Up
at 5am yet again – I wonder when we’ll next get up after the sun has
risen. William, our guide, came to
collect us and duly informed us that the group now consisted of 9. Our instinct was that this was going to be
too large a group for this type of expedition but dismissed the thoughts as we
didn’t want to start on a negative note.
We
drove along a smooth tarmac road to Huancarani where we stopped for breakfast
and had a brief wander around the market stalls. Sunday sees the biggest markets in many
villages and this one was filling the streets to the extent that traffic was
struggling to get through town. The
sheep of our group followed William to a chicken soup stall but strangely
enough that wasn’t what we fancied so early in the morning so tracked down a
brew.
The
town also marked the end of the road so from there on in we were on the more
usual dirt track. Less than an hour’s
drive away we stopped at Ninamarca; an old pre-Inca site where people used to
be buried in cylindrical stone tombs. It
was very interesting and once again the place was situated in amongst amazing
scenery. These ancient peoples believed
in giving their loved ones a good send-off but of course the tombs have long
since been plundered of their valuable contents. Even the mummified bodies have gone – I’ll
never understand this fascination with desecrating burial sites. Another interesting aspect of the area was the
gardens that were built to beautify the sacred area. These were small, circular patches where it’s
believed potatoes were the plant of choice due to their pretty flowers and
usefulness.
From
there we climbed up to the 3500m high pass at Acjanaco and entered Manu
National Park. The mirador afforded
great views of the rainforest stretching far and wide below us. The track then wound its way down, down, down
into the cloud forest. To break up the
long drive we regularly got out of the van to walk a short way down the road
where William informed us about some of the plants. Again we were lucky enough to see orchids in
bloom and there were a number of birds fluttering around. William has extensive knowledge of the flora
and fauna is his native homeland but it soon transpired that he’s a twitcher at
heart.
As
we were looking over a bridge a flash of brilliant scarlet flew past us and
into a nearby tree. It turned out to be
our first glimpse of Peru’s national bird Cock-of-the-Rock. A little further down the road we were lucky
enough to see a few more of the males and their spectacular bright
feathers. We also saw a nighthawk (I
think we would call it a nightjar) sitting on her nest waiting for the cover of
darkness to go looking for food. The
unexpected highlight of the day was seeing 2 species of monkey and of course
all these new world monkeys are new sightings for us. First we saw woolly monkeys and even though
they were quite some distance away we got to see them clearly as they were feeding
in the top of the canopy. Further on we
came upon a small group of capuchin monkeys that were enjoying a final feed of
the day right by the road side. They
didn’t seem to be particularly perturbed by our presence and it was great to
watch both species using their prehensile tails.
It
was past nightfall by the time we reached Rainforest Lodge and our
accommodation for the night. The lodge
was basic but spotlessly clean with much needed mosquito nets. It had been a long day’s drive but that meant
it would be a short van ride in the morning before hopping on a boat and having
more of a chance to see animals. Our
driver (Americo) and out chef (Bernadino) have both proved to be excellent and
have even helped us to look for birds and animals.
DAY 2
As
soon as the sun began to rise the birds started their dawn chorus so we were
up, brew in hand trying to match tweets to owners. The first part of today’s drive felt like a
tedious stop/start kind of day. We
thought we were there to enjoy the flora and fauna of the Amazon basin so
stopping at a local agricultural farm wasn’t what we’d anticipated. The rest of our group lapped it up – have
they really never seen pineapples, bananas etc. growing before or at least be
aware of what these plants look like? We
were mentally prepared for a group of young’uns on the trek and had expected to
be the odd ones out but ended up getting on well with everyone. On this trip we assumed if people were
forking out for 6 days in the jungle they would have at least some idea of what
there was to see. In the end we were
lumped in with a group of numpties who had no idea what Peru let alone the
rainforest has to offer. Not only have
we not warmed towards the rest of the group but we’re already fed up of their
daft questions and inane comments.
However,
we are here in the rainforest and since getting on a boat things have
improved. The boatmen are guiding their
vessel through the exceedingly low water with infinite care and expertise. We were surprised at how little bird life we
saw as we floated along but there were a few species fluttering and wading
about. We were lucky enough to see 3
river otters dash down the bank and dive into the river plus a close up view of
a dwarf caiman. Lunch time that day
involved yet another aguas calientes (hot spring) and the sulphurous stink from
this one was particularly strong. The
rest of the day’s boat ride only threw up a brief glimpse of an otter’s head
and a capybara’s bum disappearing into the reeds.
