Puerto Maldonado

Today was a travel day.  Up early to have breakfast and get ready for a 6:45 pick up from Maria to get to the airport.  She took us around to one of the sights we missed:  Bosque El Olivar a an olive grove in the city of San Isidor (still part of Lima).  This grove was planted in the 17th century and many of the trees still stand.  They're pretty gnarly old trees. There was also a huge wooden square timber that would have been used in the early days to press oil.  

Then to the airport.  Maria looked at how long the check in lineup was for the domestic flight we were on and took us over to the special boarding line-up -- the one for pregnant women, small children, wheelchair, etc.  No one questioned Judith and me in that lineup; we got our boarding passes, checked our bags, said goodbye to Maria and went off to security.  

We sat on the plane for a long time at the boarding gate.  At least an hour.  When the steward came down the isle with the beverage cart while we were still at the gate, I knew we'd be there for a while. The plane eventually took off.  We were supposed to go to Peurto Maldonado via a stopover in Cuzco, but in Cuzco, everyone was directed to deplane.  There were about 25 that were bound for PM.  One of the counter clerks for the airline, gathered us all together and asked us to follow her.  We went through the secured area down a flight of stairs, out past the baggage carousel, outside past the taxi drivers asking everyone if we needed a ride, back into the departures check in area where she handed out new boarding passes for another flight.  We were delayed about a new hour and a half by now.  

The flight was interesting with the scenery transitioning from a desert to mountainous peaks to rainforest.  The lushness of the ground below was a stark contrast to the dry and barren landscape around Cuzco.  I was amazed how close the homes were to the airport.  

 

When we got to Peurto Maldonado we were greeted by Luis, our guide for the next 3 days.  We get onto a bus to Rio Tambopata one of the main rivers of the Amazon basin.  Here we board a narrow wooden boat and cruise the river to Posada Amazonas one of several lodges on the river.  On the way we see caiman sunning themselves on the river bank.  

Pretty cool.  We reach our destination and walk up a steep bank to the lodge.  We get a  brief welcome and are shown our rooms.  

It's a beautiful room and we're happy to spend the next 3 nights here.  The far end is fully open to the elements and has a hammock at the open end.  The bathroom is large and also has an open end.  It's normally hot, hence the open space. However it's been unseasonably cold, so the evening room prep involved putting down the mosquito netting and tucking in a hot water bottle and an extra blanket.  

It's an impressive lodge.  We walk over a bridge walkway to get to our unit.

The lodge was started in 1996 as a joint venture between a hotelier and the local indigenous owners.  The idea was to bring a sustainable industry to the local community and at the end of the 20 year agreement, the lodge would revert over to the community.  In the end, the community has been satisfied with the prosperity it has brought and recently has signed a 4 year extension to the original agreement.  Our guide Luis as been working at the lodge since the beginning, first helping with its construction and then progressing through many jobs including waiter, driver, maintenance and now after learning English, is now a guide.  

Dinner is a communal affair, with everyone coming together at 7:00 for a very tasty meal.  In our group is Rory and Ella from Australia.  Rowie is on the Australian womens water polo team and recently competed in Rio.  She's taking advantage of being in South Amerca before heading back.  Her friend Ella came for the adventure.  They seem to be fun and nice people.  

It's an early start tomorrow with breakfast at 4:30 so I need to sign off.  They turned off the generator at 10:00 so the hotel is pitch black. I hope my phone and batteries got charged up before the power died.  

On a housekeeping note, I changed the blog options to allow readers to post comments as I get to review them to decide whether they should be published or not.  I can't imagine anybody receiving this blog to post something nasty, but it's an open blog and anyone can access it.  So I'm taking a bit of a cautionary approach.