tail on a vine directly above her head. While on Monkey Island in addition to Spider Monkeys, we saw two types of Capuchin Monkeys, and several Saddleback Tamarin. Our guide, Victor, carried quite a few plantains to ensure we were able to see these guys up close. He called out to them and they came swinging through the treetops. Spectacular! After Victor had fed a couple of monkeys one of the students asked if she could feed one. “No, but Emma can.” So not once, but twice Emma handed small bananas to monkeys. The shot you see of the mommy and baby monkey walking down the tree occurred just seconds before the mom snatched the banana out of her hand. It happened so quickly we were unable to get a photo of the actual moment. Nor was I able to catch the shot of the monkey taking the banana out of Wade’s mouth. Too funny. Another humorous moment came when the Chief Capuchin monkey chased a Spider Monkey and the two began to feud just as they went past Wade. The spider monkey’s tail actually hit him in the back of the head!! Emma and I laughed so hard I was afraid we’d need a potty stop.
Following our outstanding excursion to Monkey Island we returned to the lodge and explored our island. On this walk we encountered a tapier the locals have named Carina. Apparently when I wasn’t around Wade allowed Emma to pet her, but I did not witness this moment. Dusk found our trio at the hammock house, Emma’s favorite “home away from her home away from home”. She also had a pink hammock in our bungalow, where she spent a good deal of time.
Dinner was served in courses that night. First an excellent soup followed by fish and rice and veggies. Dessert was a banana covered in lindenberries and sauce – yummy! Since electricity was scarce on the island and since Wade had been awake for over 60 hours at this point, we crawled into bed immediately after dinner.
Our wake up knocks began at 5:00am. Breakfast was served at 5:30. Emma thought it very cool that popcorn and banana chips were part of this meal. Following breakfast we donned our rubber boots and began a 2K hike around the island. Once again, I must give props to Emma who made this hike without complaint. It was extremely muddy. We had to climb over all sorts of roots, trees, etc. and our guide often had to cut our path with a machite. To top it off, the lodge didn’t have boots small enough to fit Emma so she made the hike in boots at least two sizes too big. When we stopped to sit on benches, her boots would fall off. After our 2K hike, during which we saw monkeys and other jungle life, we arrived at a lake where we stepped into canoes and paddled around for about an hour. During this time we saw our first caimen (see photo above). We also saw some incredible birds and assorted colorful butterflies and bugs. Returning to the island we climbed up a watchtower for a 15 minute rest with an unparalleled view of the island. Descending the tower we began another 2K hike across the island. This was not a return hike, but covered new territory and when we reached the end we were met by boats which took us back to the lodge where we hit the hammocks until lunch time. Lunch came hot and wrapped in giant banana leaves. It was chicken surrounded by seriously delicious rice containing peas, carrots and green beans. We had about 45 minutes to walk around and watch the birds before getting in the boats to go visit a family living on the Amazon.
The family spoke a local indigenous language and showed our group how to make fire from sticks and cotton, how to shoot a bow and arrow, and how they made their clothes from the bark of trees. The three-year-old son gave Emma a marigold and a big smile. The women had made handicrafts from local plants, etc. and had them for sale. We took pictures of their cotton trees for Uncle Clay and Papaw. Before we left the oldest man did a ceremonial dance for us.
Back at the lodge Wade went to watch the locals play football (soccer to you and me) and Emma and I returned to the hammock house. Dinner was fish and rice with a bowl full of tasty local fruits for dessert. We went back to the room and read for a while and then all three of us slept like babies, especially Wade.
Saturday morning, which was Peruvian Independence Day, we were awakened not by a knock from Victor but by the birds just before sunrise. Watching the world wake up in the Amazon was like nothing we’ve ever seen. The closest moment we’ve had to this came in spring 2004 on our Tanzanian safari. We are blessed so far beyond what we deserve.
After breakfast we took a bus to the Cuzco airport and boarded a 45 minute flight to Puerto Maldonado. Our wonderful guides from the EcoAmazonia Lodge met us and took us on buses into town to buy snacks before getting in the boats to travel one hour down the Madre de Dios River to our home for the next two nights. The market in town was incredible. Peru grows like a billion types of potatoes and we saw tons of them in the market. We also saw people buying hard boiled quail eggs for a snack. I was intrigued, but since my Acapulco debacle I’ve become much less adventurous in the food department!
