Thursday, October 31, 2019
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Back into the Jungle
Today a trip to the airport and fly to the town of Puerto Maldonado the gateway to the Tambopata reserve and our lodge in the southern Amazon basin Back to the heat and humidity. We are prepared so we think.
How wrong I was. We arrived in Puerto Maldonado and repack what we want to take into the jungle. It is a 1 hour bus ride in a bouncy small bus. Then we get to the dock and it is a 1 hour boat ride to get to the lodge
Lunch and a snack in route. The first challenge comes when we get to the dock. In the north Amazon every time we went out in the boat it was a 2 flight of stairs up and a 5-10 walk on wooden walkway to our room. Here it is a 126 steps up with some wooden hand rails and then a 20 minute or 25 minute walk to the lodge
There is 24 hour electricity in the rooms. There are No ceiling fans in the rooms or the main dining room. No air conditioning either. The lodge I’d fairly primitive but there is a bar. We sleep under mosquitoe netting and the room is open on one side to the jungle. Lots of bugs in the room all the time. There is no way to cool off. There is no breeze. Dan is really not happy about that.
Food is okay. Buffet style fish and chicken at every meal. Various salsas and lots of salads and vegetables. Fruit juice at every meal and tons of water. All without ice. The lodge is bio ecology friendly so soap and no fresh towels every day. There is a clothesline outside the open wall of our room and a waterfall type shower in the bathroom.
I will send photos on the next posting
How wrong I was. We arrived in Puerto Maldonado and repack what we want to take into the jungle. It is a 1 hour bus ride in a bouncy small bus. Then we get to the dock and it is a 1 hour boat ride to get to the lodge
Lunch and a snack in route. The first challenge comes when we get to the dock. In the north Amazon every time we went out in the boat it was a 2 flight of stairs up and a 5-10 walk on wooden walkway to our room. Here it is a 126 steps up with some wooden hand rails and then a 20 minute or 25 minute walk to the lodge
There is 24 hour electricity in the rooms. There are No ceiling fans in the rooms or the main dining room. No air conditioning either. The lodge I’d fairly primitive but there is a bar. We sleep under mosquitoe netting and the room is open on one side to the jungle. Lots of bugs in the room all the time. There is no way to cool off. There is no breeze. Dan is really not happy about that.
Food is okay. Buffet style fish and chicken at every meal. Various salsas and lots of salads and vegetables. Fruit juice at every meal and tons of water. All without ice. The lodge is bio ecology friendly so soap and no fresh towels every day. There is a clothesline outside the open wall of our room and a waterfall type shower in the bathroom.
I will send photos on the next posting
A lot of bird watchers
You would think that a garden sponsored trip would’ve focused on plants flowers etc. Not so with this trip. Seems most of the people are bird watchers. Carrying big binoculars or long telephoto lenses for their cameras. In looking at the itinerary there will be a focus on birds.
Our excursion on day 2 in Lima took us south of the city to a fishing village then we got to get in small open boats and head to the ocean. The highlight was seeing the penguins. I guess this is a rare occurrence. There were tons of sea lions lazing about on the rocks.
After lunch. A stop at a bird sanctuary to observe the birds living in the protected marsh. The bird lovers with their binoculars were in hog heaven. We leave for the airport in the morning to go into the Amazon.
A weather update which will jinx us for sure. We have had perfect weather. A little scattered rain on a couple of days while we we driving but none at the time we were exploring. Hope our luck holds
Our excursion on day 2 in Lima took us south of the city to a fishing village then we got to get in small open boats and head to the ocean. The highlight was seeing the penguins. I guess this is a rare occurrence. There were tons of sea lions lazing about on the rocks.
After lunch. A stop at a bird sanctuary to observe the birds living in the protected marsh. The bird lovers with their binoculars were in hog heaven. We leave for the airport in the morning to go into the Amazon.
