Day 348: The Amazon – Puerto Maldonado Day 1
The final section of our year-long adventure would be spent in two parts of the Peruvian Amazon jungle. Sure, it’s hot and full of nasty bugs, but we figured it would be good to end the trip in a really harsh environment: that way we would *want* to go home!
The first section of the Amazon we visited was in the south of Peru, accessed via the town of Puerto Maldonado. This area is particularly famous for the clay licks which attract hundreds of macaws and parakeets, which is the main reason we decided to make the trip. We had purchased our plane tickets from a local travel agency in Cusco the week before, using cash. The agent promised to email us with our boarding passes the night before (he didn’t), so the real moment of truth was when we arrived at the airport – would the ticket counter have our reservation? Score one point for Peru – our reservation was valid! Looks like we were flying to the jungle today!
We are relieved when our cash-purchase airline reservations with Star Peru are valid! We check in and hang out in the Lima VIP lounge until boarding
Our airplane to Puerto Maldonado is a small, British Aerospace “Whisperjet” – these little guys are no longer in production
Safe, on-time flight to Puerto Maldonado vai Star Peru
The main attraction for our trip to Puerto Maldonado was to see the Tambopata Clay Lick – it’s one of the biggest, most popular and easily accessible macaw clay licks in the jungle. Even so, it requires a 3hr. boat ride from the nearest eco-lodge, which is itself a 3hr. boat ride from the nearest village, and *that* is still an hour away from Puerto Maldonado! We had booked a 3-night stay at one of the “luxury” eco-lodges, Refugio Amazonas, in a pitiful attempt to mitigate the harsh rainforest environment.
The beginning of the trip started well enough: each guest reservation included your own personal guide who met us at the airport. Since the lodge was so remote and only accessible via long boats, the lodge made a stop at their in-town offices before heading to the river, asking guests to leave behind any large bags they have with them – bringing only the essentials needed for a 2-3 night stay. The minibus was air-conditioned and comfortable, we were served some delicious snacks (including sugared Brazil nuts – a local specialty), and the guides spent the majority of the drive pointing out interesting things out the windows. When we got to the river dock, we boarded a longboat (which thankfully had a roof for shade) and headed up stream while our guides served us lunch in banana leaves.
After a quick stop to drop off large luggage at the hotel’s office in town, we have a 1hr. transfer to the dock. The minibus is air-conditioned and we each get a basket of snacks, so the transfer is pretty pleasant
Small boat dock in the riverside village of Infierno (we expect the name is due to the fact that it is “hot as hell” here!)
Igor dons his lifejacket as our boat takes off up river
Jungle lunch served onboard the boat
It’s a 2.5hr boat ride up river to reach the jungle lodge
Butterflies on small clay licks
Our guide spots a family of Capybara on the riverbank (the largest rodent in the world – looks like a super-sized guinea pig)
The lodge itself, unfortunately, fell short of expectations. Sure, it had nice interior decorating and they gave us a tasty welcome drink (non-alcoholic), but there were no fans in the common areas, nor in the bed rooms (you have to pay an extra USD $100/night for fans which only worked until 10PM when the generators were turned off for the night). The entire lodge has a “no-shoes inside” policy, in an effort to keep the shiny wooden floorboards clean. However, we soon discovered that the un-sheltered boardwalks connecting the rooms to the lodge would get very slippery when it rained.
The room itself was a disaster. We knew from the get-go that it was an “open-concept” room with no screens and an open wall facing the jungle. It was advertised as “bringing you close to nature” so you could enjoy the “sounds of the jungle”. We soon found out that the jungle would not be the only thing we would hear. The blocks of rooms were set-up longhouse-style. The walls between each room were little more than a row of bamboo sticks, and the walls did not reach the ceiling. As a result, you can hear *everything* going on in the rooms next to you. Including anything going on in the bathroom. That’s right: luxury resort prices so you can hear a complete stranger take a shit in the middle of the night.
When we finally reach the end of the boat ride, we still have a steep staircase to climb and a 10min walk through the forest until we reach the lodge. We’re carrying our own luggage, and it’s really hot, so it’s not a pleasant walk
Refugio Amazons – our first jungle lodge in the Amazon Rainforest
Our “open concept” room with a screen-less open wall facing the jungle, and open rafters giving us little privacy from our neighbors
With no screens and no fans in the rooms and public areas, bug spray is MUST.
The lodge may have been disappointing, but at least our guide, Timoteo, was good. After we checked in, we met up with Timoteo to plan out our excursions for the next 2 days (the lodge had an à la carte menu of morning, afternoon and evening activities to choose from). And other than having a cold (which he tried valiantly to hide from us, but we are experts at spotting people with sniffles!), he was great – very knowledgeable (Igor was unable to stump him with questions) and pretty good at spotting wildlife. We booked a night walk after dinner our first night at the lodge, and Timoteo pointed out a freaky spider-scorpion bug and a cute little snake. Just wish we had put on some long-sleeves before walking into the dark jungle – the mosquitos were out in full force and the supposedly 35% DEET we brought was NOT cutting it!
Our guide points out a huge bug that looks like a spider-scorpion hybrid, and a teeny, harmless snake