Jungle here we come – and what a highlight! Somebody said to me before we left on our trip “You won’t have a holiday, but you WILL have an adventure” and that really sums up this trip, which has been amazing. We flew from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado, a fairly scruffy town in the Peruvian Amazon, and were taken by bus to the office of the tour company so that we could re-pack and get ready for the long trip into our remote Amazon lodge called Sandoval Lodge on freshwater Lake Tambopata. That was when we were given the news that there had been some rain for a couple of days beforehand, so the track on which we had to hike 3.5kms was extremely muddy and slippery and it would take close to 2 hours to walk the track instead of the usual one hour.
Nothing keeps a Frosty Top down, so we rose to the challenge and boarded the large motorised canoe with the gumboots and a wooden hiking stick, which we’d had issued to us at the office, ready for a long trek. By then it was lunchtime, so we hit the heat of the day for our walk, which was pretty treacherous at times, extremely sweaty, but also quite good fun, hearing the sounds of the jungle around us and literally getting covered from head to foot in mud. We were so thankful that all we had to carry was a day pack with some water, insect repellent and the good old emergency ponchos. Our bags were bundled into large plastic sacks and pushed/pulled by two unfortunate boys through 3.5kms of thick mud on a two wheeled cart. I felt so sorry for them! At the other end of the track we were bundled into a dug-out canoe and paddled by the same boys for about 40 minutes across Lake Tambopata, during which we had a brief but refreshing downpour.
Got to the Lodge dripping wet, sweaty and very muddy at about 4.30pm and were shown to our room after a welcome drink of Pisco Sour, which hardly touched the sides! Power is only on at odd times of the day, so we only had torch light until 5.30pm when the power came back on for a few hours. Got into the shower fully dressed in the dark and peeled off clothing bit by bit as we washed all the mud off the clothes and ourselves. I don’t think I’ve ever been so grateful for a lukewarm shower in my entire life! No air con there of course, but a fan at least (when the power was on intermittently, although not between 10.30pm and 4am) and a mosquito net over our bed.
We had three outings a day (all optional) – pre-dawn, mid morning and at dusk, either on the lake or on land and during our time there we saw Macaws, various types of monkey leaping from tree to tree, Giant Otters, Black Caiman (like crocodiles, and almost extinct), various snakes and insects, a three-toed sloth and lots of other birds. A Pink-toed Tarantula almost literally landed at our feet on the path below the lodge having been swept off the deck outside our rooms by a housemaid. It looked like it had little pink ballet shoes on. They are not deadly but do bite! Steve gave it a little poke with a stick so we could observe it moving. Not a fan of large hairy spiders, but as long as they’re not ON me, I’m happy to look at them from a safe distance…
Although the mornings were early starts, we had plenty of time in between outings to snooze in our rooms or in hammocks, so we all felt quite rejuvenated after such a busy schedule. The meals were fantastic and the local guides, Jhon and Juve, were really friendly and knowledgeable. Learnt a lot about all the plants and trees in the jungle which are used for all sorts of ailments from arthritis to kidney stones.
Three days later we had to do the whole trip in reverse, back to Puerto Maldonado, but am glad to say we left at 6.30am, so the walking part was much cooler and SOME of the mud had dried out, so it was easier and faster to walk back in our gumboots. A really fantastic three days, never to be forgotten.
2 Frosty Tops Do South America 