Inotawa Lodge

Talk about lucking out!!!  We were the only 2 people staying at this lodge for about a week!  It was quiet and relaxing the entire time. Today, we are going to look into this incredible place that is located off the Tambopata river near the Manu Reserve! A lot of people think that these ecolodges are just places to sleep, but they offer much more than a bed.   We had a guide by the name of Robin who was a local from the area.  Our experience was enhanced by his knowledge of the forest. The lodge is situated on a patch of forested land off the river.  We docked our boat and climbed up some wooden stairs.  A hike on a shaded path would eventually lead us to the beautiful and open Inotawa lodge where we would spend our nights under a mosquito net. 

I smile to myself as I remember how traumatized I was by the influx of monkeys around us.  Our room was open to the wild so at night I would turn on my light everytime I heard something.  One night it was our resident howler monkey, Pepe, digging in my backpack.  He took off with my underwear and socks.  The next night I heard some fluttering next to my net....again I turned the light on.  A HUGE bat was floating next to my head! I quickly shut the light off.  Yet another night, there were strange noises walking around in our room, but it wasn't the monkey......it was something else.  I learned to keep the lights off for a good nights sleep:) Strange critters walked around the forest while we hung out in our hammocks.  I'd be chilling and looking out into the woods between our excursions and see a weird animal come out from hiding.  There were several critters that looked like crosses between rabbits, pigs, rats, cats, and racoons.  Today I think I could identify them better, but because it was my first time into the Amazon, I hadn't expected seeing these bizarre animals. 

It was really a wonderful experience.  Inotawa makes some great meals.  Plus our guide ate with us and spoke about anything and everything.  Robby,or pronounced "Row-be", spoke only Spanish (which was a requirement for us on this trip) told us of his days as a poacher until the old man(a ghost) of the forest attacked him and threw him to the ground.  He was given one chance to correct his mistakes and so he chose to educate people about nature.  Normally, I wouldn't believe this stuff, but while he told his story, his hands shook and he became nervous.  He made me believe that there was a "Pacha Tata"(Old Man of the Forest/protector of all living things) and a "Pacha Mama"(Mother Nature or Lady of the Lake).  He believes that if the Amazon and other similiar places are wiped away from this Earth, we will have destroyed ourselves and the magic that lies within our world. Scary stuff.

The lodge is fun because there are trails all around it.  Just be careful where you step as we were attacked by ants in the darkness while searching for bugs.  I heard my friend yell out, "ouch! ouch!" and then I found myself burning up around the leg area.  We turned our headlamps on and discovered big ants on our legs and the bites hurt for days afterwards.  I still have a "souvenir" scar from that trip.  We also discovered where the Harry Potter tarantulas lived while not on set for the movies.  They lived here in the forest.  Now let me explain.  We have tarantulas in Tucson, but these hairy Peruvian monsters could do some damage.  There was a nest in the ground and Robin poked it gently with a stick.  8 spiders came out! And they were HUGE. I'd like to state on the record that I am not so much a bug person. One time a coworker of mine found a dead tarantula in her garden and put it in my microwave.  Yeah....not cool. Scorpions or spiders give me the heebie jeebies.

We saw plenty of caiman around the area.  This is a skull of the endangered black caiman.  There is an area on the front patio area(seen below) with a display of fossils and other interesting items to look at while waiting for your next excursion.

If there ever was a mascot or creature that owned the lodge, it would be Pepe.  Sometimes he was on a leash while other times he broke free and protected the property from other animals.  I think I learned to respect the power of a monkey on this trip.  He'd want me to pet him and when I stopped, Pepe would grab my hand and force me to continue.  Well, if I didn't want to pet him, he would get angry and try to kill me.  Not really:)  But he would get angry when you didn't focus all your energy on his stinky orange self:)  We really liked him a lot.  But my friend Jen really went ape over him and they hung out a lot taking siestas on the hammocks. I'll be honest, Pepe needed a shower.  On our last day, we caught him raiding the fruit bowl as seen below.  If you keep your eyes open, you'll see lots of monkeys all over the place.  During our breakfast sessions, these catlike Tamarin monkeys would try and get the bananas in the cabinet next to the table.  They threw the fruit out to them when the bananas started to get a little ripe.  Our fruit bowl consisted of some amazing selections. There weren't just bananas, apples, or oranges.  I don't remember what all the strange fruits were called, but there was a fruit from the tomato family that quickly became my favorite!

This is a terrible pic of me below, but it's the only one we have of the crew.  Robin was an amazing person who would turn out to be our favorite guide from this trip.  There were 3...Robin of the Amazon, Weynon of the Inka Trail, and Zhe(a throwback from the 70's TV show Chips with a little bulging eye syndrome going on and Farrah Faucett sunglasses).  All of our guides were great, but Robin was a genuine individual who after all these years is still fondly remembered from our Peru adventures.

