Jungle Boogie

We didn´t quite know what to expect from the jungle part of our trip: it was only two days, and sandwiched between the Inca Trail and Galapagos Islands, we hadn´´t really thought too much about it.
We flew to Puerto Maldonado, in inland Peru - kind of a frontier town that reminded us of Nadi in Fiji or Port Moresby..... everything looked to be made out of cardboard and corrugated iron, and it was hot, about 30 I´d guess, with 90% humidity. From there we got into a motorised canoe and travelled up the Tambopata river for 3 hours to get to our lodge, dropping off some locals at seemingly random points along the way. Our rooms were brilliant: high-roofed thatched bungalows split into 2 rooms but with the insidewalls only halfway to the ceiling, meaning you could hear EVERYTHING your neighbour was doing. There was no electricity, just candles and kerosene lamps, mosquito nets over the beds, and pictures of scary jungle wildlife on the walls. We loved it. Our first outing began with a boat ride, and we were lucky enough to see some Capybara on the riverbank.These are the world´s biggest rodents, so imagine coming face-to-face with a metre-long guinea pig and you get the picture!
We then walked through the rainforest to a small lake where we went fishing for piranhas - our guide caught one and let us all get close-up photos of its teeth before returning it to the water to terrorise another day. Back to the lodge, and when it got dark we went on a night walk and spotted, among other things, a tarantula in her burrow and a boa constrictor coiled around a branch. All this within 1km of the lodge!
The next day we went on another forest walk and learned about some of the incredible plants in the rainforest; one that can ´walk´, one that strangles its host over 100 years or more, one that has a special relationship with the Fire Ant, and heaps of amazing medicinal plants and trees. We visited a riverside farm and tasted some weird and wonderful tropical fruits, thenit was time for another night trip, this time by boat to try and spot caymans, or alligators. Well, we saw heaps, got really close to a few, and saw some more capybara feeding by moonlight.
There were macaws and monkeys in the trees around us, and Aaron and I came across a parrot just outside our room. We were able to get really close to it and were taking photos and warning everyone to be quiet so as not to disturb it, when one of group strode up and said loudly,´´oh yeah, that´s Veronica´´. Apparently she has a broken wing and has been in that tree for weeks, unable to fly away. The lodge staff look after her and she has picked up a bit of Spanish, as well as mimicking the laughter coming from the bar bungalow nearby.
The noise around the lodge was constant and incredible: so many birds and animals calling at the top of their voices, yet we slept better than we have on any other part of the trip. We didn´t want to leave this amazing part of Peru, but alas, it was time to return to big, bad Lima, from where we fly to smaller, badder Quito in Ecuador today. The only good thing about this is that it´s our starting point for the Galapagos trip. Bring it on!