Mud, mud, unglorious mud!

We travelled three and half hours up the Rio Tambopata, a tributary of the Amazon River out from Puerto Maldonado in the Peruvian rainforest. This area is part of the Manu Bio-sphere Reserve. Although the weather was not on our side we did have some memorable moments.

1. The mud. I have never seen so much thick, deep and gooey mud in all my life. I have experienced wet seasons before but nothing on this scale. I should have known something when before we headed up the river we were issued with our very own personlised gumboots or galoshes or whatever you want to call them but you would definately not call them a fashion statement.
2. We did spend time in the jungle and it certainly is another world. The highlight for me was when a whole tribe of Spider Monkeys came through the camp, chattering and calling to each other. The huge numbers of butterflies are extraordinary. Especially the famous big blue variety. The amazing thing was when these butterflies landed and closed their wings they were a drab brown that blended in to the trees perfectly. Although being in bio-sphere reserve I did expect to see much more wildlife than what we did.
3. Our guide, Jorge of the jungle ,and boatman, Percy of the river, did really go out of their way to make up for the weather but unfortunately it was still disappointing overall.

Quick Tips:

Don't go when we did in March if you can help it. Although I know there is a chance that you will have rain it would not be like this. At times it was teeming down.

Also don't go with the high expectations of getting up and close personal with the macaws for example. You watch them (when they are there) from the other side of a very wide river. If you want the photos bring the big zoom.

Make sure you have your yellow fever shot before you arrive. Otherwise if you can't produce the certificate you will be jabbed on the spot.

Also, malaria is a big problem here so you need to have started taking your malaria tablets before you arrive. You also need to wear light coloured cotton clothing and constantly replenish your bug repellant. Nothing like washing that off after wearing it day in and day out.

Best Way To Get Around:

You travel upriver via boat but after that the main way to get around is by foot (with gumboots) with your guide hacking his way through the trails with his machete.

Located about 50 kilometres upriver from Puerto Maldonado the Wasai Lodge is located on the bank of the Rio Tambopata. Past this point there are no more dwellings besides those in the restricted areas. The Wasai''s lodges are built in a traditional style with palm thatching and blend in to the jungle. The complex consists of the large main lodge where all the meals are served and with a lounge area for hanging out in. You can ascend up to a second level where there are more lounges and a pretty good view of the nearby jungle. Located higher and nearly at tree canopy level it offers a prime spot to catch glimpses of the various birds and butterflies as they wing on by. Then there are the smaller, individual bungalows leading off by small paths from the main lodge. The bungalows are basic as you would expect but comfortable enough. Each bungalow is very private with two single beds with their own private mosquito nets to completely cover them. This is a must. Electricity was only available for around 3 hours per day from 3 - 6 pm.This can be a a bit of a pain if it is raining and you are stuck in your cabin and trying to read as the trees surrounding the huts makes them quite dark. Although the hut has flyscreen on the window and door it also has lots of holes both in the screens and between the slats that make up the walls. Lather that repellant on!

It had its own little veranda facing your piece of jungle paradise. Your bathroom had its own basin and shower and when you turned on the tap, lovely brown water straight from the river. It took a lot of courage to bathe in water that is that colour, believe me.

However before booking you are warned that there is not an abundance of luxury and it all helps to add that jungle experience.

As you are located a long way from anywhere when you stay at The Wasai Lodge all meals are included in the price of the tour and served in the main area. This consists of tables and chairs carved from the local forest and as the restaurant is open air you dine whilst listening to the jungle sounds all around you. You certainly will not starve. Jorge the guide normally eats with the guests and whilst we invited the cook and boatman Percy to join us as we were the only guests they declined as they were too shy. The cook was fantastic and really could whip up something special with the bare minimum to work with. Every meal was two courses and every meal whether breakfast, lunch or dinner was a different dish incorporating the fresh herbs and plants and fruits of the jungle. One of his more memorable efforts was a chicken, chilli and fresh native coriander stuffed into a bamboo stick and steamed. Tender and delicious. When I commented that I thought they would serve fish more so than meat I was told that as it was the wet season the fish actually ingested too much mud and were not suitable for eating, however in the dry times fish are abundant. They also explained how careful they and all the other lodges in the area were with food preparation and storage. The last thing that they wanted was a sick visitor. If you have a sweet tooth you might want to stock up on supplies prior to leaving town, the same goes if you like a cold beer or wine as when we were there the bar was empty and ther is no other stores other than what is planned for the main meals. Dining was a real pleasure here.