As
we neared the next lodge the river became increasingly shallow to the point
where we had to get out and push the boat to the bank. That was all very well when we were going
with the flow of the river but it remains to be seem how we cope against the
current. Bonanza lodge was a basic but
clean as the first lodge and set in lovely grounds. Once we’d all pitched in to carry everything
from the boat to the lodge it was time to explore the surrounding area. We made our way to a look-out platform from
which we observed a large toucan, a couple of woodpeckers, numerous parrots and
a host of noisy macaws. Once the sun had
gone down it was time to look for nocturnal critters where we found the usual
crickets, tarantulas and frogs; plus fireflies and some interesting bonny
birds.
DAY 3
Our
group’s general reactions to what we might see are; “Urgh!”, “That sounds scary
– I don’t want to see that” and “What’s that?”
Why the hell have they signed up for a 6-day our in the Amazon
rainforest?
Today
we spent the morning pottering around the forest near the lodge but with
William being so interested in birds it felt like we were on a twitcher’s
tour. Prime example; we reached a swampy
river area that we were told was the perfect habitat for caiman and anaconda
and they’ve been regularly spotted in the area.
Did we quietly wait to see if either of these reptiles happened
along? No, some macaws were in a tree
further into the forest so we crashed our way through to their tree. Guess what?
Not surprisingly all our blundering through made enough noise to
frighten these feathered friends into flight.
Not to mention alert all other creatures for miles around that they’d be
best steering clear. So did we see any
animals? Yes – a bamboo rat. The Amazon is renowned for its wildlife but
we’re not finding it as remotely rewarding as Asian jungles. I couldn’t believe that half way through the
trip we’d not seen a lizard, snake or even a squirrel and the only monkeys we’d
seen had been in the cloud forest.
Disappointing – an understatement.
A
hearty, tasty lunch was served up to provide us with energy reserves for this
evening and tomorrow’s jungle exploits.
We were supposedly going deep into the jungle to look for animals. Considering we had to carry all our stuff, tents
etc. and were with a group of people how had walked in a jungle for the first
time in their lives yesterday we didn’t envisage getting very far. Plus we’re in the cultural zone of the park
so have never been far away from villages and farms since leaving the
uninhabited cloud forest. The first stop
was a night in a hide overlooking a tapir clay lick and the main reason why we
chose this trip. We could only hope that
things improved.
We
reached the hide with plenty of time to get ourselves sorted and settle down
for some quiet observation time. One of
the group lay down and instantly fell asleep without ever looking towards the
clay lick. That’s was his choice but he
proceeded to snore extremely loudly scaring away any tapirs and other animals
in the vicinity. We feel that this part
of the trip was handled very badly by William as he should have asked everyone
to stay awake until 10pm or until we were lucky enough to see a tapir. We were lucky enough that a deer ambled along
but feel after that William didn’t even try to look for any other animals – he
certainly didn’t shine his spotlight again that night.
No
tapirs, no sleep and the tour turning out to be far from what we’d
expected. Instead of an Amazon wildlife
experience we found ourselves on a jungle adventure tour. We were half-heartedly given the chance to
spend a second night in the hide and on hindsight we should have pushed for
this. Hey ho! There were a couple of positives from the day
as we saw some very cute squirrel monkeys and a large yellow-footed tortoise on
the way to the hide.
DAY 4
Today
saw us crashing and bumbling our way through the jungle carrying all of our
gear whilst wearing wellies. Obviously
with all the din we were making there was no chance of spotting any animals. Maybe we’ve spent too long in the jungle over
the years so climbing over fallen trees, ducking through dense undergrowth,
squelching through mud and crossing streams via tree trunks isn’t new and
exciting. After a couple of hours we
neared the section of the river where we would camp for the night. This area hadn’t been used in over a year so
of course the path was over-grown. That
gave William the chance to excel at his jungle boy act. For us it meant sitting bored, getting bitten
and stung to the point where we look like we’ve got chicken pox whilst watching
the jungle being hacked down in front of us.
At
the end of the trip William tried to make out that we’d been so deep in the
jungle by that point that we’d stumbled upon an isolated tribe. He tried to make out that he’d felt scared
and obviously the gullible lot we were with believed all his tall tales. In fact all his stories were exaggerated
beyond belief and you’d be amazed at how many people have almost met their
demise in the jungle. We weren’t fooled!
Anyway
once he’d finished hacking down his so called beloved jungle we did actually
come out onto a nice spot on a gravelly, rocky island which made a reasonably
comfortable camp. The main problem was
we’d all had to get soaked reaching the island as the banks had been eroded
during the last rainy season. By this
point we were thoroughly fed up and there hadn’t been a glimmer of hope of
seeing wildlife all day. That evening we
went for a walk up the river but it started getting too deep so the bulk of us
decided to turn back. Carrying on would
have involved getting wet to at least waist height and we’d only just dried
out. Besides which the group was way too
big to allow all the members to see what dashes, flaps or leaps past. The four most stupid and gullible of our
group (including the snorer) carried on with jungle boy and the ultimate insult
of the day was they got to see a tapir.