Finally, I'd like to say that I suffer the "Oprah" syndrome.  There were times when I was skinny and times, like now, were I could stand to lose some weight....like in these pictures. These were taken back in 2008.  Today I'm working on getting myself back into better shape.  It's difficult.  I love all food and my genes, which stem from the Shire(aka Wisconsin) make me who I am.  Slowly I accept these things about myself, but it is a constant battle to keep myself healthy.  My people are hobbits and I'm Bilbo Baggins....I left the Shire for adventure.  The rest of my family, all 12! AND their many little Shirelings, have remained in Two Rivers and Manitowoc. Some call me the Black Sheep, but that has a negative tone to it. My entire family and I have a great relationship.  I'm just a guy who wanted heat, sun, and the ability to garden all year round. How does that make me a black sheep? Maybe it's because I like my Mexican food WITHOUT sour cream.  I'll never know:) But my point?  Peruvian food is divine and I ate a lot of it!  I'll be getting into some of the unique dishes in several days.

Here is some useful info on this wonderful lodge.  I highly recommend staying here if you are looking for a positive experience outside of the Manu Reserve.  Bring your camera because you'll need it!!!  There were several Scarlet Macaws that hung out in several of the trees near the lodge.  Wildlife is all around you.

http://www.inotawaexpeditions.com/

El Gato Waterfall

On our last day on the Tambopata river, we headed to this amazing waterfall in the middle of the Amazon.  A farmer owns this little spot here where we had lunch and took a hike on his land into the forest.  We banked our canoe off the river and took a hike to get to this waterfall.  As we climbed down this steep hill, we discovered a large area of mud and clay that we had to cross.  I wore my water shoes and walked into this refreshing and lovely oasis off the river.  I did get chewed up a little bit as is always the case when you go onto a piece of disturbed farming land.  It's interesting, isn't it?  I never have issues in places that aren't touched by people, but the minute I step into a farming area, I am attacked!!  As for the water???  I loved it.  There was something nibbling on my legs though and I didn't want to know what it was.  And watch the mud bank!!  I sunk up to my knees in it:)

Here we are having fun.  It's safe and a really nice place to cool off on those hot days.

The above pic is delicious rain forest food!!  Banana leaf, rice, egg, chicken, and veggies.  This was an absolutely perfect lunch after our swim.  In Nicaragua, they call this a nacatamal.  Here in the Peru, I'm not sure what they call it besides "almuerzo" or lunch.  Yum!!

While Jen went swimming, I snapped pics of plants.  The pic below is a shot of caladiums growing naturally in the wild.  These are some of my favorite potted plants here in Tucson.  I'll just say that sometimes I get jealous that some of these places don't have to put a lot of effort into growing their plants.  Caladiums do well in the desert during a hot SHADED summer with regular watering. But forget about the watering and you can say "adios" to your caladium collections. 

Until tomorrow.......

The Tambopata River

These photos taken back in the days with my Tarzan camera in 2008

I wrote a time ago about how rafting is a great way to see the hidden parts of a country.  So I began thinking, not everyone can to do this activity.  Before I began my trip to the Amazon, I had never really thought about a river acting like a major interstate to get somewhere.  Boating, for me growing up, was always a leisure.  A lot of people used our rivers or Lake Michigan for fishing and other recreational activities like jetskiing or swimming.  I can only count on one hand the boats that use Lake Michigan for major human travel. The car ferry that operates out of Manitowoc, Wisconsin to Ludington, Michigan comes to my mind.  So while we were in Peru, we discovered the Tambopata river as a major roadway into the secret forests of the Amazon.....for both the good and the bad.  I had flown into the isolated yet expanding village of Puerto Maldonado with a lot of crazy and idiotic biker people driving around on scooters.  It was funny and sad at the same time.  People, sometimes 3 on a motor bike!!!, would zoom around the city square without helmets.  In many ways, I felt like this city had a lawless attitude about nature and human safety.  I wish I had taken pictures of all the bikes on the road.  Our taxi driver actually hit one of those bikers while looking at a half naked girl advertisement.  The van stopped to make sure the girls were okay and sped off not wanting to pay for the accident.  Most people don't have insurance there.  We kept driving until we reached the port of the Tambopata river, and this is where our story begins....