A weather update which will jinx us for sure. We have had perfect weather. A little scattered rain on a couple of days while we we driving but none at the time we were exploring. Hope our luck holds
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Lima day 2
This morning there was an orientation for everyone. Some of our group came from other areas. There was a highlight of what we would be doing and in the afternoon we went to the Larco Museum for lunch and a museum tour. Then off to downtown and a tour of the catacombs. Of course we did this when we were here in January. The problem is there was no time for shopping. We had a group dinner at a restaurant that was at the site of some of the ruins from 300 AD.
It was a great day. There are 17 members of our group a couple from Florida among them. Every one is getting along well. Lots of single women and 2 single men. There is the normal tour type of mix with crazy personalities. We have a single lady is always pushing to the front of the group and taking photos. One of the men is forgetful and is kind of a know it all. It will be an interesting trip
Tour Companies
So we arrive in Lima. The plan is to meet a Holbrook representative who will escort us to our prepaid room for the night. We struggle our with our luggage and reach the exit. Looking at all the drivers reading signs for about 45 minutes. No representatives. I finally call. All of the paperwork with local numbers is in our suitcase. I call the US number. Get through several operators who states she will call back. Open up the locked suitcase to find the local number and the name of the hotel. Finally get a confirmation that the travel company cancelled our pick up since we made our own reservations and we should catch a cab to the hotel. It was a good thing we were here in January so I knew which cab company to use
No problem as they all have the same rate on the signs they are holding. The cab ride is over an hour and the driver took us to the wrong hotel because there was no street number or name just the hotel name. Just a small detour but in this part of Lima there are a lot of one way streets. So 3 hours after the plane landed we arrive at the hotel and they tell us you have no room reserved. We are lucky and get the last room. I am not sure what we paid. At this point in time. I am going to swear off organized tours. This is the most problems we have encountered in the past 7 years of all our international travel
We start day one of Lima. First stop is to find someone to wash our clothes. There is no washer in the hotel and to send it out is so expensive. Well not only can’t we work the washer when traveling we couldn’t find the laundry although we had a google map I printed at home. Finally someone asked if we needed help and said there’s one in the next block of course we managed to turn the wrong way. So we have 8 kg of laundry or about 20 pounds. It will be done at 6 pm. We have the day to go to the market and explore. We see other tour members who are also shopping. A chance to walk about Miraflores and look at the art show in park.
Needless to say we have many treasures that Dan said we absolutely needed. He is really worse than I am. Back to pick up the laundry and the laundry lady we gave a tip to was just amazed that we would do that. It is nice to have clean clothes that don’t smell of Deet.
We have dinner with part of the group and the best Pisco sour for sure. Dinner was so so and we had ice cream for dessert. So much for day1.
No problem as they all have the same rate on the signs they are holding. The cab ride is over an hour and the driver took us to the wrong hotel because there was no street number or name just the hotel name. Just a small detour but in this part of Lima there are a lot of one way streets. So 3 hours after the plane landed we arrive at the hotel and they tell us you have no room reserved. We are lucky and get the last room. I am not sure what we paid. At this point in time. I am going to swear off organized tours. This is the most problems we have encountered in the past 7 years of all our international travel
We start day one of Lima. First stop is to find someone to wash our clothes. There is no washer in the hotel and to send it out is so expensive. Well not only can’t we work the washer when traveling we couldn’t find the laundry although we had a google map I printed at home. Finally someone asked if we needed help and said there’s one in the next block of course we managed to turn the wrong way. So we have 8 kg of laundry or about 20 pounds. It will be done at 6 pm. We have the day to go to the market and explore. We see other tour members who are also shopping. A chance to walk about Miraflores and look at the art show in park.
Needless to say we have many treasures that Dan said we absolutely needed. He is really worse than I am. Back to pick up the laundry and the laundry lady we gave a tip to was just amazed that we would do that. It is nice to have clean clothes that don’t smell of Deet.
