So this entry will be all about my experience in the Jungle. I left the volunteer house on the 3rd of July at 8 AM for the last time. I stole one last glance at the door and security gate as I slipped into the back of the Taxi and spead off toward the airport. (That is a good as I can do making this look like an actually interesting story haha)
I arrived in Puerto Maldonado around 10 AM and was met there by the other two poeple on my tour and our guide. On the same tour I had there was a couple from San Fransico CA. They where really great. Also doing the same tour but with another guide where 4 men from England who where quite funny haha. Anyway we arrived at the Lodge office and got fitted for our rubber boots. I figured this was pointless and I would rather walk in the mud barefoot but then they told me that there could be bugs and frogs in the mud that are poisonous so I conceeded and put on the boots haha. However to my delight it was still quite fun and humorous to walk in the mud even with the boots. It had just rained their the day before so the trail to the lodge was pretty bad. at some places the mud got to about a 1 1/2 ft deep. After our walk which was about 2 km we got into some canoes and they rowed us across Lake Sandoval to our lodge. The Lake is a motor free zone so the entire trip we were in canoes. Which made things really nice, quiet, and peaceful. It also allowed us to get much closer to the wild life than you would normally be able to so that was night. All of our meals where included with the trip so we had breakfast lunch and dinner at the same times every day and the chefs prepared a wide variety of Peruvian dishes for us to try. The great thing about my group was that the couple I was with was vegetarian, and most of the meals had meat in them. Now the chef did make them their own dinners, but every once in a while he forgot so I got extra food haha. And I love extra food.
The lodge was very nice and very basic. We only had electricity at specific times during the day and hot water was powered by propane. I myself didn´t ever get any hot water, but that was ok. It was pretty warm in the rain forest so a cold shower wasn´t too bad.
Our first day was a pretty relaxing one. Well it was supposed to be. I played soccer (futbol) with the local staff and I hurt my ankle again haha. I am pretty sure everyone that knows me is roling their eyes and going Oh Chase... you never learn do you. Well NO I DON´T haha. After dinner we had a night walk through a trail that started near the Lodge. We saw a whole bunch on night life. Mostly insects, we did manage to spot a Black Caiman baby on the bank of the Lake. And we saw the two resident types of Trauanchula that live near the lodge. The Chicken Trauanchula, and the another one I can´t remember the name of haha. After the walk it was bed time.
Our second day started early, around 5 AM. We had breakfast and got out on the lake to see some of the local bird life, and 3 of 6 different types of monkeys that live around the lake. The Squirrel monkey, the red howler monkey, and another type that I can´t remember haha. We were also trying to catch a glimpse of the family of Giant Otters that make this lake so special. Sadly we weren´t lucky enough to spot them. Later that day we had a walk around the lodge in the medicinal garden, where our guide explained about some of the local plant life and how the locals use them for medical purposes. It was really interesting and I tryed to take a lot of pictures haha. Also we went on another jungle trail and our guide showed us some of the different trees that live there including the Brazilian knut tree. Which gets extremely large. That night we went back out on the lake to see some more birds and monkeys and to spot the Black Caiman. We rode around the edge of the lake and shinned our flash lights across the water trying to get a reflection from their eyes. We saw a few big ones that where about 3 meters but it was way to dark to take a picture haha.
Again we woke up around 5 AM and went back out on the lake for another crack at seeing the Giant Otters, after that we went on a nature walk to see some of the bird life. When we finished that we crossed the lake and had breakfast on the boats. We went for a jungle hike in the early afternoon, and that was where the fun happened haha. Our guides where showing us some of the vines that grow on the larger trees. and I might have been messing around and trying to be Tarzan haha, I have videos they are funny. Anyway I was standing there watching someone else when one of the guys from England said there was a big snake behind us. I turned around and was like wow that is a big snake. So I pulled out my camera and was trying to take a picture. I said to my self well this stinks I really wish I could see the head. Then I looked at the view finder on the camera. There it was! The head about 3 ft from my foot. And that was when the guide recognized the snake and was like. WOW this is an Anaconda. Suddenly I didn´t think where I was standing was the best spot haha. We all gave the snake a wide birth and started to take pictures. I shot a short video and that was when the snake decided to move on across the path toward the river. when it was almost by us. I asked the guide if I could touch it. He said I could but we couldn´t take any pictures because they shouldn´t let me haha. So sadly I have no pictures but that was one of the best experiences of my life. It was really intense to know I was petting a wild Anaconda, I was touching a snake that was about 12 ft long about 6 inches thick, and would have no problem deciding that it had had enough and try and hurt or kill me haha. It was awesome! After that we made our way back to the lodge where none of the other guides believed us until we showed them our pictures. Aparantly they are extremely rare in the Lake Sandoval area. In the evening we went out on the lake one last time to see the Otters but had no luck. One the way back we got caught in the rain which was another awesome experience. I was soaked in seconds and I had a ton of fun with the guides before going back inside to get in dry cloths for dinner and bed.
On the last day we woke up around 6 AM and made our way across the lake to the trail back to the lodge office in Puerto Maldonado. Again we got hit with heavy rain, which was awesome because it was already muddy, but it quickly became one big mud pit heehee. After the walk we were taken back to the airport, where I took off to Lima around 12 PM.
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