Off to the Jungle

I just could not sit around Lima, Miraflores for days and days, hoping the ship comes in, hoping to work with Customs and my broker to facilitate advanced clearance, I had to get out of town. So, threw together a spur-of-the-moment plan to get to the jungle, part of the greater Amazon Basin, and Cusco and Machu Picchu, all in the same trip. Plan, fly from Lima to Puerto Maldonado in the jungle, spend 4 nights there, then fly to Cusco, get to Machu Picchu, and return to Lima, and then hopefully pick up my van. Got a last-minute ticket on StarPeru to fly to Puerto Maldonado, stopping in Cusco on the way, less than US$100. Also made reservations, again via Booking.com, to stay at a place along the Rio Tambopata a few km out of town, Bungalows Vivencial Parayso. Really wanted to stay at one of the more isolated lodges upriver, really be in the jungle, but these places, very expensive, often approaching US$200 per night (and more), and I just could not afford that. Plan came together quickly, and off to the jungle I went.

Airport in Lima is just nuts, but StarPeru was great, and stopping in Cusco on the way very cool, city in a valley surrounded by high peaks. Plane passes by, then after a steep bank, you are suddenly on the ground, and airport seems like it is in the middle of Cusco. And this flight, almost like being on a bus, as we landed, the flight attendants herded people off, and almost as quickly as more than half the people on the flight deplaned, a bunch of people boarded, were quickly herded to their seats, and we were off. I bet we only spent 20 minutes total on the ground before we were gone, a bus with wings. After a short flight, we landed in Puerto Maldonado, and what a difference. From the noisy insanity and low humidity of Lima, to the heat and humidity of the jungle. I got a kick out of a bunch of tourist from China who boarded the plane in Cusco, obviously after a visit to Machu Picchu; they were wearing down jackets. Baggage came off quickly, and I jumped in my first mototaxi ride of this part of the trip. There are few 4-wheeled vehicle in Puerto Maldonado, the place is dominated by motobikes, scooters and 3-wheeled vehicles they call mototaxis, kind of like a rickshaw with a motorcycle, one wheel in the front, two in back. I was in the jungle, and just excited to leave my hassles in Lima, and get out of town. I needed an adventure, even if just a little one. What an interesting little place, hot, dusty, noisy, gritty port town in the jungle. I quickly felt better than I had in days. I was someplace different, and different is always good.

Puerto Maldonado about 310 miles (500 km) east of Cusco, across the Andes and into the greater Amazon River valley. This inland port city lies at the confluence of two rivers, the Madre de Dios and Tambopata. This "jungle" town of 60,000 people dubs itself the "biodiversity capital of the world", as the town lies close to the Tambopata National Reserve, and the nearby Manu Biosphere Reserve. The Tambopata Reserve is also adjacent to the Bahuaja-Sonene Natural Park, which together protect 3.8 million acres of wilderness. There are 620 species of birds, over 1,200 species of butterflies, a biodiversity rich area which also includes red-and-green macaws, three-towed sloths, squirrel monkeys, red howler monkeys, and many other species. I did not see as many different species as I would have liked, but, I was not deep in the jungle as I would have liked to be.

Got to town quickly, and off to the Bungalows, where Percy was waiting. There are four small bungalows, nice porch, lots of screen windows and mosquito netting and a bath, no hot water, but in the heat and humidity, no problem. Percy also sells beer, and after along journey, and now in the heat, a cold Cusquena tasted great. Had some time, off to town to explore, and get dinner, so another dusty ride in a mototaxi. Puerto Maldonado a bit hard to describe, is dusty, and in the jungle, so humid as well. Looks like most live a pretty hard life, tourism, some logging, and even think gold mining still going on. There was not much to see, or do in town, wandered around, quick dinner, and back to the Bungalows for an evening beer on the porch overlooking the river. I was not in the jungle, mototaxis cruised up and down the road long after dark, but slept well, as I was not in Miraflores and Lima anymore.

I was in the Puerto Maldonado at Percy's place for four nights, three days. Tried to kill myself my renting a scooter one day, let me explore outside of town a bit, hung out in town one day which included an afternoon at the local swimming pool, and went to the jungle one day, trip down river and a hike to Lago Sandovol. Had hoped to visit salt lick and see all the parrots and parakeets which visit the licks at dawn, but couldn't arrange anything, at least not anything I could afford, so settled for a long day trip to Sandovol. We didn't much, a tortoise, a couple of caiman in the lake, some birds, no monkeys (at least not wild), and I saw an agouti while I was walking back with a French woman who booked the same tour. We did not see much, did not seem like the Amazon Basin, but was a very enjoyable day none-the-less. I do need to explore the Amazon one of these days, guess do something upriver in Brasil.

Even if I did not really experience the Peruvian Amazon how I would have liked, I did have fun. And to cap things off, the last evening, just after the sun had set and I was enjoying a nightcap, yes,  you guessed it, another tall Cusquena, I saw some movement at the base of a tree just across the trail which lies between the bungalow and the bank down to the river, no more than 5 m from where I was sitting on my porch. And there, slowly but steadily was a sloth climbing up the tree. I thought about racing inside for my camera, but is was pretty dark, and sloths are not the quickest animals out there, I was afraid if I moved I would miss it. Sometimes experiencing nature is just that, it is about the experience, and not every event can be captured in an image. So, I just sat there, and enjoyed, enjoyed the experience of watching the sloth slowly climb up the tree, cross over into another tree, and then disappear into the darkness of the canopy above. If was nice, just to sit there, enjoy my beer, and watch a very cool animal, an animal few people ever get to see. I had seen, and photographs slots before, in Costa Rica, but is still always nice to see such critters in the wild. In some ways, this event made my trip to the jungle. Now, off to the Cusco and Machu Picchu.

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