Wicked-a Wicked-a, The Jungle Is Massive

Jungle Trek day 2

Waking up to exotic birds singing their love songs has to be up there with the best ways to arise from your slumber.

This was the way we awoke in our jungle cabin on day two of our Peruvian Amazon experience.

To Lauren's surprise, she was alive and hadn't been eaten by a giant spider in the night.

We had breakfast and made our way to the van to await further instructions from Ronald.

Just as we were getting in the van, Ronald shouted from around the corner and beckoned for us to come quickly.

We ran over and couldn't believe our eyes, two Brown Capuchin monkeys were swinging in the trees right beside us!

They were so intelligent and weren't frightened of us whatsoever.

We stood for about 15 minutes interacting with them and we found some bananas to feed them too.

Take a look at some clips here!

http://youtu.be/ko0Z9RjZVd4

http://youtu.be/XPZ3-vCcczg

We then got in the van and headed on to our next destination.

Left to right; Jean Marc, Me, Ronald (guide), Andrea, Lauren, Letizia and Harry our driver

We drove a few miles and then took a walk to spot more scenery, plants, flowers and wildlife.

Massive fern or tiny Lauren?

Bamboo is abundant in the rainforest and can be used for many different purposes. When fresh, it contains clean water which is consumed by locals when water of other means is not available.

Don't miss Lauren's strange 'cartoon character' shadow in this picture! We have no idea why!!

This is a brand new bamboo shoot. They grow so fast due to so much rain, sunshine and the humid weather.

We then passed through a small town where many of the inhabitants grow & sell Coca leaves. It was scorching hot so many were drying the leaves out on the roadside ready to sell them.

I found it so difficult to understand why people would choose to live somewhere so remote. They were 8 hour's drive to the nearest city and many people in this area would have no electricity or running water. It truly was a different world.

We stopped briefly at this point so Ronald could buy some bread for our dinner but nowhere in the tiny town had any! Lauren and I decided on a liquid dinner instead so bought a six pack of beer for the evening!

I visited the 'toilet' here and, well, let's just say trading standards should pay a visit as a hole in the ground behind a polythene sheet hardly constitutes a toilet in my opinion! Still, I was in their country so play by their rules and that I did. 

You'll be pleased to know I didn't take any photos!

Ronald (our guide), had been fantastic. His training included living in the jungle (or 'Yungle' as he calls it - most Peruvians struggle saying a 'J' and instead pronounce a 'Y') for 4 months. His knowledge of each plant and animal, their history, family relations (animal and plant), Latin names and also medical/edible uses (of plants) was phenomenal.

As we drove out of the town Ronald jumped into action, asked Harry to stop the van and instructed us all to get out. He'd done this many times before and we'd never been disappointed so, ever though we'd no idea what we were about to see, we followed with an inquisitive excitement.

Again, we weren't disappointed as a small group of Squirrel Monkeys were jumping from tree to tree right next to us. 

Squirrel Monkeys are not as sociable as the Brown Capuchin Monkeys so we didn't manage to get any photos but instead reveled in the moment. We were deep in the Amazon Rainforest and we were LOVING IT!!

It's hard to describe the feeling of seeing these animals in their natural habitat. I've seen monkeys in zoos loads of times and love their cheeky and often human-like behaviour but this time the tables were turned. We were in their country, on their territory and if they didn't want us to see them, we wouldn't see them. 

I stood thinking that in fact, maybe WE were THEIR zoo. I could imagine the Monkey parents saying to the kids, "Don't move around too much, you might scare them away" and, "Don't get too close kids, they might bite you". In reality we were probably both as interested in each other but they had jobs to do (gather food) and we would have our dinner provided so off they went and our journey continued.

A hundred metres up the path Jean-Marc (who also loves nature and is very knowledgeable)  pointed out 'Mimosa Piduca', an incredibly unusual plant. It looked completely normal until you touched it. As soon as you touch it, its leaves curl up which is why it's known locally as 'The sensitive plant'.

Before:

After:

Watch it here:

http://youtu.be/B1FnYbc-MIk

Ten minutes down the road was an animal sanctuary. The owners rescue badly treated animals and try to rehabilitate them and reintroduce them into the wild, where they should be. Many of these animals have been taken from the wild by locals who tried to keep them as pets but ended up badly mistreating them.

As we walked through the gates we were greeted by two wild pigs! They were as friendly as domesticated dogs and one (called Shakira, no, I'm not joking!) took a liking to sniffing my legs - not great when you're trying to take photos of other animals!!

