I'm easily ready to leave by 7am, all checked out, packed and raring to get started after a good nights rest. We head to the airport in Lima where we will catch a flight to Puerto Maldonado. Yuri kindly shares his luggage allowance with me seeing as I have so much, luckily so far I have not been stung for excess baggage... Not sure how long that will last but thankfully am ok for this one.
The flight goes via Cuzco, altogether 2.5hrs roughly. Just under 1.5hrs to Cuzco then we stay on the plane for a few minutes and then 45 minutes to Puerto Maldonado. So back in Lima, we need passports for the internal flight and sadly the plane is delayed. The airport is crazy busy with people, and there certainly isn't any semblance of a queuing system, it's everyman for themselves if you want to get on a flight!! So once the flight is called we all bundle out way onto the bus to the plane.
On the bus a little girl with a toy clown literally bigger than herself is standing next to me with her dad, she accidentally steps on my feet and so we start a little friendship. I end up taking photos of her and her dad getting on the plane, until we are told that is forbidden!! On the plane I try what little Spanish I know and she replies in English, her name is Stephanie and she is going home today, she is 4yrs old, very cute and not the least bit shy. When we finally arrive in Puerto Maldonado I get my luggage and head to the G adventure bus, she spots me on my way out and runs over to give me a big hug and kiss goodbye... Adorable!!!
So next we have a bus journey for a while, I think an hour and then boat for about an hour and half until we get to the Tambopata Ecolodge. We meet our new guides from the lodge that will be taking us round, Jose Louis is our guide. It's been raining a lot so the road is bumpy, but we have a great time with the other G adventure groups on the bus. When we get on the boat we are handed a little cloth bag with our lunch, it comes in a metal tin and is rice, vegetables, plantains and chicken with 2 little lady finger bananas for desert. I know people have said how good the food is on these trips but this is pretty impressive, delicious. On the entrance to the park itself as we head up the Tambopata river we get out and have our passport stamped, you have to basically sign into the national park.
We finally get to Tambopata at around 6 and the sun has gone down, we are taken to our rooms which are really lovely, mossie nets thankfully, little huts, comfy beds, a shower with hot water!! No electricity so candlelight only and an emergency whistle in case you burn the place down!!! Brilliant, I love it already and obviously will do what I can not to set fire to anything.
Dinner is fabulous, 3 amazing courses, soup, chicken and rice and rice pudding, fresh juices, there is a bar too to chill out and chat with people. Straight after dinner is our night walk, we head to get our gum boots... or wellies as they should be called!!! I realise that I have left my fab head torch back on land, so have to borrow one from my room mate Laura. I grab my wellies and we head out in search of wildlife, not disappointed its to longer before we see insects, crickets, and stick insects and then a Tarantula... It's huge! We also see an Emerald Boa up in the trees that looks like its just had dinner too!! And a few other creatures but enough to get us started and everyone is impressed by the guides ability to spot these creatures in the dark... We are doing well!!!
Time for bed, it's a very early start tomorrow.....
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