Sights and sounds of the AMAZON RIVER BASIN

DAY 38

Tambopata: The instant we landed in Puerto Maldonado--a city on the cusp of civilization and the raw jungle of the Amazon River Basin--a sweltering humidity (similar to that of steamy summer days in the South) smacked us in the face. From the airport, we took a bus along a clay dirt path lined with tropical fruit trees, livestock, and a small village dotted here and there until the path ended at a small grass hut. From there, we took a 45 minute boat ride down the Tambopata River to our lodge. By the riverside, we saw numerous turtles basking on branches in the sunlight, monkeys playing atop tall trees, and colorful birds taking flight upon our approach.

Our accommodation, Posadas Amazonas lodge, is an eco-reserve on its own piece of the Amazon rainforest. There is no electriciy, no hot water, and one of the walls to our refuge was completely open to the jungle (literally, the wall was just missing!). From our lodge we saw numerous animals including three types of monkeys, wild turkeys, lizards, birds, and a large rodent called agouti.

We took a walk through the jungle near sunset where we saw noctournal ants busy at work, colorful birds including macaws and parakeets, and a variety of interesting flora including the Brazilian nut tree (yummy!), cocoa, and "walking palm"--a tree that actually grows legs and gradually moves toward water and nutrients underground. At the end of our walk, we made a visit to a canopy tower in the forest for sunset.

At night, we fell asleep to the sweet music of crickets, cicadas, and owls and slept with a firm reliance on the mosquito netting over our beds. I have to admit that it was quite romantic jotting down my thoughts by good old fashioned ink by candlelight in our refuge and waking up to the sound of shrill macaws, laughing monkeys, or from the heat of the early morning sun.

DAY 39

This morning we awoke at 4:30 a.m. for a cruise in the Tres Chimbadas oxbow lake. In order to get to the lake required a hike, boat ride back down the Tambopata, another hike, then finally another boat to the lake. The pre-dawn wake-up call was certainly worth it, as the animals tend to be more alive first thing in the morning.

 

We had the priviledge of catching a rare siting of an otter family fishing for breakfast. Unlike those in the U.S. (of which I've only seen in zoos), the otters in this lake were up to 6 feet in length! After quietly following the otter family for a while and taking in other sites such as bats roosting on a branch and wild turkeys on the shore, we decided to kick it up a notch by going piranha fishing. I guess I wasn't quite with the program, as I was the only person who caught something that wasn't a piranha. Just some kind of tame silvery fish.  Oops!

Later in the afternoon, we took a boat ride to visit the Shaman and his medicinal garden, a clinic of sorts for those in the community who are unable to afford a doctor. The garden is filled with natural plants that act as antedotes for illnesses such as stomach ulcers, early stages of cancer, severe cough, and diarrhea. Oddities in the garden included a leaf that acts as a local anesthetic, a normal looking green leaf that leaves behind a natural reddish-purple dye, and a plant called "Para-Para" which acts as a natural viagra. As we had the privilege of trying these, we left with a numb mouth, purple hands, and a lot of energy. The most important plant in the garden, or Master Plant, is the Ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic plant that works in the brain to unveil the root of a patient's disease. The plant can only be taken in a ritual at midnight with the oversight of the Shaman himself. People come from all over the country to undergo this ritual in the final hopes of curing their diseases.

DAY 40

This morning, we chanced upon an unusual sight. On our way to a clay lick to see macaws and parakeets, we heard a small, terrified squealing nearby. After a bit of poking around, we found a tiny wild piglet with its family nowhere in sight. Its umbilical cord still attached, and we reckoned that the babe was born no more than a few days before. After a lot of patience (on our part) and stumbling around (on the babe's part), he finally came towards us within reach. Unfortunately, as it was a thing born of the wild, the tour guide insisted that it be left there and that the family was likely to return. After lunch, we returned to the same path to find that the piglet was gone.

After dinner, we took a night walk to seek out snakes and insects with our flashlight. Mom reasoned that she didn't need to seek out things she didn't want to see and decided to stay in the lodge. From our vantage point (in insect-infested waters up to our ankles), we were successful in sighting a huge mother spider carrying eggs, bright frogs and tadpoles, two grasshoppers mating, and a non-poisonous snake slithering in a tree nearby.

DAY 41

The serenity of the jungle was something that seemed to make time stand still. The pace was much slower, but I spent more worthwhile time by simply sitting in a hammock and soaking in the jungle than I ever have with a busy schedule to contend with. Although I wanted to take advantage of the peaceful pace of the rainforest for much longer, we set off today for a little sunshine by the coast.