Lungs of the Earth

When Ash and I went about planning our destinations, the Amazon Rainforest was in each of our Top 5. I just couldn’t believe it would really be out first excursion!

Flying into Puerto Maldonaldo, we were giddy as school girls… well maybe just me. After being mobbed by tuk-tuk drivers at the landing strip, we were off to find a hostel. I cannot recommend Tambopata Hostel enough.

We arranged a 1 night, 2 day adventure about 2 hours down the Tambopata River (eventually meets the mighty Amazon) deeper into the Peruvian Rainforest for the next day. Waking at 5am, we met our guide Esteban, and headed for an awaiting pekye-pekye. Slowly cruising down the river on the hot and humid morning, we reached the Tambopata National Reserve (near the Peru, Bolivia, Brazil border). We then proceeded on the slowest 5km hike ever recorded… stopping to look at every monster tree, strange insect, colorful bird, intricate web, and even catching a piranha.

After a lunch consisting of chicken and rice wrapped in a banana leaf, we rented a canoe and paddled onto Lake Sandoval. Esteban had been speaking of the endangered Giant Otter, which he hadn’t seen in 3 weeks. Jackpot! We spied the handsome family of four clear across the lake and we made haste to see them dining on huge piranhas. We shored the canoe and while hiking another 2km via a virgin trail, Esteban exclaimed, “we better walk faster”. Similar to a distant expressway, we could hear a hum… closer… closer… closer… and like a swarm of bees the heavy raindrops drenched us. As the skies opened up, we bailed some water from the canoe just in time to see a troop of squirrel monkeys making its way across the edge of the lake.

 

We recuperated by way of a cat nap then paddled onto Lake Sandoval around dusk. We visited the viewing tower (70 feet tall) then the Main Event: Black Caiman Searching. The incredible sunset proved to a precursor for the evening. Armed with a flashlight and headlamp, Ashley and I trained their beams at the palm tree swamp on Lake Sandoval’s NE shore. Every so often, our lights reflected the glowing orange eyes of the North American Alligator’s cousin, the Black Caiman (largest predator in the Amazon). Esteban rowed the canoe into a swampy area and edged himself to the rear of the rocky boat. Like a firecracker, he lurched his hand into the water and captured a 3 foot Black Caiman, losing his flashlight in the process (we reimbursed him). What a thrill it was to hold such a wild creature while Ash couldn’t find a spot far enough away in the canoe.

We celebrated the adventure with a candlelight dinner (no electricity in the huts) and a tarantula the size of a sand dollar was kind enough to join us, perched 8 feet directly above me. Again, Ash was not thrilled. We wrapped the mosquito nets tightly around our beds, wondering what the Amazon Basin had in store for us the next day.

My expectations of the Amazon had been high and they were exceeded. The biodiversity, medicinal attributes of the plants, incredible smells/sounds/sights all blew me away. 

- Greg

Tips

1. Arranging a tour upon arrival will save you lots of $$$. This is true of anywhere in the Amazon Basin. You can have the same experience booking a trip from an Amazonian town as booking a room in a jungle lodge. Our trip was $175 per person including food, transportation, guide, and lodging. Similar packages can cost well over $300 by pre-booking.

2. Before booking a 7 day excursion in the jungle, make sure you can really take the heat, humidity, and bugs galore – we planned for 6 days and 3 was plenty.

3. There aren’t many hostels in Puerto Maldonado. But Tambopata Hostel is fantastic – friendly people, delicious breakfast, slow but free Internet, great location, and cool showers. Only $10 per person too… cheap and nice is what I’m talking about.