Upon arrival at the Eco Amazonia Lodge we were greeting by the squakings of two Scarlet Macaws. We also heard other birds chirping and spent some time investigating which ones made a sound that I can best describe as a drop and then rippling water. One of the students described it as the sound the aliens make in Signs, but since I’ve never seen the movie I can’t verify that. We dropped our bags, explored our bungalow and went for a 2:00pm buffet lunch in the main lodge area. After lunch, we walked around the deck and were promptly met by two wild turkeys which stalked us throughout our stay! Emma was in tears more than once as a result of these creatures, one of which bit Wade. Yes, it was provoked.
At 3:00pm we crawled into boats and traveled to Monkey Island. I’d say this was the highlight of our five day excursion, especially for Emma. Her first sighting came as a Spider Monkey hung by his tail on a vine directly above her head. While on Monkey Island in addition to Spider Monkeys, we saw two types of Capuchin Monkeys, and several Saddleback Tamarin. Our guide, Victor, carried quite a few plantains to ensure we were able to see these guys up close. He called out to them and they came swinging through the treetops. Spectacular! After Victor had fed a couple of monkeys one of the students asked if she could feed one. “No, but Emma can.” So not once, but twice Emma handed small bananas to monkeys. The shot you see of the mommy and baby monkey walking down the tree occurred just seconds before the mom snatched the banana out of her hand. It happened so quickly we were unable to get a photo of the actual moment. Nor was I able to catch the shot of the monkey taking the banana out of Wade’s mouth. Too funny. Another humorous moment came when the Chief Capuchin monkey chased a Spider Monkey and the two began to feud just as they went past Wade. The spider monkey’s tail actually hit him in the back of the head!! Emma and I laughed so hard I was afraid we’d need a potty stop.
Following our outstanding excursion to Monkey Island we returned to the lodge and explored our island. On this walk we encountered a tapier the locals have named Carina. Apparently when I wasn’t around Wade allowed Emma to pet her, but I did not witness this moment. Dusk found our trio at the hammock house, Emma’s favorite “home away from her home away from home”. She also had a pink hammock in our bungalow, where she spent a good deal of time.
Dinner was served in courses that night. First an excellent soup followed by fish and rice and veggies. Dessert was a banana covered in lindenberries and sauce – yummy! Since electricity was scarce on the island and since Wade had been awake for over 60 hours at this point, we crawled into bed immediately after dinner.
Our wake up knocks began at 5:00am. Breakfast was served at 5:30. Emma thought it very cool that popcorn and banana chips were part of this meal. Following breakfast we donned our rubber boots and began a 2K hike around the island. Once again, I must give props to Emma who made this hike without complaint. It was extremely muddy. We had to climb over all sorts of roots, trees, etc. and our guide often had to cut our path with a machite. To top it off, the lodge didn’t have boots small enough to fit Emma so she made the hike in boots at least two sizes too big. When we stopped to sit on benches, her boots would fall off. After our 2K hike, during which we saw monkeys and other jungle life, we arrived at a lake where we stepped into canoes and paddled around for about an hour. During this time we saw our first caimen (see photo above). We also saw some incredible birds and assorted colorful butterflies and bugs. Returning to the island we climbed up a watchtower for a 15 minute rest with an unparalleled view of the island. Descending the tower we began another 2K hike across the island. This was not a return hike, but covered new territory and when we reached the end we were met by boats which took us back to the lodge where we hit the hammocks until lunch time. Lunch came hot and wrapped in giant banana leaves. It was chicken surrounded by seriously delicious rice containing peas, carrots and green beans. We had about 45 minutes to walk around and watch the birds before getting in the boats to go visit a family living on the Amazon.
The family spoke a local indigenous language and showed our group how to make fire from sticks and cotton, how to shoot a bow and arrow, and how they made their clothes from the bark of trees. The three-year-old son gave Emma a marigold and a big smile. The women had made handicrafts from local plants, etc. and had them for sale. We took pictures of their cotton trees for Uncle Clay and Papaw. Before we left the oldest man did a ceremonial dance for us.
Back at the lodge Wade went to watch the locals play football (soccer to you and me) and Emma and I returned to the hammock house. Dinner was fish and rice with a bowl full of tasty local fruits for dessert. We went back to the room and read for a while and then all three of us slept like babies, especially Wade.
Saturday morning, which was Peruvian Independence Day, we were awakened not by a knock from Victor but by the birds just before sunrise. Watching the world wake up in the Amazon was like nothing we’ve ever seen. The closest moment we’ve had to this came in spring 2004 on our Tanzanian safari. We are blessed so far beyond what we deserve.
posted by Wade, Diana & Emma @ 11:23 AM
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