Day 8- Puerto Maldonado, Peru

We woke up early and cabbed it to the Cuzco airport, saying goodbye to streets filled with yellow confetti and firework casings. We got to el aeropuerto around 10am and went through a far more relaxed security check than us Americans are used to. After paying the "airport tax" and getting the little sticker safely on our tickets, we were ready to go! We were flying with Star Peru, and once we arrived at our departure gate we were informed it would be delayed 1 hour. I decided to curl up in a ball on the chair and sleep. I didn't even want to deal with eating. An hour came and went, and John chatted it up with a Dutch family hanging out nearby. Instead of making an announcement to us passengers as to why we still weren't boarding 1 hour later, we had to hunt down a worker and ask them what was going on. The guy told us our flight was delayed another 1.5 hours. Great. I decided to kill time by sitting and staring obliviously. It wasn't so bad because I got to be entertained by watching a young Australian girl completely freak out and yell at the gate attendant about our flight being so late. She demanded that they pay for her to get a new plane ticket, because apparently this is not the standard procedure for Star Peru. She also wanted money for a hotel since she would have to remain in Cuzco overnight. I think she finally got what she wanted after a lot of loud yelling and rude sighs and shrugs. It was comical to watch her boyfriend stand behind her looking both frightened and embarrassed at the same time. No mystery as to who wears the pants in that relationship! Although she was over-reacting, I can't say I blame her for complaining to the manager about poor customer service. Our flight was delayed 2.5 hours and they switched our gate on us twice, and no one ever got on a microphone to announce this to the people waiting. We were in a cloud of mystery, and we only knew what was going on by staking out workers and asking.

Finally, we boarded our tiny little plane. There was almost nobody on it besides us, the Dutch family, the Australian couple, and some young people headed to Puerto Maldonado to do some mission work. I found it interesting to realize that I was more or less vacationing in a place where others were going for a mission trip. (As a side note, the city is located near the borders of Brazil and Bolivia on the eastern side of the country.) The flight was nice because we could enjoy our last moments of feeling somewhat cold. We arrived to the Puerto Maldonado airport and wow! The heat just hits you! The airport was very tiny- only one exit. It was just a large open air building full of ceiling fans. The plane pulled up close to the building, we walked down some steps, and then only waited a few minutes for our bags to show up on the one carousel. I worried that since we were late our tour group wouldn't pick us up, but since the airport was so small they of course knew when to expect us. We found a sign for our tour company, Corto Maltes, with John's name on it, and discovered that the Dutch family John made friends with were on our tour as well. We all piled into a little van and set out into the town! The drive there had some very neat sights, including a motorcycle with 2 parents, 2 children, and a baby somehow all riding. There were lots of people walking around in the open air markets in the very busy main part of the town, and the place was loaded with scooters and those tiny rickshaws. It was colorful, exotic, lively, and very hot outside! Luckily John and I both wore the pants we got that you can zip off at the knee to be shorts. Good for days like this of going from cold to hot.

We arrived at the Corto Maltes office, paid our final dues, and waited for the Dutch family. We met a very cute, cheerful young Peruvian woman named Luci who said she would be our guide for the trip. The 8 of us tourists got back into the van with her and headed to the dock on the river. All of us somehow fit onto a little narrow canoe type motor boat, and began our journey down the River Madre de Dios (that feeds into the Amazon), away from civilization, and into the jungle! I was so excited, you have no idea! Ever since I was about 12 I've had an odd obsession with the rainforest and I have always dreamed of going, so really this was yet another life dream being realized. I was very happy, especially since the breeze from moving on the boat allowed you to forget about the heat (average temperatures were around 95-100 degrees) and the 100% humidity! Don't worry, I made sure John put on ample sun screen! While we were cruising down the Rio Madre, Luci told us that the river is home to piranhas, giant anacondas, creepy parasite fish, and caymans. I was thinking I would never want to swim in it, and then I noticed some local children all playing in the water. They are brave ones! After about 45 minutes of riding down the river, it felt like we were really out there, in the middle of the jungle. There were a few small homes/huts, and no buildings in sight except for one or two other guest lodges like the one we would be at. Finally, we saw the Corto Maltes lodge area. We pulled up on the muddy river bank and walked up steps to the main lodge. Everything was so colorful and beautiful! The lodge had the dining area, and behind that was the pool. The rest of the area was full of colorful landscaping, and about 20 guest huts. Only about 5 were occupied at the time though because it is "off season". The guests all get to stay in these huts that have cold showers (yes!), a balcony with hammocks, and beds equipped with mosquito nets. Our specific hut was in the front of the property and had a view of the river. I was pumped. Back in the lodge we were served a very fancy lunch with some plantains for dessert, and I actually ate some of it! After that we had time to unpack and look around, and I was amazed. It was a very relaxing atmosphere since very few guests were there, and the background sounds were just noises of tons of exotic birds and some howling monkeys in the distance.

The first thing on our agenda was to go on a nature walk into the forest on the property. Thank God I was feeling better because I did not want to miss my first chance of being in the jungle! Before heading out we were advised to wear long pants because of bugs, and to load on the bug spray. John and I had purchased straight DEET for the trip, and we definitely needed it! Mosquitoes galore! We went along the trail following Luci (she speaks very good English, and it was a nice break to not try to translate) as she explained to us what various plants and trees were. She told us what the native people used them for- whether it was for food, or medical purposes, etc. She also warned us to look out for the gigantic bullet ants, whose bites burn and cause swelling - extremely painful! We did see a few, and I was super careful to avoid them. I also saw many large spiders and gigantic bee/wasp hybrid things. The bullet ant anthills were about 5 feet tall! At one point we stopped and Luci and her assistant guide, a younger boy named Pablo or something, chopped up some stuff with a machete and then inside were some peanuts! We all got to try some. Also Luci found a leaf the indigenous people used as a pain reliever. John chewed on it and his whole mouth was numb for a while! She also mashed up some leaf with water and it created a red face paint that she put on the little girl (named Cheska- I know this because they repeated her name so much) that was with the Dutch family. She also showed us a plant that looks like a parrot's beak, and she said when she was little they would hold it on their noses and pretend to be one. The sounds of the jungle were almost surreal to me, and I loved it! We weren't even that deep into yet either. Despite the heat, it was really fun and interesting.

On the way back John volunteered to swing on some monkey vine, and then it began to get dark. We were all privileged to have yet another 3 course meal prepared by the on staff cook, and I successfully ate a couple bites here and there. Later that night, we all went down to the boat and Luci, equipped with a flashlight, took us out to look for caymans. It was a nice escape from the heat, and I was in a good mood since I was feeling better. We didn't see any caymans for a while, and then on the way back we saw several of them close to the river bank! We got fairly close, and I was again reminded why I really hoped our boat would never capsize! After 10pm all of Corto Maltes shuts down their power. Each hut has a small gas lantern, but that is it. Luckily John brought a head-lamp because trying to get ready for bed in total darkness can be difficult. We had to get up at 4:30am the next morning, so bedtime was early! Once I pulled down the mosquito nets, I ignored the intense heat, and passed out.