Canopy Walk

The exertions of the morning called for a hearty lunch.  I enjoyed homemade soup, trout, spaghetti, cauliflower and broccoli followed by ice cream.  I was impressed with the food, especially considering how remote the location.  In the afternoon we were up for another activity!  However achy I was feeling I wasn't going to miss the canopy walk, even though it was another Level 2 activity! Climbing the tower 98 feet above ground offered a new perspective on the forest. We crossed the 6 bridges one at a time because it was a fairly wobbly walk and you didn't need to be dealing with someone else's wobble.  When you reached the next staging post you had to call 'I'm there - ready for you!'  I guess the animals must think its a mating call.  Indira spotted a vulture through her binoculars.  Ian's long lens was able to capture our sighting for posterity.  I took this activity in my stride - that was 2 level 2 activities completed! 

Up there?



Made it to the top

Only one at a time - Richard first



I dunno - what d'ya wanna do?

17th May: :Lake Sandoval/Tambopata National Park

I slept well and received our 5am wake-up call with enthusiasm.  The jungle group was reduced to five on this morning as the walk required wellington boots and sadly they didn't have any big enough for Ian.  After a short boat ride up the Madre De Dios we arrived at Tambopata National Park to begin our hike.  When they said it was a level 2 activity that required wellie boots to make it through the mud, they weren't kidding. It was heavy going and the 3km path through terra firma forest took 1.5 hours.  The young newly-weds were pretty light-footed and nimble.  Richard was hopping around like twinkle-toes, ever hopeful of seeing an anaconda and Louise's strength and agility stood her in good stead.  Meanwhile I was losing my nerve and wasn't convinced I could manage this one.  Louise and Richard, gung-ho and showing off, both took a tumble with no more damage than muddy clothes and dented pride.  I couldn't afford to fall, dislocating my hip would be disastrous. Indira soon caught on that I needed her help and we devised a technique that made for better progress - she let me pick my way through the dryer bits whilst she waded through the mud so that I could hold her hand for that extra bit of balance and confidence that I needed.   Although it was warm and steamy, it wasn't baking hot like the day before and I was grateful about that.  I put one foot in front of the other and set my mind to the drama around me rather than the angst within.  I saw a tarantula in its nest, the furry legs flexing slowly and menacingly.  I heard a pandemonium of macaw parrots and looked up just in time to catch a blur of vibrant blue, red and green smeared across the sky.  I watched a trail of leaf cutter ants, each carrying a package at least twice their body size and all working in perfect harmony.  I was enraptured by the fact that I was in the jungle, seeing nature in the raw, hearing the squeaks, squawks, rattles and calls. At the end of the trail I crawled on board the dugout canoe, thankful for a respite to the schlep through the mud.  Indira paddled us through a stream so engulfed in vegetation that hardly any sky was visible.  We emerged into Lake Sandovar, a composition of green forest and brown water crafted into an exotic wonderland.  Indira paused her commentary, the gentle splash of paddle on water the perfect soundtrack to the serenity before us.  It was an earthy scene of heavenly proportions.  An oxbow lake is a backwater lagoon, a bend in the Amazonian river that gets cut off from the main channel and offers a home to much wildlife.  I saw Hoatzin, an odd, prehistoric- looking bird that we laughingly renamed the pterodactyl.  There was a growl from a family of red howler monkeys in the trees, a loud and deep holler that penetrates 3 miles into the jungle and vibrated my internal organs.  A dapper heron, dressed in lemon, pearl and baby blue posed for a photo.  The time came to return and yes, the walk back along mud alley.  I don't know how I did it, but I guess there was no choice!  Mobility test 3 passed, with flying colours.        

Something caught their eye



Indira describes the massive termite mound



The Jungle Group

Deepest, darkest Peru

Palm trees bordering Lake Sandoval

Hoatzin Birds

Cocoi Heron



Tarantula in its nest

Not flattering but I'm happy

What adventurers!

Red Howler Monkeys

Capped Heron

16th May: Puerto Maldonado

We didn't have to leave the hotel room until 10am and so it was a good opportunity for an unhurried start - refreshing shower, suitcases sorted, relaxed breakfast = organised and ready for the last leg of our trip. 

Cusco airport was pandemonium.  In the event we were only delayed by half an hour, but the terminal was full to bursting, no seats, our flight didn't appear on any of the departure boards and the attendant at the gate had no information for us.  Ian posted on fb that we were on our way to the Amazon rainforest and someone replied 'Glad to hear your take-off was ok as its more risky at altitude'.  'Thanks for that,' Ian posted, 'but we haven't actually taken off yet'.