The next animal we meet was this little man. He was SO friendly and just came to me, put his arms around my neck and went to sleep!

Lauren tried to hold him but apparently he only likes men! #gaymonkey #swingsoneway

So, I found something else for Lauren to hold instead. Check out the fear in her eyes as she held her very first Boa Constrictor!!

And now the fake smile!!

Then came the Parrots 

Before we knew it, it was time to leave. We had a boat to catch!

As we arrived at the village where the boat was, the heavens opened, something we were getting very used to by now; Boiling one minute, torrential rain the next.

We boarded the boat (ladies first of course....to check the plank was stable!) and made our way downstream towards our lodge.

Here it hit me again. Here we were on a boat on the Manu River, on the middle of the Amazon Rainforest, having the time of our lives. What a blessing.

We arrived at our lodge 30 minutes later and settled in to our room.

For the fifth night in a row we had twin beds. I began to wonder how much input Stuart, Lauren's Dad, had had in this trip!

The accommodation was basic; 2 single beds, each with a mosquito net and a hook on the wall. That was it. No light, no power but it was dry and clean and all we needed!

After settling in, Ronald gave us all wellington boots and we set off for our first proper trek, deep into the jungle.

Our first trek

http://youtu.be/nwgyBpMhAW8

The first thing that we learned was that the rainforest soil is only 30-50cm deep. For you oldies, that's less than 2 feet!!. Under this shallow soil is solid rock so all the trees have adapted incredible root systems to enable them to get the right nutrients and also to increase stability.

Look at the incredible base of this tree.

A termite nest

Ronald made a hole and the termites came flooding out. 

He then told us they were very nutritious and tasted of mint. Lauren took no time, picked some up and devoured them!

Here's the proof:

http://youtu.be/4ez8fhqZt00

Just then we bumped into an older man who chooses to live the simple life, alone in the jungle. He has no electricity, running water or mod cons and he loves it. 

He let us have a go with his bow and arrows which was so fun (and difficult, right Lauren?!)

Bananas and pineapples grew on his land

We continued into the jungle and found an incredibly strong vine so most of us had a go at being Tarzan!

Gareth is Tarzan:

http://youtu.be/NenlmCHngDQ

The deeper we went into the jungle, the more incredible sights we saw.

This is a Walking Palm tree. The roots start at over 2m high and grow down to find fertile, nutritious soil to grow into. Once the nutrition has gone, it will grow more 'legs' which not only give it nutrition but also give it a wide base for extra stability (remember the soil is very shallow)

We then found the largest and oldest tree in the area. Locals believe it to be over 400 years old. It was MASSIVE! Again, look at the roots starting above the ground for stability.

Magic mushrooms

All the way through the jungle were natural steps made by the exposed tree roots. It was incredible.

This whole time is was SWELTERING. We've never experienced humidity like it but because of bugs and mosquitos, we were advised to wear long trousers and long sleeved tops! I've never sweated so much in my life. Lauren was 'glowing' ;-)

We finished the trek in the dark with head torches. Even in the dark Ronald still managed to point out a tiny tree frog, camouflaged against a muddy step. His knowledge of sounds, sights, flora and fauna has completely blown us away. 

We got back to the lodge, had a much needed cold shower (we also had no choice as there's no hot water there!) had dinner and went to bed with the possibility of a 5am wake up call to see some amazing Parrots, if it was not raining.

I went to bed, like the rest of the group, unsure whether to pray for parrots or precipitation!

Lauren's thoughts:

MONKEYS!!!!!!! I flipping love monkeys. As a kid I wanted to have a pet chimpanzee after reading a book about a lady who had one. Okay, so I didn't get to take these monkeys home but seeing them in their natural habitat was incredible. This trip is just getting better and better, although I have to admit to being a tad jealous that the spider Monkey had no interest in me but hey, at least the boa constrictor did :-\

We are now in the rainforest. This is much flatter and the flora and fauna much closer. So close, it catches you every few steps. Was there going to be a deadly spider on the next leaf I brush past? Thankfully, the answer was no. I was beginning to realise that my view of the jungle may not have been totally accurate. That said, we did pass a couple of significant spider's webs spun ready for their prey on our afternoon/night trek.

I'm starting to get a bit more comfortable with my surroundings and only check the bed once for creepy crawlies. I suppose you can call this progress.

I am loving being here. It feels like such an exciting adventure. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.