Day 1
We set off at 5.30am by bus from Cusco along the single lane “highway” toward Paucartambo (Pow-car-tum-bow). Our guide Klaus greeted us in the camo-van along with our Boat driver (Mario), Bus driver and Rafting guide (Angel).
We winded our way through the Andes on a single lane 2-way dirt road. Now to understand the feelings we experienced for the 8 hours of travelling that day you have to picture driving centimetres from cliff faces which dropped too far to see with the naked eye and consisted of way too many “blind corners” which involved reversing around if a car/truck/bus happened to be coming from the other direction! This road (if you call it a road) was prone to landslides and I’m sure a few accident fatalities in its time. Speaking of fatalities the day before we set off on this journey a man had toppled over the edge in his truck and died (apparently he was drunk!!). Fortunately, we didn’t hear of this until we were on our way back home, but it didn’t surprise us at all, I guess it just added more fear to our journey back to Cusco!
We stopped about half way in Paucartambo and had a quick walk around this Spanish inspired village before setting off again to the look out over the cloud forest (the highest point of our journey at approx 3,600m). The view from this vantage point was spectacular (don’t think the photo does it justice). It was at this point that we could see where the Andes ended and the rainforest began. The clouds blanketed the forest making it impossible to see (yet again) the massive drop.
We stopped for a packed lunch at one of many waterfalls which randomly dropped off the edge of the cliff and then trickled across our dirt highway. We then continued with our journey to San Pedro where we would spend the first night sleeping in the cloud forest. At about 4pm that night we were taken to the lookout in hope to see the “cock of the rock” dance. This is the Peruvian native bird and is easy to see amongst the green of the Amazon as it is predominately bright orange/red with dashes of white on its head. We opened a secret door on the middle of the forest and set put for about half an hour before any glimpse of bird. Unfortunately for us, no females arrived (only 3 males) so we didn’t get to see them dance in full swing (the males wait for females to arrive and then perform a mating dance in the hope that they will pick up), we got the general gist and renamed this point the “Player’s Bar or Sandbar” of the Amazon!
We slowly walked back to our lodge and managed to spot a few capuchin monkeys along the way, if you’re not familiar then picture the monkey in Pirates of the Caribbean (apparently the smartest species of monkey). We were rapped as it is fairly rare to see monkeys in this area. Our guide was very informative and gave us a greater appreciation of birds, but at the end they are just birds. By the close of the trip we were all “birded-out” as half the time it seemed like all we saw were bloody birds (our guides favourite!)
Day 2
Once again we were up at the fart of a sparrow to take on the so called “roads” of the jungle, this time by bike. We were treated to a beaut breakie of Peruvian omelette with rice (definitely going to reinvent this upon our return) and layered ourselves with most of our clothes as it was freezing! We christened 2 brand spankers and set off on the steep, bumpy, muddy, cliff hanging track to our next destination (Pilkopata). Klaus and the rest of the crew followed closely behind as a measure of safety as only “experienced” riders were allowed to ride down these roads. I was slow to start with but after an hour or so was going with the flow and got used to the idea of riding “off road”. This was no stroll in the park but the sights along the way were of the Amazon at its finest...it felt like we had the road to ourselves only passing a few tree loggers (well they were cutting down bits of trees using machetes) along the way. After about 1.5 hours of the steep, bumpy downhill we were on the flat, however the bumpiness did not stop.
We passed through a few cute towns where little kids would wave and shout “Hola Gringos!” as we rode past. Bulls were fighting each other with their horns, pigs and piglets were trancing, chickens running loose all over the roads and who could forget the dogs! There seems to be 2 dogs for every human in Peru! They all look well fed and are often seen lazing about in the sun (whether in the city or in the sticks). We were truly off the beaten track and away from other tourists which was great for a change. After about 3 hours of riding we had reached our destination where we would trade in our bikes for a raft boat. We were given 45 mins to rest and recuperate before our white water rafting adventure.