Puerto Maldonado airport was a tin-shack-and-tarmac job.  We were greeted by 2 lovely girls and a hot sunny day, and immediately slathered on the sun screen and insect repellant.  Located 25 minutes down river from Puerto Maldonado, our eco-lodge Hacienda Concepción can only be reached by taking a scenic canoe ride from the town along the Madre De Dios River. I am astonished by the size of the coffee-coloured river, which from Peru winds through Bolivia and Brazil before it flows into the Amazon.  The Amazon basin, which includes over 1000 tributaries, reaches into 9 countries (Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Guyana, French Guyana and Suriname).  The brochure says that 'if you are in the Amazon Rainforest you can legitimately say that you have sailed the Amazon River'.  That's good enough for me. 

At the lodge our accommodation was individual 'cabanas' - thatched-cottage type structures, which were basic but functional with fan-cooling, en suite facilities and mosquito nets.  The Casa Grande was a large communal area, serving as a meeting place, bar, relaxation area and restaurant. Nestled in tropical gardens, all buildings were open air i.e. no windows, just mosquito-proof netting so that we had a constant surround-sound of jungle noises. Dinner was rather impressive, with unexpected touches of fine dining.  The first night I had a local dish called Juane.  This was rice and cheese wrapped in a bijao leaf, which we had seen on our jungle tour earlier in the day.  Quite delicious.  

Late that afternoon Indira, our guide, gave us a 2 hour guided tour inside the grounds of the lodge, to begin to familiarise ourselves with the tropical rainforest.  Wow - hot and steamy or what!   After dinner we were out again, looking for caiman in the dark.  We found some too.  By the time we retired to our cabana I was pooped, but I showered and raced into bed, hopefully beating the mozzies.  It was sheer luxury to be rid of the sticky, smelly Deet and sun protection cream.

Madre De Dios River

The last stage of our journey by boat

Our private cabana (hut/shack/cabin) in the jungle

Casa Grande - the centre of Hacienda Concepcion Lodge

Buffet Lunch in Casa Grande

The path to our cabana

Our guide, Indira, discussing the walking palm



Kapok tree, the tallest species in Amazonia

15th May: More Machu Picchu

Despite the previous night's revelry, people were up and about at 5am, noisily making their way along the corridor to catch the first bus up to Machu Picchu.  The day before I had spoken with a young girl from Los Angeles who said that the queues were so long she had missed the view at sunrise, which was the main objective.  This was evidence enough for me not to attempt the same thing, so I rolled over and enjoyed another 3 hours sleep.  Superwoman Louise was up early and went for a walk around Aguas Calientes.  On her way out she heard hotel staff calling 'Oscar Ping, Oscar Ping!'.  Louise, whose imagination was in overdrive, was thinking 'What an exotic name, I wonder whatever has happened to him?' Later, Detective Louise had an 'ah-ha' moment.   They were saying 'Housekeeping!'

We had another 'do your own thing' day.    Ian took a one-to-one guided tour and was particularly thrilled to photograph many hummingbirds.  Richard took a walk around town and, knowing my penchant for ethnic jewellery, bought me a beautiful pair of Incan-inspired earrings. Louise & I went back up to Machu Picchu for a last look.  Louise recommended going half-way up to the Sun Gate, where there was a look-out point that afforded a better view than slogging it to the top.  Even so, there were a hundred steps to negotiate, it was very busy, and I kept thinking how much I had enjoyed the previous afternoon, when it was so much quieter and cooler.  Eureka - the aerial view of the citadel was stunning and I tried very hard to assimilate the vista into my memory banks, to be retrieved on life's duller days.  We found a new route around the back to explore, taking plenty of stops to cool and breathe.  We did a bit of people watching and played 'Guess the nationality before the people speak'.  The Americans were the easiest!  We tried to sneak another moment at 'my' meditative bench, but it was full to capacity and so we faced up to reality and took our leave of the spot on the planet that in 24 hours had found a place in our hearts.  We boarded the bus for the hairpin ride back to town and met up with the men, had lunch and then mooched around town before resting in the town square.  This contains an over-the-top Catholic church, a tourist welcome model thing, scraggy dogs and backpackers sleeping it off in the sun. The trumpet flowers and bougainvillea went a long way towards brightening the scene.  The Vistadome was just as picturesque on the return journey, pepped up by a double rainbow arch over the Andes. 

