In the jungle el mighty jungle...

Getting ready to depart from SFO
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Well, we made it! After a full day of travel time we have finally arrived in the small town of Puerto Maldonado deep in the Amazon. The journey here was slow going at times but all worth it now that I´m sitting here sweltering in an internet cafe that is obviously run by the Slowskis. This is not the lightning fast internet some of us have back home.

We landed in Miami last night with a couple hours to kill before flying off the Lima and by that time were both starting to get quite hungry and tired. So, after departing shortly before midnight, we ate a gourmet meal of airplane food and thanks to the luck of having our own row and the miracles of ancient and modern medicine; aka wine and sleeping pills, we were able to get some sort of a semblance of a good nights sleep on the flight. And by good night´s sleep I mean about 3 hours or so...We arrived in Lima and immediately were greeted by the local dining flair that is uniquely Peru: McDonald´s, Papa John´s, and Starbucks. I´m sure Michael would be happy to know there are in fact McDonald´s in Peru! We landed right before 5am and slept in the airport until our flight departed for the short flight to Puerto Maldonado via Cusco at 830am.

Started getting tired on the plane...But at least we had our own row.
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We arrived to the tiniest airport I´ve ever landed at(2 baggage carousels) and were greeted by the 95 degree heat and high humidity. After getting our bags, we hopped in a trailer with 2 small stools in the back that was being pulled by a motorcycle driver, also the owner of the lodge we are staying at. A very unique experience indeed but definitely adds to the mystique of this place....Everyone here drives motorcycles! Nearly zero cars on the road.

The Anaconda Lodge is much better than either of us expected, especially for the money paid(80 soles approx 13 bucks a piece) per night for our own private bungalow with a deck and 2 hammocks hanging outside. There is a beautiful swimming pool on site which is HUGE when its almost 100 degrees and humid during the midday. It is only a year old and everything is very well maintained. In fact when the owner heard we were going swimming, he immediately went out to the pool and was skimming it perfectly clear before we got dressed and got out there. The owners are very nice with the wife being an EXCELLENT Thai cook and the husband an adventurer and gardner of sorts. We sat down and ate a Thai meal when we got there and all the fruits and vegetables were literally taken from the garden as we ordered. Allie said the papaya salad tasted exactly as it did when she was in Thailand. Afterwards we talked with Donald(the husband) about things to do in the area and some of the tours to take. Tomorrow is going to be filled with motorcycle rentals(at about 1 dollar per hour it can´t be beat!) to explore the jungle roads and a kayak cruise down the Madre de Dios River. Perhaps even a cruise through the middle of the night to view Caymans and other nightlife you couldn´t normally see during the day...We´ll see!

Peruvian food at its finest! I know Michael will especially appreciate this picture...
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Well, there´s Chicha to be drank so I better stop there. This computer and internet is sososo slow here that I´m afraid to even ask about uploading pictures but I have some good ones and the page will be updated as soon as I get some decent internet speed. Hopefully here, if not, in Cusco for sure in two days! We´re still safe, yellow fever free and in good spirits! Cheers!