Amateur Traveler: Saturday, May 30

We woke up at 5:00am as breakfast was at 5:30am and the boat was going to leave for the airstrip at 6:00am. It was still raining hard. The consensus in our bungalow was that there was at most a 30 minute break in the rain overnight. Other than that it had been raining solid ever since the morning prior. Before leaving we saw the group that had arrived the day before in the lodge. They were supposed to have gone to the clay lick to view the parrots and macaws. However, the birds do not visit the clay lick if it is raining. It made me feel lucky to have seen all the wildlife we had seen. In fact we had seen just about everything that was advertised, except for a nice view accross the jungle canopy.

We boarded the boat, it was going to be a 2 hour ride to the airstrip. We were all pleased to have had rain gear. We had went out and purchased rain pants for this trip, it turned out to be a great investment. The lodge let us borrow rubber boots for the boat ride as well. Although there was a canopy on the boat, it didn't stop the heavy rain. Of course when we got to the airstrip the plane was still in Cusco because of the weather. A native tribe runs the airstrip and also had a small restaurant/lodge where we could hang out. While we waited I entertained a couple of young local children with my iPhone. We probably waited a good 3 hours before the plane arrived.

We arrived in Cusco and checked into our hotel. Upon entering our hotel room we opened our suitcases. The stench was unbearable. Our sweaty wet clothes needed immediate attention. After washing our clothes in the sink we went to look for lunch. It was sunny and warm. We had the rest of the day free. We had a late lunch at a pizza place that was recommended in Fodor's. The food in Peru is really quite good. The pizza was made fresh and it was delicious. After wondering around a bit we decided to go back to the hotel for the rest of the evening. I called my Mom and Dad from my cell phone, it was my Dad's birthday the day before. Then it was bed time.

A rather large spider hanging around the Amazon airstrip lodge