Junior, Angel and Mario pumped up the raft and carried it down to the waters edge by head. I wish we had the camera ready as Junior looked the part, 2 little Peruvians at the front while Junior took most of the weight at the back, classic! An hour and a half cruising down the Amazon has got to be one of the highlights of this trip so far. It was beautiful! We passed through a few rapids (which were very mild – only a class 1), saw “Anacondas house” (see photos), waterfalls, various vegetation, birds, spiders and Angel’s house in the middle of it all! Junior jumped in to cool off, have a swim for a bit and then took a while getting back into the raft (evidently it was hard to pull yourself back in... sure, sure!). We then arrived at Atalaya where we boarded a long boat to our final destination, Erika Lodge. There were a group of 40 tourists arriving the day after us so the tour company were preparing for their arrival by loading the boat with litres and litres of water, extra chairs, food, people you name it! Due to the extra weight the boat sat really low in the water and who was up the front copping the spray, yep us, but it was really nice after our day of extreme sports!
Upon arriving at Erika lodge we were treated to a fantastic meal yet again. This meal consisted of typical Peruvian steak, beans and rice. The salad was arranged very ornately with the best avocado we have had in a long time. We were given the afternoon off to enjoy our surroundings (Junior took the time to snooze in his 4 ft bed) before meeting again for our night walk.
As the sun was setting we trekked in to the Amazon with our rubber boots, matching pants and jackets (boy did we look like a team!) trying to catch a glimpse of the night creatures. We heard a lot but didn’t really see much apart from a few fruit bats narrowly missing our heads and what seemed like purposely dropping fruit on us. We heard the strange calls of the bamboo rat, saw a few squirrel monkeys, spiders, a well camouflaged Bolivian frog and I’m sure we were watched closely by many other animals that our jungle senses didn’t allow us to see.
After a mammoth day we took long deserved showers and hit the sack underneath our mosquito nets, preparing for our 4.30 am wake up call the next morning…
Day 3
Between 5 and 6 am at a particular point along the cliffs of the Amazon is what’s known as the “Macaw Clay Lick.” This is where hundreds of Macaws, Parrots and Parakeets meet and lick clay as the minerals from the clay aid with their digestion and help reduce the acidity in their stomaches. They do this at the same time and point every day as they believe in the safety in numbers theory. We sat and watched as small groups of birds slowly collected (all on one tree it seamed), there must have been about 150 of them when they slowly and cautiously began their descent towards the clay. A few (only 2 or 3 of 150) brave birds managed to get a lick of the clay before something spooked them and they all took off squawking into the air. Masses of birds were now flying above us and in every direction. They returned once more to their meeting place and looked to start down towards the clay when again they were startled and took off. Now it wasn’t us that spooked them, believe me we were well clear of where they were and not making a sound. By this stage it was getting close to 7am and our guide assured us that it was time to move on. So we missed the clay lick experience but were treated to an amazing sunrise over the Amazon.
After breakfast the plan was to trek through the jungle once more until we found the Canopy (Flying fox or Zip-line for some of you). This is apparently the only one of its kind in Peru, it consists of 4 lines ranging in length from 40 to 120m and at a height of 20 to 60m above the ground. After a 20 minute hike through the very humid jungle we found the first landing and were instructed to put on our harnesses. It was at this point that Junior discovered that he would’ve benefited from wearing his bonds that day as his junk was on display for all to see (yes I took some photos). So after brief instructions and assurance that this was very safe we jumped on (one at a time) and flew through the jungle, no Tarzan or Jane calls but felt just like them all the same. The Canopy experience was one of our favourites and our experts “George of the jungle” and “Charles” are great guys. Don Wyn (was called Charles – as in Charles Darwin) even rappelled from the final landing, down the rope without gloves, crazy. My hands burnt from holding the rope even when I was wearing gloves covered in candle wax.
