Welcome to the Jungle

From Cusco, we flew to Puerto Maldonado and then headed upstream to our 4 star lodge! Normally our tour wouldn't have accomodation like this, but our previous lodge was waist high in water... The bungalows were stunning, and the entire lodge was environmentally friendly. The rooms consisted of a hammock, two beds, and absolutely no windows or doors- the most beautiful accomodation of the trip, not to mention comfiest beds, and best views! (We also had hot showers!!)

Our heaven bungalows

The first wildlife siting Gran and I saw from our window

During the three days spent in the jungle, we had perfect weather and saw more wildlife than either of our guides had expected. Within the first hour we saw vultures and howler monkeys, and in the afternoon we climbed a 37m tower above the trees to spot more birdlife and monkeys. The tower was amazing, visibility was perfect, and it felt as though you couldn't see where the trees ended. We were up the top for over an hour and it was pretty difficult to get us to come down, Zac and I would have camped out up there if we had the chance, it was such a strange feeling to be towering over treetops watching Macaws fly overhead.

37m up! 

Macaw watching...It's camouflage     

What happens when we get a little bored bird watching...

Clean up turned out to be a little more difficult than we thought

I rarely had the camera out over there three days. It was nice just watching the wildlife without worrying about fighting to get a picture (and honestly the animals move so fast I don't think I could have captured them on camera if  I tried!)

Zac's brilliant photography

The next day we travelled by boat to a lagoon where we saw a giant otter up close, the guides were  shocked to see him come so close to the boat and told us they hadn't seen one so near in 20 years of working. We were thrilled, it was huge and strangely graceful for its size. We saw dozens of birds, and also tried out piranha fishing- this activity was the only time our luck failed us. Other people caught piranhas, but Jules, Gran, Zac and I all missed. Although Zac did manage to hook a sardine! On the walk back to the river I finally managed to face up to my fears... Believe it or not I looked right at a tarantula!! Scariest looking thing I have ever seen, but I was proud to last the 15 seconds I did! (I was pretty jumpy on the walk home, assuming that each branch that brushed me was that tarantula attached to my shoulder...)

Zac's first ever catch, it's no piranha but it's better than my efforts :(

Spider talk aside, we also saw a tucan, more vultures and two woodpeckers- I had never realised just how loud their peck is! That afternoon gran and I watched a dozens of squirrel monkeys in a feeding frenzy right outside our glass-less window, and that was probably the highlight for both of us. The monkeys were so close, they would look at us then go on eating leaves and fruit or leap to the next tree, often missing the branch and panicking to grab on to a leaf as they fell. The last animal we saw was the largest rodent in the world, the capybara. They were pretty cute roaming around the lodge, and basically look like giant guinea pigs!

The best picture I managed to take of these speedy squirrel monkeys 

A squirrel monkey mid fall, Gran and I were entertained for hours

We arrived back in Lima, where the tour started, on Friday afternoon. We spent the weekend eating amazing food, drinking yummy cocktails, and doing some last minute shopping for Gran. On Sunday it was time to say goodbye, Gran's trip went way to fast and I wish she was staying longer. But after several attempts to persuade her to change her flights, Zac and I gave up and hugged her goodbye. I've babbled on about this before, but I will say it again, it was so great sharing this experience with our amazing grandmother; and even though this trip will be nearly impossible to beat I'm sure she will have just as much fun on her next trip with more crazy kids!

It's Monday 10th of February, Zac and I are still in Lima with some of his friends from Melbourne. They are awesome people, and it's been great drinking Pisco Sours and laughing till our stomachs hurt. Tomorrow night Zac and I will start our journey to Bolivia, which basically means more bus rides... But on the upside, we will visit Arequipa again, and I will have the chance to explore one of my favourite cities in a bit more detail.