On this day we traveled to the Amazon. I must say that I never thought I would travel into the Amazon. You hear about all the strange creatures that call the Amazon home. But now I realize that the exotic nature is the intrigue. Again we are up before 5:00am. We had to meet the shuttle at 6:00am. The schedule that I had read did not have us leaving that early. But, the night before while taking the taxi to the hotel there were cops on almost every corner. I asked the taxi driver, Jesus, about it. He said it was the "huelga", which means the strike. Maybe they wanted to get us to the airport early before we ran into any trouble.
After arriving at the airport we found out that take-off would be delayed. It was raining at the Boca Manu air field where we were to land. We would need to wait for a break. About 2 hours later the break came and we took off from Cusco. The plane was a twin engine prop plane that could seat about 15 passengers. It was un-pressurized, so we needed to put on oxygen masks over the crest of the Andes. Before landing we flew under the last layer of clouds to see the jungle below us. It was quite a site, a thick mass of vegatation as far as the eye could see.
We landed on the narrow grass air field at Boca Manu. We were in the jungle and it felt like it. The air was thick. There was little need for the jackets we were wearing. However, insect repellent was definitely required. Our luggage was gathered and we took off in a large canoe. The canoe could seat about 10 people in 2 columns of seats on each side of the canoe. A hefty outboard motor pushed us along. We then traveled downstream on the Madre de Dios River, a major tributary to the Amazon River. We arrived at the Manu Wildlife Center about 90 minutes later. The facilities were rather nice. The very large lodge had a dining area on one side, a bar in the middle, and a relaxation area including hammocks on the other side. Our bungalow was nice as well, it was raised on stilts. It was completely enclosed with a tight screen mesh covered by latice and topped with a thatch roof. It was made to let the air flow in but keep the bugs out. Inside it had a large bathroom with a propane heated shower. The beds all came with mosquito netting. Our only source of light in the evening was candlelight. We did see one cockroach in the bathroom. It was the only pest we had in the room and if I was in the middle of the Amazon and only had to worry about one cockroach, well that was a good bargain.
After lunch and a rest we had to find some rubber boots that fit. The lodge provides rubber boots for use. You can not hike around the jungle without rubber boots. We then proceeded on our afternoon hike. The amount of plantlife was amazing. Pretty quick into our hike we found some monkeys. These were Red Howler Monkeys. They were about 50-75 feet above us in a tree. They were not happy about our presence. First they tried to defacate on us, then there was the urination, and finally they resorted to throwing branches at us. So amusing. We then continued on and saw two other species of monkeys, Capuchin and a White Faced something or other. We headed back for candle light dinner as that was the only kind of light to be had. The food was pretty good, local Peruvian dishes. Then after another long day it was bedtime.
Flying over the Andes, O2 required
Our plane
Airport terminal at Boca Manu
Our beds, equipped with mosquito netting
Tromping thru the jungle
Red Howler Monkeys
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