After that we had another amazing meal and a quick rest before another trek through the jungle. This time we were on the hunt to encounter either some Tapirs or Wild Pigs. After about 45 minutes of hiking we found a spot where we could look over a small waterway below where they apparently gathered to drink and lick the clay (similar to the birds to help with digestion). Once again though we were out of luck and nothing appeared other than a few birds. Another 45 minute hike back to our lodge which gave no new sightings despite Junior’s belief that he would be lucky and we would see a cat or Anaconda.
At dinner that night we sat with a couple from Melbourne, she was an astrological “professor” who advised us that the alignment of the stars and what not for next year meant that travelling by plane would be very dangerous (So we are coming home this year just to be safe – not!!). Also apparently the price of oil will increase so much that only business people will be able to fly in the future and non-commercial flights will no longer be offered. Another meet and greet and another strange couple, I think we must attract the weird ones.
Day 4
Finally we were able to sleep in and get up at a reasonable hour, 8am, to enjoy breakfast. After which we were off on another jungle trek which once again fruited nothing but beautiful forest views and a few ants. By this stage we were getting tired of Claus and his bloody bird watching, was this our trip or his? Not sure if he helped or hindered our chances of finding anything cool. Anyway we returned for lunch and then wound up on a hike in the afternoon to a Lagoon with the couple from Melbourne. We bumped into a troop of travelling squirrel monkeys on the way which was alright, but the so called “Lagoon” was more of a marsh with 3 times as many mosquitos and we had run out of repellent!! The place stank, Junior had worn his bathers for no reason as the water was only a foot deep and all the other group wanted to do was look at more bloody birds. So after about a half hour at this place and 45 mosquito bites on Junior’s legs we started walking the way we came. The rest of the crew got the idea and we were able to hurry them along some what. The Aussie couple were nice enough to offer us their rid with 80% deet which made us feel a little better about our chances of avoiding a few more bites. Not such an exciting day and at the end we were asked to fill out a competence questionnaire on the tour company and our guide. We were reasonably nice considering we are not bird fans like our guide.
Day 5
HELL
Arriving with the Aussie couple had been a group of approximately 20 kids from Scotland on an outdoor education trip. So we jumped on a long boat with the Aussie couple and a few kids and another group would be on another boat behind us. Going back into the rapids was much slower than coming with them and at one stage all the crew jumped out the boat into the freezing water and actually pushed the boat along as it wasn’t deep enough for the motor. We both felt bad and wanted to jump in and help, but hey, this is what we are paying them for!
We all (20 kids, the Aussie couple, us and 4 guides) piled into a 25 seater bus (you do the math, yep people were standing in the aisles) in Atalaya and would make our way to Pilkopata. Ok now if it wasn’t crazy driving along these roads on the way here in an 8 seater van then this was just plain stupid. At times the bus barely fit on the road, let alone when the road was bumpy enough that the entire bus swayed from one side to another. I don’t think a one hour bus ride has ever taken so long before. Luckily we had the astrology “Professor” looking through her sun maps and she gave me a nod to say everything was looking good for today (just like hearing it from God himself this was so reassuring!). Her partner had told us the night before about his problem with motion sickness, apparently he can even give it to himself when driving a car. Great now we were going to see him blow chunks as well, that’ll make the journey more enjoyable.
When we arrived in Pilkopata we were relieved to find that we were actually getting a van for the rest of the journey home, and it would be us and the Aussies and our 2 guides. Not so bad. The Aussie bloke doped himself up with sleeping tablets so that he’d pass out for most of the journey and not get sick, phew!! The journey back took so long it wasn’t funny. We left Erika lodge on the long boats at 5.30am and didn’t arrive into Cusco until after 7pm. A long day and one we are glad to be done with. Disappointed we didn’t see any cool cats, big snakes or hairy spiders in the jungle but a magnificent experience all the same. Definitely recommend the trip, maybe not our bird freak guide, but still good. Very glad to be back in Cusco and even back at Loki Hostel as our new room is much quieter and lots of cool people. Only Aussies in there on our first night!!
