From the heights of Peru, we travelled down to the Amazon River and the Amazon jungle. The difference wasn't just in the terrain- now we encountered all sorts of creepy crawlies and other interesting animals which we didn't see in the Andes. Andeans are -as you can imagine- rugged and serious. Life is more casual and laid back on the Amazon [even though there are more things waiting to kill you there than in the mountains- like malaria and yellow fever, both carried by mosquitos-one comes out in the day and the other at night, I never remembered which].
We were taken from the airport to the town of Puerto Maldonado to get rid of our luggage and put what we needed into duffle bags. Then we went to the boat ramp and got on a "motorised" canoe and travelled for about 1-2 hours down the Amazon into the jungle. We stayed in a lodge which was totally gorgeous.
Each "cabin" in the lodge had a bedroom-complete with mozzie nets- a toilet and shower and a ton load of candles, because there was not electricity. Along the edge of the lodge is the jungle-just waiting. The noise the jungle makes is totally astounding.....everything that lives there is totally busy making noises. The first night we went on a jungle walk, with our torches out, looking for anything that hangs out at night. We managed to see a tarantula the size of a small plate. Our guide coaxed it out of it's hide-hole so we could all have a look. After we walked a while, we all turned off our torches and just stared up at the stars and listened to the noises-it was totally groovey.
The next day we took another canoe ride to a lake, where we paddled around looking at birds and then took a hike through the jungle to look at giant trees. At the beginning of this entry, you can see me standing inside one of the strangler figs that take over other trees and kill them from the outside in.
The Amazon River is brown and filled with Caymans, which are a breed of alligator...one night we went out Cayman spotting and found a lot of them, nesting beside the banks. After we spotted about 12 of them, the driver of our boat turned off the engine and we floated down the River with just the stars for accompaniement.
What I loved about the jungle was the plethora of life and the noise. As you can imagine, it is wet and the plant life is not only abundant, but big and beautiful. There are millions of kinds of orchids and birds of paradise, so of which I have never seen before. Our time there was short, but fruitful....
Look for South American Journeys Part 3- The Galapagos.....read on.
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