To rub salt into the ever deepening wound when William said he would
wake us if he heard a tapir their response was; “Don’t bother to wake us we’ve
already seen one.” The very same type of
person who goes on safari in Africa then leaves once the big 5 have been ticked
off their list. Not a good day.
DAY 5
We
awoke to find ourselves still in a swarm of annoying stinging bees and wasps. Another tedious trudge but mercifully shorter
than in the opposite direction. It
appears we found the proper path so at least there was no more machete wielding
gimmickry to tolerate. With progressing
through the undergrowth less noisily we actually saw some animals. We saw the very small and agile tamarin
monkey and a larger version of the squirrel monkeys; plus a lovely large
owl. Better.
We
arrived back at the lodge with plenty of time to repack bags, get washed, have
lunch and reload the boat. Once we’d
pushed the boat out of the tributary near the lodge and back onto the main
river the day improved. Since we’d
started later in the afternoon and would be on the water for a couple of hours
it gave us more chance of spotting animals.
Sure enough there were a few more birds around plus the capybaras were
back at their favourite munching ground.
This time we got to see them more clearly and for a longer time. Then further downstream we saw some titi
monkeys; another very cute Amazon primate.
We
stopped at a small riverside village as Bernardino needed a couple of
provisions and in fact everyone trooped off the boat to buy some beer for
later. This was our last night and we
usually join in the old campfire final night with more enthusiasm; however, we
went through the motions. The campsite
was on a dry season island near the parrot clay lick and proved to be a lovely
spot free of bees and wasps. The chef
used the boat as his kitchen, cooked up a storm once again and served dinner on
the pebbly beach where table and chairs had been set up. Conversation was dominated by William, as
always and as per usual the group lapped up his tall tales of people nearly
dying, boats smashing in two and jaguars having to be shot. Back to that gullible vs cynical argument
where we like to put ourselves in the realistic box.
It
was a brilliant starry night and once dinner was over everyone dispersed. I revived the fire and Steve and I quietly
shared a bottle of beer reflecting on the trip.
Yes we’ve seen some lovely animals especially the monkeys at 5 new
species for us. If you’ve never been in
the jungle before I’m sure you would have found it an excellent trip as William
was very informative; plants, insects, birds, animals and the local
culture. Yes I learnt more about the
plants and the rainforest but the muppetry from the rest of our group and
William’s showmanship detracted from it all.
A shame.
DAY 6
We
were up and packed by 5.30am ready to quietly walk over to the parrot clay lick
where we sat behind some shrubs and waited for the birds to arrive. They soon did and the parrots in particular
flocked in. There were about 5 different
species of parrots, parakeets and macaws all amassed in the trees on the bank
opposite us. The birds are
understandably nervous of predators so use safety in numbers resulting in us
watching about 500 feathered friends.
They feed on the clay as the natural minerals neutralises some of the
toxins they digest when eating fruit.
Nature’s wonderful – how do they know to do this?
A
great start to the day and the last ‘activity’ of the trip. It was now time to get back down the river
and meet up with the van to transport us back to Cuzco. Even though the boat was now a little lighter
(we’d ploughed our way through plenty of food!) the water levels were even
lower. We were told that at times we
would need to get out and push – fair enough but even this had an air of a
dramatic performance. In the end I couldn’t
help as I was too scared to get into the fast flowing strong currents. There was sufficient testosterone induced
competitiveness from the males in our group (Steve excluded!) to ensure the
boat was never stuck for long. To be
honest the captain and his helper punting at the prow of the boat did the bulk
of the hard work. At times people were
asked to stand on the prow to counter-balance the boat and help raise the
propeller. Again fair enough but did it
all have to have an air of pantomime and drama to it?
Once
the van was loaded it was time to start the long drive back to Cuzco. We stopped at the first lodge where we tucked
into Bernadino’s last meal with gusto.
This also gave us the chance to put on some (relatively!) clean clothes
and dig out the fleeces in preparation for getting back up to 3000m. As we climbed back up through the cloud
forest a woolly monkey dashed across the road in front of us so we got to
observe them in the trees close to the track.
Once the back marker of the troop had leapt across the road above us the
monkeys quickly disappeared down the slopes.
We
finally reached Cuzco at 9pm so grabbed a pizza and a beer in a little
restaurant next to our hotel and crawled into bed. Tomorrow is a repacking and bus ticket buying
day ready for the next leg of our journey – Arequipa.
Travel Info:
If you have never been in a jungle and just want to experience the jungle or see birds this could be the trip for you. If you have any desire to see animals you may think about another trip.
http://www.amazonwildlifeperu.com/manu-expedition-6d5n