We have dinner with part of the group and the best Pisco sour for sure. Dinner was so so and we had ice cream for dessert. So much for day1.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Thoughts on our jungle trip
On our last day in the jungle I can reflect upon our experience. The accommodations were terrific and the staff at the lodge were great. The lodge seemed to cater to Americans although there were several other nationalities represented. The program as I mentioned before was like a camp experience. It was set so as you traversed through the days you did everything the group before you did. I think they could have tailored it if you wanted but everyone knew what to expect and the villages we went to expected the groups. There was usually only one guide that stayed with your group. Unfortunately our guide was only with us 2 of the 4 days and although we had experienced people clearly our first guide was the most knowledgeable. There is plenty of down time as everyday the tour or program ended at about 4 pm so you could swim or “hang” out in a hammock. Dinner was at 7 every night. Alcohol was pricey but things were a little cheaper than in Lima. A bottle of wine was $25-30 in Lima it is $29-35.
The food was buffet style but there was no use of stereo to keep it warm so all food was cool or cold when you ate although the eggs at the primitive lodge were even hot. In the morning there is usually an egg dish. Omelet, sunny side up, scrambled and potatoes of some sort as well as pancakes or French toast. All food was cooked with spices but was not hot just flavorful with a little heat.
We had lunch had one entree while dinner has 2 choices. We had chicken every day and fish every day although prepared differently. All was tasty especially the fish. Dessert was like China, only fresh fruit although one night we had a honey spice cake and fresh fruit. There were always local juices available.
The weather we have had so far has been amazing. The only rain in the north was while we were driving up to Alto Mayo but sun when we got there in the jungle we had rain on the river while going to the canopy but then none and beautiful blue skies and sun. The weather is humid and we were constantly sweating and wet so rain wouldn’t have mattered much. The trip into the jungle was educational and physical. We used several types of boats from the flat totally open ones to fully enclosed to a partial enclosed. There are life jackets required at all times but they can be left open while wearing.
Iquitos although a big city in Peru is a working town with lots of motorcycles and motor karts buildings that are haphazardly built and some without electricity but a generator to run the TV. There was no touristy areas as in Lima, Cusco, or any of the Baja California cities we have seen. It is a port city with the Amazon and its tributaries as a way to move goods. It is isolated like Juneau Alaska arrive by boat or air.
We head back to Lima after having 6 hours at the lodge with no activity planned. We will arrive in Lima at 9pm tonight and begin our tour with the Botanical Garden.
We head back to Lima after having 6 hours at the lodge with no activity planned. We will arrive in Lima at 9pm tonight and begin our tour with the Botanical Garden.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Village Visit
The days activities include fishing for piranha and a trip to the local village. This village is struggling to keep the old ways and ceremonies alive for the new generations. There is a demonstration of use of blow gun. There is also a pet sloth that had been hand raised for the past 7 years. Most of the working adults have left the village and left the children to be raised by the grandparents. There are things to buy to help support the village but each family is financially independent, it is not a commune like village. When we get back from fishing some of the piranha we caught were cooked so we could try the fish. No it is not me. I like my fish nice and filleted and then cooked.
Time for a swim then a night hike to see some of the creatures that come alive in the jungle at night and appreciate sounds of the night , then dinner and bed. Today the thoughts of what am I doing planning these crazy trips. We are on and off a boat several times a day and then it is a climb of 2 flights up from the dock. Today the boat just docked along the river edge. Getting out wasn’t too bad but getting in was impossible. The guide finally rigged up a plank so I could walk up. I may need to think our next trips. This one is far too active and we haven’t been to the canopy yet. They should be hanging out at the beach and people hovering to bring you a cool drink.
The night hike is all around the pond at the camp. Lots of frogs and monkeys. The caiman is at the far side of the pond. I did great. No falls when trampling through the jungle in the dark.
Time for a swim then a night hike to see some of the creatures that come alive in the jungle at night and appreciate sounds of the night , then dinner and bed. Today the thoughts of what am I doing planning these crazy trips. We are on and off a boat several times a day and then it is a climb of 2 flights up from the dock. Today the boat just docked along the river edge. Getting out wasn’t too bad but getting in was impossible. The guide finally rigged up a plank so I could walk up. I may need to think our next trips. This one is far too active and we haven’t been to the canopy yet. They should be hanging out at the beach and people hovering to bring you a cool drink.
The night hike is all around the pond at the camp. Lots of frogs and monkeys. The caiman is at the far side of the pond. I did great. No falls when trampling through the jungle in the dark.
Friday, October 25, 2019
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