We flew in to Puerto Maldonaldo, had a quick tour of the town, particularly the market with a huge array of produce, had lunch wrapped up in a banana leaf, then travelled by bus and boat to Inotawa Lodge.
We are in a group with Suzanna and Twan from Holland and our guide is Victor. On the way we saw butterflies on a clay lick and a fabulous macaw.
The Lodge is situated in the Amazon basin, beside the Rio de Tambopata, and while basic, is perfect for three days in the rainforest. We left the boat and climbed the bank to the Lodge.
We have a bungalow with bathroom, although the water is only cold and there is no power, just candles.
The main dining area is also candlelit at night, and everyone eats together. The food has been very good and included local delicacies such as cassava and plantain.
Once night fell, we went for a walk and saw lots of bugs, including a pink toed tarantula, a stick insect, a monkey tree frog and an opossum.
Next morning it was an early start to go by boat to the clay lick, hopefully to see macaws and parrots getting their regular dose of minerals from the clay. There were many birds, of different varieties, landing on a branch, checking it was safe, and going for a beakful! After putting on a grand show, many birds were sitting on a dead branch, and suddenly it broke and a cloud of green rose into the sky as they flew away.
After breakfast we were off again, this time to Tres Chimbadas Lake, where we took a catamaran across the lake and tried piraña fishing with rods baited with bits of meat. We were joined by another couple so six of us were trying, and only Twan was successful. Some swam before returning for lunch, but it looked a bit murky to us!
There are lots of butterflies, all different colours, especially royal blue ones and red ones, but they are too shy for a photo. The howler monkeys have been heard and not seen, the Tito monkey was seen only briefly, but we finally caught a spider monkey.
Also seen an owl that looks like a branch, fungus and a huge kapok tree.
The flowers here are just show offs and can’t wait to pose …
Later we went for a walk and Victor pointed out various spices like the garlic tree, ginger and turmeric as well as fruit in a plantation with several sorts of banana and plantain, star fruit, papaya, and citrus fruits. We were accompanied by the soulful three note whistle of of the Great Tinamou, a bird like a grouse, although we didn’t see it. As the light faded, cicadas took up the chorus raising a mighty racket as they tuned up their legs!
Once properly dark we went down to the river, and Suzanna spotted both a rainbow boa constrictor and a huge tarantula.
We went out in a boat to try to spot a cayman, and found a couple including one over a metre long.
Next day and another early start to visit Lake Cocacocha in the hope of seeing giant river otters. We went by boat to the edge of the Tambopata National Reserve then walked 5km to the lake and took out a small boat, spotting cormorants and a hoatzin in the trees.
We had a brief rain shower then saw the otter family fishing for breakfast. There were 7 in all, and we watched them swimming and diving for fish.
Then we returned … but that doesn’t quite explain what it was like. The path was narrow with roots and branches ready to attack the unwary but fortunately Victor was ready with his machete for any serious problems.
We crossed creeks on rickety bridges of cut logs and the path seemed to go on forever with jungly jungle all around.
The air was so humid it was just like being in a sauna, with no plunge pool for relief, and even after showering on our return, skin is soon sticky with sweat again.
On our final nocturnal walk we saw lots of fire flies, mating dragonflies and really cute frog.
We have been incredibly lucky during our stay here. Firstly, although it is the dry season, it still rains several times a month, and has only done so at night so our ponchos remain unworn which is good as walks would have been harder with sticky mud underfoot. Secondly, we have seen all the wildlife we had hoped to see even if they didn’t all hang around for photos, and finally Victor our guide and Suzanna and Twan have been great company to share our adventure with.
We will be leaving in the morning, back to Puerto Maldonaldo, then a flight to Lima where we spend our last night in Peru.
Off Travelling Together 