In the Deep Dark Jungle

Dec 16^th

I woke up again this morning at 5:45am and went to the dining room for breakfast at 6am. The family arrived at 6:10am, still late but getting a little earlier! We had a buffet breakfast of toast, fruit, bacon, and ham. After breakfast Hugo brought us to the gear hut and lent us all rubber boots to wear since the area we would be visiting today was very muddy. After we were all geared up we left for our hike. We took a twenty-minute boat ride and then went on a two and a half hour hike. We saw a snake eating a frog which was very national geographic, especially because this particular type of snake only eats once every two weeks. We also saw a snake skeleton, insects, and lots of big cat footprints in the mud.

 It was very muddy. We were all slipping around, I was so glad I didn’t fall over, even though I came close several times. We got to a lake where we went on a boat ride and saw more Macaw (it was really impressive how lucky we were, usually people don’t see them as frequently as we did) and crocodiles.

After our boat ride we went to a campsite where we eat our picnic lunches. My feet were very sore at this point and sweaty from the rubber boots in the extreme heat. Hugo had recommended that we wear long socks, but I didn’t have any with me, blisters were definitely forming. The hike back to the boat took us an hour and forty-five minutes, we were all tired and hot at this point; we were relieved to finally get back to the lodge. I still didn’t have my key at this point and Hugo informed me that there wasn’t a spare anywhere at the lodge, so after dinner they would have to break open the wardrobe with an axe.  I felt horrible, but I needed my passport, laptop, phone and everything else to get back to the states. I went back to the room and searched a bit more for the key with no luck. I took a quick dip in the river again with the family, but I was nervous to stay in too long since my legs were cut up and filled with blisters from the rubber boots. I cold feel fish biting at my ankles which scared me a little. I prayed that I wouldn’t get any crazy infections, but the water felt very refreshing. Afterwards I went back to the room and showered and took a much-needed nap. Dinner was at 7pm and consisted of leek soup, steak, rice, and banana pudding. I have really been impressed with the food here. Hugo also told me the good news that my key had been found earlier that afternoon. I was so relieved that they didn’t have to break my wardrobe and to finally get my stuff back! At dinner we discussed plans for the morning. Since it takes three hours to get back to Puerto Maldonado we have to wake up super early. Breakfast in the morning will be at 5:30am and we would be leaving at 6am sharp. He warned us not to be late, I wondered if the family would be on time. I was a little annoyed that my flight wasn’t until 12:40pm and the family had an earlier flight and I would be waiting around the airport. I decided that I should try to hop on their flight and get into Cuzco a littler earlier and give myself more time to adjust to the altitude. I am starting to get really worried about the altitude. Last year I went to Denver (the mile-high city) and was wicked sick, Cuzco is almost two miles above sea level and altitude sickness is very common. I went back to my room and packed my bags and went to bed early at 9:30pm.

Bye for now.

Love,

Katie