In the jungle the mighty jungle...

We have just spent the last three days in the Amazon Basin at an eco-resort 1.5 hours long boat ride down river from Puerto Maldonado. The heat and humidity knocked us for 6 when we got off the plane. The other thing that was hard to deal with was the group of 16 year old American kids that were along for the ride also - very taxing on the patients.

Andy the riverman - boots and all

We went to an island in the middle of the river called Monkey Island - guess what we found there? yep, monkeys. We walked around the island looking at the 5 different kinds of monkeys that like to eat bananas but none of them grow on the island so they were very happy to see us carrying a big bag full.

Lion Monkey - not much bigger than your hand

The second day we were there Cath wasn´t feeling well so spent the morning in a hammock resting while Andy joined a tour group (not the American kids thankfully) for a trudge through the jungle mud to get a taste of the various jungle flora and fauna. And of course, because we were in a rainforest, it rained.

Macaw - Amazon

The amount of noise generated by all the animals in the jungle is amazing. We were woken on the second day by the sounds of Red Howler Monkeys sounding out their territory. They sound like a cross between a jet aeroplane and Cath´s parents´kettle! Just the thing to wake you up at 5am!!

We saw tonnes of beautiful birds, some lizards, frogs, caimans, tarantulas, weird bugs, butterflies and a resident Tapier named Carina that hung around the resort as a pet. The Tapier looks like a cross between a Elephant and a Pig but is actually a jungle cow and we were most impressed that it can eat grass whilst it is lying on its side being patted by tourists. Its kind of a jungle wombat with a snout and somehow quite endearing.

Mud path in the Amazon

Amazon River boat

Cath on river boat

It was quite a change to be in low altitude (175m ASL from Cuzco´s 3300) in a dead flat environment. Apart from the opressive humidity, mud, bugs and heat, we had a pretty cool time its just a shame that Cath was sick for most of the three days we spent there but she´s better now and ready to tackle the local cuisine again.

Tomorrow we are on a bus out of Cuzco to Lake Titicaca with a few stops on the way to look at ruins and stuff. We plan on a few rest days at Puno before heading out to the floating islands and then crossing into Bolivia (don´t stress mum, its not such a bad place).

Love to you all,
Andy & Cath.

written by

Cath & Andy on April 24, 2007 from Puerto Maldonado, Peru

from the travel blog: A journey to the alter and South America

Send a Compliment

comment on this...