Amazing Amazon

The Amazon is vast, green and full of things that want to bite you. So armed with several bottles of Deet and an adventurous spirit we headed up the Rio Tambopata from Puerto Maldonado into the Peruvian Amazon.  Our destination was the Inotawa Eco Lodge that lay nestled in the buffer zone of the Tambopata National Park.

What struck us on our boat trip up river was the intensity of green that lined the banks. It was difficult to make out the individual pieces of vegetation that made up the imposing barrier of trees and vines. And then the noises - neither of us will ever forget the intensity of the daytime sounds that demanded the attention of the senses. Whether it was the distant, morbid drone of the howler monkeys, the water droplet imitating Oropendula bird or just the constant whine and hum of the insects, it never ever abated.

It´s a noise that we will miss.

Our guide for the week was a jolly jungle-bred Peruvian named Paul. He has the most amazing jungle knowledge and seemed to to be able spot game and birds that we had no idea where around. When he wasn´t finding us strange animals and insects, he was showing us a variety of trees and plants that held different uses.  The jungle is not like bushveld - game is extremely well hidden and often it was just with fleeting glimpses that we where able to see and identify animals and birds. But we still got our fair share of sightings in, even if we didn´t get the photos!

The parakeets, parrots and macaws were a highlight. These noisy, brightly feathered birds were simple stunning. What an experience to see these pet shop favourites in their natural environments.

The most exciting spot of trip were two families of Giant Otters. These endangered mammals grow to over two meters long and are on the endangered species list.

Whether it was hunting Caimans at night, spotting tree dwelling marsupials, waiting quietly at the bird hides, enjoying the playful calls of giant otters or just absorbing as much of Paul´s jungle knowledge as possible; we had the most exceptional time.

The lodge was simple, eco-friendly and manned by a helpful and friendly staff and they did everything to make our stay as comfortable as possible.

Big teeth for a small fish! These guys chomped through about 300grams of steak in about 3 minutes.

Dragon´s Blood Tree: The locals slash the tree and correct the thick crimson sap that oozes out of the wounds. The sap is used for medicinal purposes such as anti inflammatory and we put it on our many bites. When you rub the sap vigorously it becomes  creamy white in consistency.

Dragon Tree Canopy

Bronwyn´s monkey

The next few photo´s are all the creepy crawlies that come out at night.

Chicken Spider: named because the young follow after their mother much like baby chicks. Just not as cute and fluffy! Unlike Tarantulas, that live in trees, these guys live in the ground.

The highly venomous heart spider

Our private river beach

Photographing butterflies: Trickier than it looks!

The vines in the jungle were incredible and looked like tree trunks themselves.

Affectionaty named by the locals as ël GRINGO. The gringo tree sweats constantly and when exposed to the sun turns red/pom pink and peels. hysterical!

A Brazil Nut in the forest that had been opened by a local. Fred and I snacked on these fresh delicious nuts throughout our stay in the jungle.

Hot Lips

A spider snacking on frogs eggs.

A venomous frog.

This photo is very blurry but our proof that we were incredibly lucky and sighted the very endangered giant river otter. Yay! They made the most incredible sounds similar to that of the dolphin.

 

A silly Caiman that spent the good part of 10 minutes chasing one of  Fred´s flies across the lake.