As birds and red howler monkeys awakened us well before dawn, we had no need for the alarm clock to get up at 5:30. I wonder when or if we'll be sleeping under mosquito nets again!
The shared wall with the room on the other side of our cabin didn't go all the way up to the ceiling so it would have been very noisy and awkward having 'roommates' there.
Neither of us were too happy when we had to hurry up and wait for breakfast which was supposed to have been ready at 6. The lodge's surroundings near Lago Sandoval were beautiful; it was just a shame that the lodge and its staff didn't match up.
We were paying a pretty penny for our entire experience in the Amazon from the time we were picked up from the airport in Puerto Maldonado several days earlier until our tour ended later that day and didn't expect the lodge whose only guests were our guide, Jorge, Simon from Australia and us, to run out of toilet paper in the women's bathroom. When I mentioned that to Jorge, he pulled the roll from the men's, thinking that would suffice!
By 6:40, we were down at the lodge's boat dock for an early morning boat ride on the lake
The lodge's location was ideal as it had instant access to lake wildlife during the cool hours of golden light after dawn and before dusk. That was why we had wanted to spend an extra night in the Tambopata Nature Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon which was created in 1990 to protect the forests adjacent to two rivers that have two important ecosystems and are noted for its biodiversity.
The water looked like glass, it was so smooth with no other canoeists disturbing our early morning enjoyment.
We were delighted when we came across an enormous black caiman at dawn rather than just seeing their eyes on our early evening boat ride the previous day.
Boats belonging to another lodge on the lake:
It was amazing to learn that the Tambopata reserve, nearly one-third the size of Costa Rica, had more species of birds (595) and butterflies (more than 1,200) than any place of similar size on earth!
The omnipresent hoatzin on the lake was a species of tropical bird found in swamps, riparian forests and mangroves of the Amazon.
Even though we had seen many of them yesterday near the lake, I was still captivated by their unusual beauty and especially their bright blue eyes.
A striped heron cooperated by sitting perfectly still so I could take several photos but I thought one photo of the stationary bird would suffice!
Jorge explained that though this enormous ficus tree had a parasite growing around it, it wasn't killing the tree.
Even though there were very few flowers close to the lake, the ones we did see were very attractive.
Suellen: I'm sure you can tell this was an ahinga taking flight!
These were the first red-capped cardinals we were lucky enough to see.
Moments later, we marveled as another anhinga took flight.
Other tourists also witnessed the beauty of the anhinga, a member of the same family as cormorants.
We had hoped to see some capybaras, the largest living rodents in the world but they stay hidden in wet weather which we had had at night. They have such an especially strong noise, they can smell people from far away.
The lake's lily pads reminded me of those we see each summer in one of our all-time favorite US places, Florida's Grayton Beach State Park.
As Jorge and Simon paddled over, we managed to see what I think were two masked ducks in the middle of the lake.
Nearer to shore were nine otters who kept bobbing up and down as they caught fish - what a hoot watching them! I had a devil of a time, though, getting any decent photos but I kept trying for a better shot!
I wish you could have been there to hear the otters squeal as they caught fish.
Seeing the otters again was a perfect way to end our early morning boat ride before we had to head back to 'civilization' and the jungle town of Puerto Maldonado and on to another city in southern Peru.
All too soon, we were back in the swampy channel that led to the dock and our long hike back through the mud to catch the boat back to Puerto Maldonado.
Snake vines like these are used when decorating homes, according to Jorge.
We were again somewhat envious of the porters we saw on the trail carrying heavy loads of gear belonging to guests staying in a more upscale lodge than we had. All the other tourists we saw on the trail generally had big smiles on their faces and a saunter to their step, not surprising as they were just carrying light day packs!
Jorge told us this sweet fruit needs to be peeled and boiled before eating.
It was a great excuse to stop and take a breath as we watched an army of leaf cutting ants as they carried leaves toward the hole at the base of the tree. In less than two weeks, Jorge explained the leaves would become a fungus which the ants would consume. However, the fungus cannot grow in the rain.
Just another miracle from Mother Nature, I thought.
Red ribbons marked off each kilometer of the trail.
Because it was humid, my glasses got fogged up easily which made it harder to see the amazing wildlife. Or did my glasses fog up because I was breathing so hard lugging my backpack full of gear?
The map showed the massive Tambopata Nature Reserve. The blue spot on the lower right side was Lake Titicaca on the border of Peru and Bolivia. I point that out because we were heading there in a few more days.
We were back in the larger boat by 9:20 for the 40-minute return journey to Puerto Maldonado.
These tall, skinny plants along the Madre de Dios River were called river cane and were used to build roofs as they were watertight.
It was interesting to see that the boats we passed on the river were each different.
Jorge joked that he bridge spanning the river looked like pictures he had seen of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge!
Years ago, Jorge said there were only about 400 people living in the village across the river from Puerto Maldonado. With all the increased tourism in the Tambopata Reserve, the town's population had swelled to 5,000.
The pretty square in Puerto Maldonado heralded two explorers who ventured into the region 300 years apart: Spanish conquistador Juan Alvarez de Maldonado passed through in 1566 and Peruvian explorer Faustino Maldonado explored the still wild area in the 1860s.
Our room at Casa Sandoval in Amazon's River Basin was very basic. It only had two hours of electricity twice a day so we relied on flashlights or headlamps. That was tough, though, when we were in a hurry in the middle of the night and had to use the bathroom! There was no table or nightstand to put any of our belongings so we improvised with the one stool. The curtain provided the barrier to the bathroom.
As Jorge and Simon paddled along the shoreline, we noticed some spectacular acacia trees.
The image of the sky's and trees' reflection in the lake made for a lovely photo.
Jorge mentioned that the lake's palm trees had roots extending about 25 meters deep in the lake which meant they would never fall over.
Jorge spotted two boats near each other on the other side of the lake so he surmised there must be river otters there. He said that tourists often go a long time without seeing any otters on the lake so we had been especially lucky seeing several late yesterday on the lake and shoreline.
It was hard to spot the tree lizard on the ficus tree as it blended in so well.
One of the town's hotels advertised it offered the psychedelic Ayahuasca Ceremony that I wrote about when we visited the farm on the Amazon River Basin.
After returning to the company's offices to collect the rest of our belongings and repack our bags, we were at the airport by 11 for a flight to the city of Arequipa, located further south in Peru by way of Cusco and Lima. Needless to say, we were pretty exhausted when we arrived in the beautiful 'White City' late that night.
Writing about our adventure in the Amazon River Basin now almost three months later, there is no doubt that the four night trip was one of the most thrilling times in all of South America. Discovering the walking tree and so many other of nature's marvels on our night hike, spending hours among the most colorful macaws at the clay lick, spotting such rare creatures like the jaguar and the family of river otters and yes, even hiking the long muddy trail to Lake Sandoval were extraordinary highlights.
Next post: Discovering why Arequipa was known as Peru's white city.
Posted on January 30th, 2018, from Littleton, Colorado.
If I have to come back in another life, I'd like to be an otter. They appear to enjoy life. Lil Red
ReplyDeleteI hadn't ever thought of coming back to life as an otter, Lil Red, but spotting them cavorting in the gorgeous lake was a hoot!
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