Through the Amazon with more than a paddle

As far as traveling, I would say that I have a fairly good knowledge of what my country has to offer. Since I was probably 7 or 8, I have gone with my family to different locations, sometimes by car, others by bus and of course by plane. I had never been in the jungle before, so I was pretty excited about this trip.

The day started out great; me and my friend from work Natalie, shared a cab to the airport (we live like 5 minutes apart by car) and got there with plenty of time in advance. Once we arrived to the lounge and we were “comfortably” waiting to board we heard a different message over the P.A system. The gate had been reassigned so we had to move to another lounge on the first floor. Living in Peru, we are used to these kinds of things, so we just followed the rest of the passengers downstairs.

I had never been in the jungle before, so I was pretty excited about this trip.

I don’t know if you have every flown using a local airline such as Aerocondor, but I definitely suggest that if you are traveling inside Peru, not to do it. The service is very bad, hostesses act as if they were doing you a favor for being there and trust me, you never know if you are going to land in one piece. Fortunately, we did.

The airport at Puerto Maldonado was pretty much what we expected; old, small (just two conveyor belts for bags) and a sensation of being in a very remote and forgotten place. The air was humid, and just outside where the doors were supposed to be, you could see the jungle vegetation all over. As we approached the exit (previous stop at the ladies room), we found the Inkaterra representatives (actually, they found us) and they carried our bags towards the Inkaterra truck.

Once all the guests were settled in, we were taken to the Serpentario or “Snake House”, were a local boy showed us different species of domesticates snakes. I even got a chance to hold one! After the rest of the guests arrived there we took off to the river port. We were explained that normally guests wait around at the Mariposario or butterfly farm, but at that time it was being remodeled. Too bad! One thing you should be aware of is that clothes that come with repellent are not allowed by Inkaterra. This modern gear has proven to kill some of the species in the area, so take your precautions.

After a 10 minute ride through Puerto Maldonado city’s main street, I could see how present poverty is in some remotes parts of the country such as these. I do hope that the growing tourism in the area benefits the city somehow.

While we were waiting for our boat to come, Cynthia from Inkaterra explained us that right next to the river port, a bridge was being built as part of the Interoceanic Highway that is to join Peru and Brazil someday. Once it is finished, I am definitely going to try a road trip!

The 45 minute trip down Madre de Dios River to the lodge was really soothing. You could feel the breeze in your face and just hear the sound of the boat engine. We engaged in conversation with some of the guests on the boat but mostly with the guides; we were the only Spanish talking tourists that day. Inkaterra properties are not normally visited by Peruvians. This is probably because the prices are on the expensive side, comparable to similar properties world wide. Nevertheless, if you travel during low season (November to March) and the occupancy is low, you can apply to a 40% discounted Peruvian rate. I definitely recommend the experience.

Continuing with the trip, once we arrived to the lodge, we had to use a long wood board to climb of the boat and on to the river bank. During the rainy season, when the river is high, this part is not tricky at all. Right on the left of the property is the Eco-Center, were Inkaterra staff greeted us with a delicious Maracuyá or “passion fruit” juice and wet towels. We were assigned a guide, Karina and we sat down with her so discuss which excursions to do. Since we were only staying two nights we had half of that day and all of next day. On the third day we were returning to Puerto Maldonado, so no activities could be scheduled then. It was great to have Karina as guide. She was very knowledgeable and was around our age. She was also from Lima as we are, so it turned out that we had friends in common. What a small world!

We then went to get installed to our cabaña. We were assigned a Superior with River View. It was very comfortable, I must say. It had two double beds with mosquito nets to be pulled down at night, 2 chairs, 2 hammocks, hot water and to the left, the sight of the very tranquil Madre de Dios River. If you have to chose between the regular superior room and this one, I would say go with the River View; it is worth the extra money.

Then, we were off to the Main House to have lunch. All meals at Inkaterra Reserva and buffets and are made with local ingredients, so don’t expect to find pancakes with syrups for breakfast. I wouldn’t suggest it either because of all the physical activity.

After resting a while at our cabaña, we return to the Eco-Center to meet Karina. She gave us a pair of rubber boots each and we started our walk through the trail system. We did not see any big animals here, although we did hear some creepy noises and had to turn around from time to time, but we did see a lot of ants and gigantic trees.

We returned to our rooms to freshen up and we were advised by Karina to return to the Eco-Center on time, because otherwise we would miss the River by Night Excursion. Needless to say, we arrived 10 minutes later and the boat had gone already. We then returned to the Main House to have dinner. Since it was not ready yet, we went to the second floor to have some Pisco Sours (Peruvian famous drink) and more chifles. I was so tired that I dozed of on the couch while Natalie relaxed reading some of the magazines there.

There is not much to do at night here, and the excursions begin really early in the morning so we went straight to sleep after a renovating bath.