Peru Adventures
Lima
– Puerto Maldonado – Refugio Amazonas
“If in case of a planet catastrophe we would have the choice to choose from one country to save and rebuild the planet from, undoubtedly I would choose Peru.”
David Bellamy, English scientist
Monday, December 19, 2011
The next morning, we were ready at 7:30 am for the one hour drive to the airport through the Lima rush hour.
Carlos, our ACTIVE guide.
The coastal highway from Miraflores to Lima.
There are many different ways to tranport goods ...
and people...
Our flight to Puerto Maldonado via Cusco was delayed for over two hours.
A note from our travel agency came to mind and reminded us immediately: "When it comes to the kind of travel you’ll do on this trip, life is always an adventure... You'll find your trip even more enjoyable if you remember to bring flexibility, an open mind and a sense of humor with you."
The final approach to the airport in Cusco led the airplane between steep mountains to a short runway. After some passengers left, we continued with the same airplane to Puerto Maldonado, a frontier town in the Amazon basin at the junction of the Rios Tambopata and Madre de Dios.
The jungle comprises about 50% of the Peruvian territory but only 5% of the population lives here. The Amazon basin is culturally very diverse with at least 65 different ethnic groups living here today.
We arrived at 3 pm and were greeted by our (additional) local guides.
We boarded a small bus and drove to the headquarter of the local agency, Rainforest Expeditions, were Gisela separated our to be left-behind luggage from the overnight bags and day packs.
After another 45 minutes on the bus, we reached the banks of the Amazon river.
A dugout canoe waited for us, and we began our 3-hour ride up North deep into the jungle.
Lunch was interesting: A tasty rice-chicken mixture, served in a folded banana leaf - 100% bio-degradable!
We listened and watched out for howler monkeys...
observed Capybaras (the world's largest rodents)
and spotted several macaws flying overhead.
As it got quickly dark at around 5 pm, we started to look out for the nocturnal South American crocodile – the caiman. First, we only saw a tiny one, about 40 inches long, but finally the search paid off and we discovered several four to six foot long caimans sitting on the river banks or sliding in the water.
At around 7 pm we reached Refugio Amazonas, a (in our opinion) first class "jungle lodge".
During a very tasty dinner (buffet-style) we celebrated Heiko's birthday with a bottle of red wine and listened to Fernando, our local guide, as he explained the events planned for the following day.
But, we were not yet prepared for our “rooms” which were fairly open featuring curtains as "doors" and three walls only! The wall facing the jungle was left open to allow a close observation of wildlife. Cool! Our bed was covered with a mosquito net - which kept the bugs out but not the many noises from the jungle.
The lodge operates on batteries and solar energy, the tap water is not for drinking and all showers are cold water only. We were advised to use the safe - not to store valuables but food as sometimes opossums visit the guest rooms and search for a snack.
When we finally got organized, the maids had already turned off the gas lamps and we changed into our PJs by flashlight only. The tooth brushing was interrupted by a bat which flew into our room and had trouble finding the way out. During the night we heard uncountable and indescribable noises from the jungle. Sophia and Alexandra were visited by a bird which flapped a while in their room.
The Refugio Amazonas experience is very well captured in this YouTube video: