Gorgeous red and blue "makaw" parrots are living in the tree outside our dining area. We just stand and gaze at their activities. Their songs are more like squawks, but they are such beautiful birds - and to see them in the wild is just amazing!
Bruce and I both slept well last night, and are feeling so very much better today. We've just devoured a delicious breakfast - tropical fruits, sliced meats, eggs, rolls with coffee/juice. Yummy!
Embarked on our upriver trip via the Rio Briolo for an hour's fishing, travelling in the very small pekis-pekis. No lifejackets this time. Saw many small alligators (caymans) on the banks along the way, along with little greyish turtles sunning themselves on logs which were stuck or floating in the river.
Motored up a narrow river stream, passing and missing all sizes of logs in the waters. Slightly treacherous, but we made it. Our motorman is an accomplished sailor indeed! Trees and branches overhang the clay mud banks, birds fly overhead, and vivid white, black & blue butterflies dot the landscape, sometimes in large numbers. It's beautiful & peaceful!
Met other water boats like ours, some with families, some loaded with goods, all with putt-utt motors - the major way of travel for all peoples in this jungle area.
We moored our boat on a bank, then were given a straight 'old' stick, with a line & hook to fish with. Very, very basic indeed. A few folks caught very small catfish.
An hour later, we travelled to our swimming hole. Unbeknowst to all of us, our motor propeller had broken. It was replaced, but then broke once more. The boatman, and Ronal, our guide, were ingenious enough to fix it. I guess that's what they do in these parts...
Peru reminds me very much of Cuba. everything is very basic and old machinery, if available, is still in use. Most of the time though, there is no machinery or technology around - manual labor is still the only way to go.
At our swimming hole, just off the river bank, most men eagerly, or hesitantly jumped into these mucky, murky waters. One brave woman did so too! A couple of men then covered their bodies in clay mud, climbed up the bank to find a rope tied to a tree - well, you know what happened next! They did their "Tarzan" thing, grabbing onto the rope, running, then jumping into the water to clean the mud off their bodies. Quite the sight - and it looked like fun! (But, I still was too chicken to try it...)
The river current was strong, and even though the water looked dirty, it wasn't. Bruce jumped in, finding it rather refreshing, although he, and all the others were surprised by the strength of the current in this little off-shoot of a river.
Then, motoring off, we ran into a mud bank as we were rounding a curve in the river. (These rivers meander a lot, oftentimes changing their courses in a year, due to the heavy flow of the waters.) Our men disembarked and pushd the boat, freeing it from the mud bank - what a wild adventure! Not something one would experience on a 5* Cruiseship!
Under clear blue skies, we motored peacefully back to the Lodge, sighting our caymans and turles once more.
At our lodge, we rested a wee bit, walked around the grounds taking in our 'jungle' environment, took photos, ate a delicious lunch, wrote and just relaxed during the hottest part of the afternoon. And, we have heat!!!
Our generator for electricity comes on between 5:30 - 10 p.m. Then it's total darkness! Frankly, the light that is emitted from the generator is very low powered indeed - Bruce and I still have to search around our room to find things! If I wish to read, I do so using my flashlight.
2:30 p.m. - Ronal has us grouped together, for his 'march' in the jungle! I don't think he realizes how fast he walks! I know he's used to the heat, but lordy, are we sweating, just to keep up to him. One doesn't want to get lost on a path here - who knows if the resident jaquar if eyeing us for prey!
Arrived at our wooden platform, situated above a fairly large lagoon, and just sat for an hour, as still and quiet as can be. We observed the wildlife, mostly caymans, which were not that big, and moved very little in the waters. Saw sume beautiful birds - which we attempted to photograph, when we could catch them in our viewfinders. Not a lot of action around us, but the jungle canopy surrounding the lagoon in the late afternoon light was magical!
Returned to our lodge, "marching" all the way. Bruce & I quickly took a cold shower - anything would feel good right now! We still 'yelped' as the cold water hit us, but at least, we were clean, again!
Had drinks with our group - then to bed at 8:30 p.m.
Members of our group agreed that we needed to get our guide Ronal to slow down on our excursions. They were all feeling the effects of the 'sweat run', and wanted, like us, to enjoy the journey to the destinations, not just the destination. I was voted in as the person to do this for tomorrow. Hummm!
Our supportive and delightful group members are -
a couple in their 50's from Copenhagen, (who had previously climbed Kilimanjero, the highest mountain in Africa! They also thought this should be the McLeans our next excursion!!!)
Ingrid & Bernard, mid 40's, from Frankfurt, Chris from Devon, England - mid 20's - meeting his girlfriend in Cusco at the end of the week, Sarah - Washington DC - mid 20's, Bennett from Toronto, 30ish, & Carol & hubby from Paris (mid-20's).
Despite the difference in ages, we all got along so well!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment