Peru - Posada Amazonas
The morning we left Cuzco the boyz slept in until after 8. Their recovery from four days in the Peruvian Andes exploring the old and new world of the Inca was complete. They were ready for a new adventure. However, none of us really knew exactly what the next few days in the Peruvian jungle would throw at us. Nevertheless, we had to organize our luggage so that only one bag had all the things necessary for our four days at Posada Amazonas river lodge. Cold weather clothes out and mosquito nets in. When our flight landed in Puerto Maldonado we were immediately met with an incredible change in environment. We were back at sea level and the heat of the sun was intense and the humidity palpable. Our jungle adventure began. Read on or watch the video.
We were met at the airport by Pedro our tour operator and guide from Rainforest Expeditions. Though not a private tour, our group was made up of just a single young couple from San Diego and four elderly Aussies. We recognized immediately that our new travel mates would tolerate the periodic moments of crazy that our boyz would provide. We started to get to know each other as we bumped along a recently resurface road for 45 minutes. According to our guide the trip once took close to two hours to complete. We appreciated the improvements immediately as the long travel day and limited snack options started show in our Boyz behavior.
At the “port” we hopped into our Banana boat, the standard river taxi that we would use all week to shuttle us up and down the river to various activities. Shortly into our ride Pedro pointed out a Capybara along the bank. The boat slowed and as we crept closer we saw a large family of the world’s largest rodents roaming around the bank. We were all excited to see our first wildlife of the trip. Then, just a few hundred yards later, our guide saw a large black alligator not far from another capybara. What we were about to witness astonished us all. The alligator, locally called a caiman negra, was hunting the Capybara who was completely oblivious to its presence. It moved closer and closer as we watched. The boyz were stone silent without moving for ten minutes for the first time in their lives. We all expected to see the alligator eat the capybara for lunch. It didn’t happen. At the very last moment the Capybara recognized his danger.
When we finally arrived at the our destination we were met by two things. First, a long staircase that led us up and away from the river to our lodge. Second, the echoing calls of the Oho Oho monkey and various species of birds, reptiles and insects singing their song. Together the cacophony was deafening. The lodge itself provided zero barrier between us and nature. The gorgeous wooden structure had no enclosed rooms except the bathrooms. Everything was open to the surrounding environment. Even our bedroom had an open deck to nature. We slept under mosquito nets listening to the white noise of who knows what.
Each day we would go on hikes and visit different sites along the river keeping our eyes open for the omnipresent wildlife. We learned about the local inhabitants, the economy and environment. Like every part of the trip, this new place presented new challenges. The obvious guesses - bugs, heat, spooky noises and wild animals - did not seem to bother the boys at all. In fact the boyz loved running around the Jungle and almost too fearlessly enjoyed the challenging environment. They tolerated the heat, bugs, and mud better than many of the adults.
The big problem was the schedule. A few of the activities started at 5AM. The boyz skipped those. Breakfast was at 7:30 and dinner at 7:30 with lunch somewhere in the middle. The days were just too long. The adults (not including us) took naps in the afternoon during the hottest part of the day. Our boyz could never find a way to relax during the down time. They played like monkeys in the hammocks for an hour or more everyday. They invented games that were anything but relaxing and unfortunately often ended with one or both the boyz angry or hurt.
Though a truly amazing place and experience, our one big complaint about the lodge is that they didn’t have a lot of activities that the boyz could do when we weren’t participating in organized activities. Finding downtime distraction fell entirely on us while we jealously observed the rest of the lodge calmly relaxing. Filling the gaps before meals was challenging because they were either super tired or really hungry. Then when the food was served their hangryness led them to find fault in the meals that were generally delicious and not that exotic. Without a doubt, mealtime was the toughest part of an otherwise amazing experience.
By the fourth day we had a private guide. The other three couples had left and Pedro stayed with us alone. This gave us a little more freedom to keep explanations short and child friendly activities long, like collecting and crushing Brasil nuts. Our final day included a visit to the Ese Eje community center and some fishing which the boyz enjoyed immensely. When it was all over the boyz were sad to leave but visibly exhausted. We were all ready for some AC and room service which was the plan for that night in Lima.
Here are some highlights from the our time along the Tambopata river at the Posada Amazonas. It would be impossible to include everything. For a true account of this part of our trip , schedule a dinner date and we’ll show you more!
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