Dec 14th
The alarm went off at 5am this morning, which was rough since I had only gotten a couple hours of sleep. I snoozed, which was a horrible idea when I had a plane to catch. I woke up at 5:20am in a panic that I was going to miss my 7am flight. I quickly packed everything, and was very thankful that I was the only one in the six person hostel room and I could turn on the light since it was still pitch black outside. I was able to checkout at 5:40am and the front desk called me a taxi since the hostel was in a residential area. I anxiously waited for the taxi, even though it only took 10 minutes it seemed like it took centuries. I checked into the airport in Lima and was happy that I didn’t miss the flight. The boarding had just begun when I arrived at the gate, so I knew I had a few minutes to spare and grabbed a quite yogurt parfait at Starbucks. I walked right onto the plane and discovered that someone was in my window seat. I was really looking forward to sitting by the window so I could lean against it and sleep, but the language barrier was annoying and I was so tired that I didn’t feel like fighting to get my seat, so I took an isle seat and feel quickly asleep before the plane even took off.
We made a quick stop in Cuzco where about half of the plane got off and only about ten people got on. I woke up and realized what was going on and moved to a window seat and continued my slumber. We arrived in Puerto Maldonado about 25 minute later at 9:40am. Puerto Maldonado is easily the smallest airport that I have ever seen a commercial jet pull into. The boarding area, check in area, and baggage claim was all in one rectangle shaped building with small barriers for walls to divide the sections. I grabbed my bag and was greeted by the Gap Adventures tour agent that I booked my trip with. He led me to the van where I met Hugo, who would be my tour guide for the entire trip. Hugo told me a lot about the Amazon and explained that it would still take a while to get to the lodge. We would be taking a one-hour drive to the dock, then a two-hour boat ride. The kicker for me was that we would need to wait for the rest of the group to get there before we could start this journey. I was annoyed that I had gotten up so early and now was waiting around for the rest of the group, they were arriving form Lima as well, and it would have made much more sense for the tour group to book us all on the same flight. I also found out that the rest of the group consisted for a family. I had mixed feelings at first, since I had hoped it would be people my age. The family ended up being great and I had a lot of fun with them over the four days that we were together. Hugo took me to the “office” in Puerto Maldonado where I was instructed to buy some water for the few days and kill time by walking around the local shops. Hugo then left and went to the airport to greet the family. I walked around and bought water and poked in and out of the shops but I didn’t need anything. I got many weird looks from the locals and I knew I looked very out of place. I returned after 45 minutes like I was instructed, only to find that I was locked out and Hugo was nowhere to be found. I waited for over an hour before someone in the office let me in. I sat and waited for another thirty minutes before Hugo returned form the airport. The plane that the family arrived on had been delayed so we all waited. Finally at 12:15pm Hugo arrived with the family and we loaded the van full with our bags, food, and people. I was very confused why there were so many locals on the bus with us, but I later figured out that they were guides and cooks who were going to the lodge to work. We finally left at 12:30pm. It was interesting for me because I already felt like Puerto Maldonado was a remote area, but I clearly had no idea what I was in for because as we started to drive the one hour drive to the dock I felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. On the drive Hugo explained that the lodge we were going to had no electricity. I was SHOCKED! I had assumed that Internet access would be out of the question, but never did I question whether or not I’d have electricity. I was instantly glad that I decided to lug my flash light this whole trip. We learned that our rooms would have three candles to illuminate the room. We also were told not to drink the water, and not to even use it to brush our teeth. We arrived at the boat dock at 1:30pm and loaded everything on the boat. The boat ride was exactly two hours. I really wasn’t sure what I expected the Amazon to look like, but the water was a dark chocolate color, which was definitely not what I was expecting. We had a cute little basket lunch prepared for us which consisted of chicken pieces, rice, two tiny bananas and a bottle of water.
I was starving after getting up so early and waiting around all day so I was excited to eat. We also lucked out and saw Macaw which are impressive birds found specifically in the rainforest and very rare to see. I instantly knew this trip was off to a good start!
We made a stop along the way and go out passports stamped which was exciting to me. During the stop we saw a monkey, which I loved.
We arrived at the lodge at about 3pm and were greeted with fresh mango juice and were assigned out rooms. I was very excited that I would get my own room since I was a single traveler and was told that I would be paired with another single female. We learned that he lodge was nearly empty; there were only two other people in the whole lodge, which sleeps 65 guests. I went to my room and was surprised that it was a bungalow.
There was a small porch with two hammocks hanging and inside was a cute little room all open air with just screens and curtains that could be closed.
I unpacked and followed Hugo’s instructions to lock all of my valuables and food into the top drawer of the wardrobe so that animals wouldn’t get in. I showered, only to discover that the hot water in my bungalow didn’t work and that it was a dark brown color. I was so hot though that the cold water actually felt good. The heat was almost unbearable, close to 100 degrees. Hugo had invited me to a staff volleyball game that started at 4pm. I was exhausted and really wanted to nap, but I felt like I should go and meet some of the locals – maybe they would be cute? The game but it was interesting. I was the only female and the only non-Peruvian. I felt very out of place. I also couldn’t understand their Spanish so I simply watched on the side as the men played. At 6:30pm we headed to the “theater” to watch a slideshow about the jungle. The slideshow was an actual slide projector with a recorded tape that played along with it, Hugo had to make sure that he was paying attention or the sound and the slides wouldn’t coincide. At 7pm we went on our first nature night hike. We saw lots of cool things like spiders, lizards, fireflies, a tarantula, and tons of insects. I was scared about the idea of what I couldn’t see since we all only had flashlights.
The family was very prepared and had all of the essential gear, the right kind of lightweight but long clothing to cover their arms and legs, headlamps, and water bottles. I had nothing and felt very unprepared. We went back to the lodge at 8pm and had dinner that consisted of sweet pea soup, steak, French fires, green beans and fruit pie for dessert. It was wonderful! I was impressed that they could have such high-class meals in the middle of the jungle. I went back to the room where I realized that I was missing the key for the wardrobe with all of my valuables in it. I panicked and tour the room apart searching for it. After forty-five minutes of looking I finally gave up. I was exhausted and passed out at 10pm.
Bye for now.
Love,
Katie
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