Already tired and weary when we got off the train,  the minibus took a further 2.5 hours on a treacherous road to get back to Cusco.  There was a national festival and people were out in their droves. Every village square had speakers blaring dancing music and makeshift trestle tables laden with food and drinks.  When we saw an accident involving 3 cars and a motorbike I wasn't at all surprised.  Louise was impressed that I managed to catch a nap whilst the bus was bumping and swerving.  We finally arrived back at Hotel Las Portales and were reunited with our luggage.  On our last day at altitude Richard was almost acclimatised.  Due to the clash between the exuberant local crowds and our travel weary mood, we decided to eat in the hotel.  What's more, even though we were dusty, sweaty and a bit smelly (I blame the 5kg restriction on clothes) we skipped the wash and brush-up and went straight into dinner. Had we morphed into backpackers?  My diarrhoea was getting drastic and I resorted to the dreaded Imodium, in addition to the malaria tablets, pain killers and Biofreeze for aching joints.  Junkie! My bed was a welcome sight.

Aerial view of Machu Picchu

I loved being there

Isn't it stunning

Not really ruins as it's almost intact

Pretty trumpet flowers

Humming bird © Ian Phipps

Tacky tourist

2 old blokes, sitting on a bench...

Entertainment on the return Vistadome journey 

A celebratory mood

This was my favourite evening of the holiday. In stark contrast to the hotel of the previous day, El Mapi was a winner.  For starters, we were upgraded to a suite, but it was the lively vibe that pleased me most.  Added to which, we were celebrating Louise & Ian's wedding anniversary!  We convened in the bar, claimed our complimentary Pisco Sours and loosened up to the sound of Latin American music.  The ambience was definitely backpacker - beards, headbands, trekking sandals and laughter aplenty!  Richard put his finger on it - it was like Everest Base Camp!  Not that I've actually been, but I've seen the film 'Everest' and I recognised a similar shared exhilaration - we had all scaled Machu Picchu!  Perched happily on bar stools we lapped up the local culture by drinking Peruvian red and nibbling Cancha, a popular local snack made from large-kernelled corn.  A striking African man opposite us ordered a Bloody Mary and the bar tenders put on their show.  Richard and Ian discussed the F1 racing showing on the big screen, whilst Louise and I put the world to rights.  After a while we reluctantly made our way to the hotel restaurant, as the meal was included in our package.  The place was mobbed with people on a mutual high - obviously everyone had a similar package!  We didn't do the usual British queuing and managed to grab a table.  I don't know if it was the convivial atmosphere or the wine, but we were cock-a-hoop about the canteen approach to our evening meal.  Our African man appeared and said 'Hey, you were the guys getting drunk at the bar!'  And he was right!! The food was very good and we ordered another bottle of wine.  Yep, we were having a real celebration. 

When I got to bed I could hear the party in full swing downstairs.  I was pumped up with alcohol, happiness and a personal sense of satisfaction of having ticked a big box in my bucket list.  I didn't even want to go to sleep, I wanted to prolong the enjoyable moment.      

Happy Anniversary!

Another beautiful sight

Embracing the local culture (btw - excellent travel book)

Cancha

 

14th May: Machu Picchu

Today was very special because we were doing one of those 'once in a lifetime' things.  After a quick breakfast we were taken to Estacion Ollantaytambo, where there was a palpable air of excitement.  The Vistadome train is a 1.5 hour journey with huge panoramic windows and skylights showing off the magnificent scenery along the Inca trail.  It's a day tripper's train, which is why we could only take a 5kg hand luggage on board.  At the end of the line is Aguas Calientes, from where we picked up a bus for the 20 minute ride up a switch-back mountain road to Machu Picchu.

Some things in life come with a big fanfare, and Machu Picchu certainly lived up to all the trumpeting. A complete citadel perched on top of a mountain, with living quarters, temples, gardens, irrigation channels, drainage, agriculture - a frontier town that has survived almost intact.  We enjoyed a guided tour in the morning to understand how the city worked in ancient times, had lunch, then free time in the afternoon, when there were far less people, to enjoy the experience in our own personal way.  Louise hiked up to the Sun Gate, Ian and his camera wandered at will, and I passed the afternoon sitting on a bench at a lookout point.  The view was sublime and provoked a contemplative mood.  How fortunate I am to witness so much of our wonderful world.  At 2430m, Richard was still feeling the effects of the altitude and described his experience of Machu Picchu as 'breathtaking'.  He decided to quit while he was ahead and made his way back to the hotel. 

All aboard the Vistadome 

The Vistadome follows the Inca trail

Yep, its a photo opportunity

Iconic Peruvian branding - Inca Cola is very sweet

View of snow-capped Andes from the train

 

The road from Agua Calientes to Machu Picchu
(look closely and you can see the bus)

We're on top of the world!



A morning to explore up close



A sight to behold

Louise lends me a hand over the uneven steps

My afternoon spot overlooking the ancient city

I woz here - what a treasured memory