Sat 16.4.2016

It is raining the whole morning and so I have time to maintain my blog. At noon the sun comes out and I try to reach the Jesus statue, but the entwanze fee to come to there is too high. So, I find and nice hood with small streets and a cosy café where I drink a Cappuccino and eat a Lemon Pie. At 5 p.m. the briefing for tomorrow takes place. Then doing some shopping for the tour, packing all the stuff and going to bed very early.

Sun 17.4.2016

At half past six the driver rings the bell and one after the other we pick up all the others and have finally a 7-headed team from USA, Denmark, Poland, Germany and from Switzerland. Juan Carlos, also called Yoyo, ist very Sympathie as well as our cook Javier. First stop is Ninamarka with a pre-inca cemetery. After quick breakfast in Huancarani our next stop is in Paucartambo a small village with a nice center and a little ethnological museum.

The road is becoming an adventure.

At the latest I’m glad not being here with Flecha. Deep pot holes and muddy passages would be really challenging now. The landscape is getting greener since we have entered the national park Manu. This is devided in 3 areas: the mountain, the cloud forest and the rain forest. Again and again we stop and Yoyo with his experience is able to show us at least wool monkeys. An owl is well hidden in a tree and even the national bird of Peru “Cock of the Rock”.

A big waterfall doesn’t yet invite for a quick shower, because it’s too cold.

Butterflies are allover and you can put them everywhere. As coca-leafs are illegal in Peru we pass a control station that proofs each vehicle that comes from the jungle!

At around 6 p.m. we reach our first Lodge in Pilcopata and Javier creates fantastic fish menu.

Mon 18.4.2016

After thunderstorms in the night a sun comes out in the morning. After a delicious breakfast Yoyo shows us a fruit that is used to color rice for example. To paint one’s face is also possible. A short walk through the village along some termite colonies and to major’s house who is the only person that is allowed to hold macaws as “pets”.

After a short drive we reach an animal-rearing station with a little caiman, a turtle, various monkeys, pigs and parrots as well as two Capybaras (same family as guinea pig).

In Atalaya we change the bus into a boat. On the river Madre de Dios we are heading to our next lodge.

From the shore it takes another 10 minutes through deep mud before we reach the lodge in the rain forest, and we are happy to have the rubber boots. After a good lunch and a little siesta we go by boat to the national reservation Machuwasi. But the water went away from the side arm of the river so quickly that our boat was stranded.

A lot of energy and perseverance is needed before we can mover forward. Beside the very huge ants where a bite can hurt in the same extenso for 24 hours there is soldier ants that can be used to sew a cut by putting them on it and once they have bitten you take off their body and the brackets close the wound. The walk to the lake and the tour on it is so beautiful. We can see many birds and smell the forest.

Back again Javier serves our dinner before we go for a night walk with many spiders, frogs, gras hoppers and ants.

 

Tue 19.4.2016

Already at 5 a.m. the night is over. We drive to the loam wall in order to see the parrots how they eat the necessary minerals there. The sunrise is awesome and we don’t have to wait very long for the parrots.

After 20 minutes the spectacle is over and we have breakfast on this island. A short trip brings us to a shaman who has been living here alone for 16 years.

We try sugar cane and a fruit (I forgot the name). On our 2 hours walk through the jungle we find a 300 years old giant tree and a Greta Morgane a butterfly which is almost transparent.

We are back for lunch and make siesta afterwards. Then we swim in the river a build sand castles before a thunderstorm arrives. We enjoy the warm rain only in swim suits.

Wed 20.4.2016

Wake up call at 5.30 a.m., breakfast and packing. By boat and the by bus we are driving via Pisa back to Cusco that we arrive at 6 p.m. A tiring drive, so I decide to leave Cusco finally on Friday in direction to Arequipa.

Thu 21.4.2016

A relaxing day with Blog-Update and reading.