This is the only way to go uo to the Wasai's river lodge. You need to be able to take just a small carry bag and then leave your large backpack etc at the main lodge.

As you leave the town environs the scenerery changes giving way to farmlands and then gradually becoming increasingly forested. As we were going to one of the furthest lodges along the river we passed most of the other lodges along the way.

Once you reach the Bio-sphere's border there is a check point where you need to sign in. On came the gumboots and a very slippery walk up to the top through all that lovely mud. Then back on to the boat and onwards. You see many animals and many of the inhabitants as you travel along the river. We were lucky enough to see some Macaws at the small clay lick near the Posada Amazonas Lodge.

Other highlights included seeing Capybaranas. These are small wombat like animals that forage on the river bank.

Then you finally arrive at the Lodge.

The first night we were there our guide, Jorge took us on a jungle walk. Armed with his machete we headed off in to the dense undergrowth, hacking our way through the foliage. Even though there are some trails around the lodge almost as soon as they are made the jungle begins to take them back over again. The rainforest never stays still, there is constant rustling as various animals move around in the undergrowth, probably watching us. The amount of moisture is amazing as drops of water are constantly falling from the canopy top down towards the leaves and mulch underneath your feet, this of course is all helping the cycle of nature.

Jorge also pointed out the various plants and native herbs along the trail that have been used for hundreds of years by the Amazon peoples to treat various medical ailments or to use in their cooking.

We were hoping to see some different types of animals but although we could hear them rustling in the undergrowth but on this occasion none decided to show themselves. But as a first taste of the jungle, especially at night, it was quite good. You don''t realise just how black and damp and how much life there is around you as you normally wouldn''t have the chance to see it outside this pristine jungle.

One of the highlights to undertake at night is to go out on the river to try to see some "caimans" as they are known in South America. These reptiles are known as alligators elsewhere.

Silently you float along the river in a small canoe staying close to the riverbank with the guides spotting the gleam of the caiman''s eyes by torch light. The guide then creeps up and makes a lunge for the baby caiman and holds on to it making sure that its mouth is firmly shut. The poor little one that we caught was so scared. It was meowing like a baby. I really felt so sorry for it. After it''s time of terror it was released unharmed back in to the water and made a hasty escape. But it did make for a bit of excitement.

The size of the one that we caught was only about 50cm long but it was only a little one, these reptiles can grow up to 1.5 -3 metres in length (4 - 8 feet) and weigh up to 58 kilos (23lb).

I am glad that they didn''t decide to wrestle a larger one into the boat as it would have been very interesting then.

I have always had a fascination for the beautiful birds of South America and in particular the magnificant red, blue and yellow plumage of the Macaws. We had travelled up the Rio Tambopata to an area that is renowned for being able to see the Macaws when they come down to land on one of the claylicks nearby. Near the Wasai lodge is one of the largest claylicks in the Amazon and normally there can be hundreds of these birds landing there. No-one is 100% sure why the birds due seek out the claylicks but they believe that they need the minerals in the clay to help supplement their diet and to aid digestion. The only catch with seeing the Macaws land is fine weather, apparently they do not land if it is wet or raining.

The night before we were due to journey further up the river to the Macaw claylick, a Toucan made its presense felt with its warble. "Uh-oh," our guide said. "That unfortunately means rain." Sure enough, next morning it was pouring. Finally when it eased off a little we made our way up the river to the main claylick but it was empty.

We then journeyed along the river further and circled around traipsing through inches and inches of thick, red mud to another claylick and same thing. We did see some flying overhead but it was just too wet for them to want to land.

Eventually we gave up and headed back to the Lodge in disgust. Sometimes you just can''t help bad luck. Luckily we had seen a couple on the smaller claylick back down the river as we were passing.

Just a point to note in the first photo below: this is the actual distance that you are able and allowed to get to the claylick. So if you want those great photos bring a big zoom and pack your binoculars as it is still quite a long distance.