Big things. Big trees, big spiders, big snakes, big rivers, big rodents, big cats and crazy big zip lines. An adventure amongst lots of things that see you primarily as food was definitely in order.
Our camp was found up river from Puerto Maldonado. A long skinny boat, not unlike a Thai long tail boat, zipped up against the current effortlessly. Nice work boat designers.
The cabins were spacious and each has its own bathroom and flushing toilet. We felt very spoilt. The bed had a mozzie net, and yes this was not a time to take chances.
Day and night walks perused. Luck was on our side, with the weather and spotting the animals.
Tarantulas, piranha, caiman, spider monkeys, cappuccino monkeys, howler monkeys, squirrels, various size snakes, rodents as big as labradors. Thankfully no pumas showed up to say hi.
To add to the adrenaline rush, Mandy and I climbed what seemed like 500 metres to be at canopy level. The greatly elevated walk was old but still looked solid, mostly. Of course with a zip experience also being offered, I opted this as well. The wire looked solid. The harnesses weren’t all that frayed and the carabinas not too oxidised. What could possibly go wrong?
It was so cool.
Time to chill, paddle down a tiny creek to find a wonderful lake. Monkeys appeared everywhere. Howler monkeys, deep red and very vocal. Caiman were a little harder to find. Relying on surprise attacks you would expect that. They are so cute. They look like a fluffy toy version of a croc. I did want to hug one. I didn’t. A few turtles and massive frog tadpoles lived life dangerously due to the Piranha. Feverishly thrashing like boiling water when they were feeding.
Finally the Vultures, Hoatzin, eagles, parrots, Colourful Ibis, Kingfisher and many other birds rounded up our exploration.
What a wonderful couple of days. We did need a chill, and this was the perfect experience.
