Monday

This photo shows the front lounging area of our cabin... 2 chairs & 2 hammocks!
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But the few hours of shut-eye we grabbed in Lima were - in retrospect - really lounging about!

Monday morning we were whisked back to the airport in Lima, stopped briefly in Cuzco, then it was a flight over the mountains to Puerto Maldonado – where our luggage was collected & stacked, and then we (plus the other new guests going to our resort) were all loaded into an open-sided ‘Safari Adventure van.’

Delight at first sight!

And, here's the back third of our quarters with the PLUNGE POOL and a second shower!
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Actually, that van could be considered a "luxury vehicle" because in the town of PM there was nothing else on the roads except those little “tuc tuc” vehicles! We were driven to the InkaTerra facility in PM (where we received the first of their trademark “refreshment washcloths”), then – after we swabbed ourselves down & got our papers in order – we were driven to the docks to wait for the boat from Reserva Amazonica (http://inkaterra.com/en/reserva-amazonica ) to pick us up. Finally it chugged into the dock, & all we hearty explorers picked our way down the slippery dirt precipice,teetered along a plank to cross from shore to craft, & balanced ourselves along the wooden boat’s side-benches. What HAD we gotten ourselves into!

Our outboard canoe awaits!
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Fortunately, the resort itself was ‘delight at first sight’ – and I was extremely pleased to have Penny donate her Tambopata Suite to Dic & me. WE GOT A PLUNGE POOL! But – there was no time to check it out then. It seemed that we had arrived at the Reserva Amazonica too late to do any excursions except the ‘River by Night’ trip, and the staff seemed to imply that the lateness was somehow our great failing! “Hurry! You have to eat right now!” “Hurry! You must make your choices for all of the excursions you will do while at the Reserva… right now!” “Hurry! the boat is leaving for your night’s excursion! Well, we didn’t get to see much of the “special species adapted to darkness” referred to in our itinerary, but it was, nonetheless, an enjoyable excursion (if only because of the cooling breeze). Finally, after the boat trip, I got my first chance to do any unpacking. Only problem was that none of the rooms had any electricity! The gas lanterns were softly glowing, the mosquito netting gently wafting & the plunge pool breathing a siren's song, "Use me... use me." So - instead of unpacking - we naturally yielded to...