Into the jungle

Day 21 - 27^th December

Today we were up early to begin our trip into the jungle. There were 9 in our group, 2 other Brits, 2 Australians, a Danish woman, currently living in Arequipa, her mother and a friend of theirs from Honduras. Most of the day was spent driving to our first lodge, on the outskirts of Manu National Park – one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet. The Park is split into 3 distinct areas – the Cultural Zone, where most tours (including ours) visit, the Reserved Zone, a bit further into the jungle and only accessible on longer tours, and the protected area of the National Park, which is not open to members of the public. Several indigenous tribe still live within the National Park and the Peruvian government takes their protection seriously. Many estimate that there are still some tribes that have never made contact with Westerners or modern Peruvians. The drive took us over high mountain passes and through huge areas of cloud forest, where the road was unfinished and perilously close to being washed away or covered by landslides in parts. Fortunately our driver, Jesus, was very skilful and patient and negotiated these treacherous roads with ease. We stopped frequently to take walks in the cloud forest, in the hope of spotting birds or monkeys. Unfortunately, as it was the start of the rainy season, the weather was less than perfect and most animals and birds stayed sensibly hidden! We did, however, see a snake, some beautiful butterflies and a few birds. That night we stayed in a simple lodge, in wooden buildings with metal roofs, and were treated to a delicious 3 course meal, courtesy of Juan, the cook. William, our guide, told us about life growing up in Manu, the local wildlife, birds and plants, and a bit about the indigenous tribes living nearby.

Cloud Forest

pretty butterfly

Our Lodge

Day 22 - 28^th December

We were up early again to drive to the port of Atalaya, where we left Jesus behind and picked up our boat, a long, wooden river launch. On the way we stopped at a local house, which was something of an Amazonian menagerie, with macaws and other birds in the garden, alongside a wild pig and a baby woolly monkey, not to mention countless cats. We had a look at some of the plants that are grown locally, including guavas, pineapples and, of course, coca. Once we had reached Atalaya and filled the boat with all of our provisions for the next few days we set off down the Madre de Dios river into the jungle. We stopped mid-morning for a dip in some natural hot springs, which smelled strongly of sulphur. The water from the springs was really hot, getting up to 50 or 60°C, but the heat of the pool was controlled by stemming the flow of either the hot or cold springs with stones until we got a lovely warm bath temperature. Then it was back on the boat for lunch and some more bird-spotting as we made our way further down the river. On the way we saw white egrets, spoonbills and vultures, as well as passing local people transporting bananas to the market. Once we reached our second lodge (very similar to the first, but with no electricity) it was time for a walk in the jungle. William lead us through overgrown bushes, past giant strangler trees and across streams, pointing out birds and plants as we went. At one point we found a family group of squirrel monkeys swinging through the trees. We learned about the exotic trees, including the 'erotic' palm – so named for its phallic looking flowers, and the walking palm, which actually moves itself to find sunlight but putting down new roots and discarding old ones. Eventually we reached a lookout platform – 7 metres high, constructed out of rickety wood that certainly wouldn’t have met EU H&S guidelines – but this is Peru, so up we climbed! The view from the top was spectacular, and William used his ipod to call birds to us. We saw parrots, parakeets, macaws, olopendralas, and the highlight of the trip – a toucan. We continued our walk into the night, donning our head torches and heading off in search of cayman. We saw tarantulas, frogs, lizards and bats along the way, and eventually made our way to the river, where we saw many beady pairs of cayman eyes watching us. After that, back to the lodge for another slap-up meal and a cold shower to wash off all the deet.

Scarlet Macaw and local woman

baby Woolly Monkey

at the thermal springs

a Festive Coquette  hummingbird

flying macaws

Toucan

Day 23 - 29^th December

Another early morning walk, where we saw more parrots and toucans, and then back to our boat for a long journey up-stream to the third and final lodge. Along the way we saw a turkey vulture eating a dead armadillo. We went to a secluded lake, surrounded by reeds and bushes and took to some simple wooden rafts to see more birds, including the Hoatzin, named 'stinky bird' by the locals! We had a relaxing evening, with another excellent meal, complete with a bottle of Peruvian wine – not quite as good as some of the other South American wines we hope to sample on this trip...

Manu National Park

Hoatzin ("Stinky Bird")

rafts on Machuwasi Lake

Day 24 - 30^th December

Today was mostly spent in the bus as we made our way back to Cusco. Once again Jesus navigated us past landslides and over rivers and we made it back in time to find a night bus to Arequipa. We had our first experience of the local bus terminal but my Spanish had improved enough for me to be able to book us two tickets, and so we set off on yet another long night bus journey.