June 28, 2016
For our next destination, we plan to go the way of the Incas who crossed over the bridge from Machu Picchu and head toward the lowlands of the rainforest. Today we fly from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon river basin about 35 miles from the Bolivan border. Our home for the next four nights, the Hacienda Concepcion, is located on the Madre de Dios river allowing us quick access to all the Amazonia flora and fauna of the Tambopata National Reserve.
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| Thank you Edwin for talking us safely about the roads of Cusco & the Sacred Valley! |
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This special lady tracked us down all the way from Pisac to the Cusco airport when she realized that she had overcharged us for goods purchased from her shop in the Sacred Valley, more than a week earlier.
Truly a testament of integrity of this Peruvian! We would never have known... |
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Puerto Maldonado is the capital to the southern jungle-
We quickly noticed the heat & humidity and the absence of cars... |
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This guy in the yellow vest and helmet is a taxi driver-
locals (including small children) hop on the back sans helmet, long pants or any other such safety precautions... |
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First view of the muddy river-
even browner than the "Muddy Mississippi"
One of these boats took us about 30 minutes down river to our lodge. |
The Hacienda Concepcion has an interesting history. The estate, once a rubber plantation, was owned by a Spanish medical missionary who operated a hospital, school and church for the indigenous population and also grew cacao and rice and conducted research into tropical diseases. In the 1950's he used a steam ship as a floating clinic to provide medical aid to the people along the river.
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| The pathway to the hacienda's Casa Grande where we were greeted with fresh squeezed mint lemonade- a perfect thirst quencher for this heat! |
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| The boys are excited to have their own cabana- |
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| -complete with mosquito nets! |
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| Our first excursion, led by ex-military jungle expert and guide, Javier |
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This species is called the "Walking Palm"-
It has an unusual root system of "legs" said to move the tree towards better sunlight.
It is postulated that the tree can "walk" 2-3 centimeters a day. |
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| You know you are in the jungle when the leaves are as big as a 10 year old boy! |
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Our first (of many) monkey sighting-
Javier said the animals of this species are more like cats with the long bushy tail-
I think it is the Titi monkey... |
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| Monkeys eating bananas...so cliche! |
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This guy is a Howler monkey-
it is rare for them to be active during the day, we heard them mostly at night! |
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| Stringy, stretchable, natural rubber from a rubber tree |
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| This sticky, milky latex dries into the elastic material seen in the photo above. |
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| Brothers by the river on the evening of our first day- |
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| Deep discussion... about the things of the jungle?... or the upcoming Pokeman battle? |
The jungle after dark is an enticing prospect for young boys.
It turns out that during our stay we would have more than one opportunity to view the activity of the jungle at night...beginning with our first night's "Caiman Cruise". We went out in the boat to try and spot the crocodile-like aquatic predator along the riverbanks.
The boys were not disappointed.
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| A juvenile spectacled caiman |
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| No parents allowed at this table- :) |
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