The city of Puerto Maldonado used the Tambopata river for the deforestation efforts going on in the Amazon.  How?  Simple.  They cut trees down and let them float on the river towards the wood mills awaiting their arrival for processing and shipment.  The majestic and beautiful mahogany was their precious export.  I remember having some anger.   It was directed not only at Peru for the tree slaughter but at other countries such as my own, the US, for purchasing the wood from this town.  Do people even know they are supporting this?  I don't think many people realize what's going on out there just as long as their lives are uninterrupted to text and eat fried food.  Anyhow, I soaked in this "human progress" thinking, "It will get better. " Well it got worse before it got better.  We headed down the river leaving this ugly human stain behind and entered the first zone of the Amazon.  Here, we witnessed a poacher slaughtering a group of peccaries crossing the river in broad daylight. The "good news" is that the guide wrote down this incident and reported it back to the park officials.  I don't know what the outcome was, but I did overhear the Spanish conversations to know that the incident was taken seriously.  Once we left "sin city", we entered the protected zonal reserves of the Amazon region.  This trip on the river took about 5 hours. We saw monkeys, parrots, caiman, and a jaguar on this incredibly stunning waterway!!!

To get anywhere in the Amazon or Manu reserve, you have to take a boat.  From what I understood, there were 3 zones.  In the first zone, native people could farm small tracts of land.  The second zone was where we stayed at the eco-lodges while in the 3rd zone, no human people were allowed at all without a permit.  AND some of it was for scientific study ONLY beyond a certain area!  Before we took this trip, I thought that I was going to be disappointed that I didn't get to see the virgen Manu Reserve, but later it proved to be an unfounded fear. The Manu Reserve is VERY expensive to visit while the ecolodges outside that zone are much more affordable.  So what's the difference between the two zones?  If you are wanting to see Blue and Gold macaws or the Giant Otters, your best chances are in the actual reserve, but they can be spotted outside the zones. 

Along the way, we saw incredible colors flashing about on the shores of the river.  I took my terrible camera out and snapped these okay shots.  I can only describe to you some of the magic that we experienced on the Tambopata.  My camera would have never captured the night sky as it appeared the evening we searched for caiman in the river.  We turned off ALL lights and sat in our boat for several silent moments.  I had experienced quiet moments like this before, but this particular experience was different.  Water. River. Sounds from the midnight jungle.  And the brilliant lights from the galaxy above us. No people. No city lights.  Just us, safe within our boat in the middle of nature.

At early dawn, we got up to head over to the clay licks where parrots and other birds go to do their morning ritual.  We docked our canoe on shore and headed up the muddy hill towards the lookout and waited.....and waited.  While we sat there patiently, I got some great shots of the Amazon dawn.

We had a canopy over our head while we were on this boat, but it's still best to wear a cap and protect your scalp from the instense sunlight.  It's strong.  Like all rivers, there are places that are treacherous and places are safe to pass.  Our guide knew the passages well.

My best recommendation is to remain quiet once you enter the zones for optimal wildlife viewing.  We spent a portion of our time on this river and took advantage of the amazing flora and fauna opportunities it provided.  I also want to mention that for the first time in rain forest history, I was not uncomfortable at all.  The humidty was so low that I was able to relax and absorb the experience better.  We had gone during the "winter" months in June which had cooler breezes coming off the Andes mountains. 

My friend Jen captured me here chewing my nails like I will do occassionally when I am nervous.  It's such a bad habit and I don't know where I picked it up.  At least I don't chew the hair off my arms like my Dad does!!!  Bizarre stuff.  What do you do when you get anxious? I think we were heading into some muddy areas from the shoes I'm wearing and didn't want to sink in the mud as I had done when we first arrived.  I had brought my water shoes but since we were hiking, I left them behind.  There is nothing worse than mud all over your clothes because it's so hard to get out....especially when you're on a trip with a limited supply of outfits!!!

This was one of my favorite parts of our journey to Peru.  Although to be honest, I had a lot of favorite moments in this country.  What I loved best about this part of our trek was that we had great weather and were able to relax a bit before some major hiking.  Monkeys got into everything which included my backpack!!  But that is another story.  Once we left the rain forest and flew back up into the high altitudes of Cuzco, my headache returned for the remainder of our trip. 

The Tambopata river flows through the Tambopata Natural Reserve. If you know you'll be in Peru for some time, take a flight out of Cuzco or Lima for Puerto Maldonado.  Most of the ecolodges will be awaiting your arrival at the airport.  Once that happens, you'll be bussed to the river from Puerto Maldonado.  Our flight from Cuzco to the Amazon was really cool.  We went from icy mountaintops to green green green rainforest as far as the eye could see.  When we landed, I remember the warm and breezy air.  It was like paradise.  Cuzco gets cold, but in the Amazon, it was perfection.  Until tomorrow....