Sunday June 1st 2019 - Tambopata Lodge

 Packing for going to the jungle was a complicated affair. After our flight we would be given duffel bags into which we would put what we required for our stay at Tambopata Lodge. Everything else would go into storage. Henry had arranged that we all had window seats so the views were magnificent over the Andes and over the dense rain forest. We collected our luggage when we arrived and then headed off to gadventures office where we repacked taking only what we needed for the lodge. Then we travelled in convoy with a number of other buses - this was for security reasons seemingly - for about an hour. Packed lunches were distributed - deep fried chicken, rice, chips and vegetables, all cold. There were 2 tiny bananas which were lovely. En route Carmen told us a bit about the area. The main industry is gold-mining which is illegal.  Then Brazil nuts. The Brazil tree is the tallest tree in the rain forest. When the fruit is ripe it is very dangerous to walk under a brazil nut tree because if the fruit fell on you it could kill you. The fruit is about the size of a grapefruit and it has a very hard outer covering. The separate the nuts the fruit has to be cracked with one blow of a machete. The nuts are clustered like orange segments. Each segment is a brazil nut within its shell. It is very nutritious. The 3rd industry is ecotourism and the 4th agriculture.

When we got to the river we boarded our motorised canoe and set off.  During our trip we saw 3 capybaras and 2 white caiman, one younger than the other.

The capybara is the largest living rodent in the world and is native to South America. They are semi-aquatic spending a lot of time in the water. They seem to particularly like mud.

A caiman is a crocodilian related to the American alligator. They have small and light bodies

We arrived at the lodge and it involved a horrendous number of steps up - I thought I was going to die! Carmen was very helpful and calming. Our lodge was 122 B - Sarah and Charlotte were in 122 A. At the veranda we were welcomed with a glass of mango juice. Then we went to our rooms. We were to convene again for a night walk at 7pm. I decided to give it a miss, as did Charlotte. Despite being told to wear hiking shoes, Jim insisted on wearing his sandals. Carmen sent him back to get his shoes which kept everyone waiting more than 10 minutes - so much for the man who is never late! I'm not sure that he has learned his lesson. While they were away Charlotte had a bottle of wine and I had a non-alcoholic pina colada.

When the group returned we had dinner - beef, chips, rice and veg followed by apple tart. Then it was off to bed by candlelight as it is an eco lodge and the electricity is turned on only for a very limited time. Eack of our beds had a mosquito net so I was very careful to ensure I was properly enclosed. Jim simply wrapped himself up in his -0 he has no idea of the concept of comfort. I didn't sleep much and from 3am there was torrential rain and lightning.