On our first day in the Amazon, we took a canoe out with our guide Wenniger and his helper, Mario. Wennie, although a bit on the quiet side, is first-rate at spotting wildlife. On our first morning we had seen several kinds of monkeys, a hawk, vultures, toucans, macaws and a tarantula. We left the lodge at 7am and Wennie brought our breakfast with us, which we ate at a platform overlooking a lake.
When booking the lodge, I had asked the owner Paul for the best guide for wildlife and he’s as good as his word. People visit the Amazon for different reasons, some are interested in the birds, plants, local people, reptiles etc. I wanted to be sure we had someone who would be able to show us the things we would be interested in, as looking at flowers, or bird spotting for 6 days is not really our bag.
Picking fruit, before the treese are completely submerged during the high season. These little fruits have more vitamin C than an orange:
Some of the other guides, like Christian or Edson are a bit younger or more fun/ lively but I don’t know if they would be able to match Wennie’s excellent eyes and ears. He spots animals from miles off from the slightest noise.
Monkey:
It is currently high season here, water-wise. The river level is about 20-25 feet above land, so the majority of trees are either fully or partially submerged. By March, the river will raise another 10 feet. The maximum water level is marked on the trees from repeated submersion, so you can see how high the river will get in a few months time. This is the season I wanted to visit the Amazon because I had visions of boating around, looking for anacondas, with everything submerged like in a film or a David Attenborough programme. Thus far it has met my expectations to a tee. The photographs and even videos just can’ really it justice.
Yesterday afternoon it absolutely bucketed it down and the river around us rose about a foot. The family we travelled over with from Iquitos had gone out piranha fishing and came back soaked to the skin. They had photos of them in their boat, huddled in little balls under their ponchos. Paddy and I had wisely sat the afternoon out, relaxing on deckchairs overlooking the river.
At night, after dinner, Wennie took us out to explore the area surrounding our lodge, which is currently on dry land, but will soon be covered in water. We found some snakes: Boa’s (one particularly large one underneath our bathroom), strange-looking insects and massive spiders.
Wax tailed plum hopper: (exactly!)
The first night’s sleep was amazing and I slept like a dream. Paddy went back to snoring again last night, so it’s going to be separate rooms/ tents going forward as snoring tolerance is not my forte.
Today we left the lodge at 9am after breakfast, for a full day’s trip with Wennie and Mario on land. We were driven about 2 hours by boat, deeper in to the jungle, then went exploring by foot. Wennie and Mario found several poisonous frogs and other creatures for us which they caught by hand and brought over for our inspection.
We went in to a hallowed out tree which housed bats, gigantic spiders and other horrid looking shiny insects. There was one particularly large cockroach which Wennie kindly poked and it’s wing was covering tens of tiny (horrid) cockroach babies which scattered all around us.
After the exploration, we ate lunch which Mario had prepared at the riverside and then went to see Dorilla the wooly monkey. Dorilla was released in to the wild about 7 years ago but the guys working at the lodge still visit her and bring her fruit. She is very tame, coming in to the boat and even enjoying a stroke. She got a bit carried away with all the fussing I gave her and was rolling around at my feet while I stroked her belly.
The weather here is warm and humid but isn’t too hot unless you are directly in the sun, which is rare because of all the trees. When you are going down river, the breeze from the speed of the boat keeps you cool. When it rains everything feels damp, from your clothes, to your skin, to your bed. There is a permanent layer of sweat covering your body keeping you cool. Mosquitos are rife, as you would expect. Fortunately, thanks to my ‘Lifesystems Expedition Plus 100% DEET’ Mozzie spray, I have only been bitten once since arriving. Unfortunately, it was on my eyelid.
The food at the lodge is pretty respectable and even as a slightly picky eater I’ve been able to fill my plate every day. A good selection of rice, potatoes, local salads/ salsas, meat, bread and fruit for dessert. The drinking water is purified water, bought directly from Coca Cola and supplied for free. You can buy coke and sprite for about £1.
The lodge itself is extremely well run. Built using local materials and techniques, it blends nicely in to the surroundings. The staff are really friendly and knowledgeable and I feel safe in their hands. They have solar panels powering LED lighting, which are dotted around the lodge for light at night. If you want the Savoy, the Amazon is definitely not the place to go but given the environment, conservation, distance from ‘civilisation’ as we know it, then the standards of the Lodge are admirable and I could easily spend more time here. They even have internet should you so wish. The remoteness is why you come here and for that it can’t be beaten.
Having an enjoyable time but 5 weeks suddenly feels like quite a long time…
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