Fly to Puerto Maldonado, River Boat Transport Down the Amazon,
Corto Maltes Ecolodge, Jungle Orientation and Hike,
and Night River Boat Wildlife Observation Tour
Puerto Maldonado Boat Transfer, Ride to Corto Maltes Ecolodge
Above Left: We were bussed to the Corto Maltes (Small Maltese) Adventure office (from the airport) in the city of Puerto Maldonado. From here we will take a Powered River Boat downstream on the Madre de Dias / Mother of God branch of the Amazon River. We are in the south east corner of Peru within 60 miles / 100 kilometers of Bolivia and Chile.
Above Right: Office in Puerto Maldonado on the Amazon.
Above Left: Papaya.
Above Right: Loading our boat/taxi.
Above Left: Looking west (upstream) and that highway bridge is the only road across the Amazon for hundreds of miles in either direction.
Above Right: Our small group of 7-8 people were loading onto this boat.
We were on the 'Mother of God', Madre de Dias, branch of the Amazon River
Above Left: We're heading east down the Amazon.
Above Right: Big Water!
Above Left: Heading east, downstream.
Above Right: Terry on the Amazon.
Above: River Boats on the Amazon.
Above Left: Work Boat with a very common 'Egg Beater' propeller system.
Above Right: Amazon.
Above Left: River and Jungle.
Above Right: Corto Maltes Amazonia.
Corto Maltes, Amazonia
Above Left: Corto Maltes Amazonia.
Above Right: Off-loading our boat at the Corto Maltes Ecolodge.
Above: Corto Maltes Ecolodge, Main Building (Dining, Bar, and Shop).
Above Left: Bananas.
Above Right: The view from the Front Porch.
Above Left: Red flowering bush, not roses.
Above Right: Our Briefing. This porch is the only place where people can pick-up Wi-Fi; the gentleman on the left has been here a few days. I never saw less than 1 person on their smartphone and the most I saw was 10 people.
Above: A beautiful array of corn types in Peru! Some kernels were as big as my thumbnail. The same corn has been grown outside of Peru and the result was normal sized kernels. It is Peru that makes the corn grow large.
Above Left: The Jaguar and Frame were painted onto the wall.
Above Right: Our Room assignments, we are #20.
Above: The owner's Parrots. We are not to feed them and the birds are free to fly.
Above Left: Another of the owner's Parrots.
Above Right: New wild flower to us.
Lunch Time
Above Left: It was Lunch Time and this was the Dining Facility (main hall).
Above Right: Salad - Good!
Above Left: Piranha - Good!
Above Right: Plantain and Starfruit - Extra Good.
A Brief Walk About in the Corto Maltes Compound
Above: Carnation like flowers growing from a large shrub (or small tree).
Above: Lodges 7 & 8 respectively.
Above: We were being bombed by this tree.
Above: Our Room: Lights and Power only operate during certain hours. We were not allowed to put toilet paper into the toilet, just poop and pee. We made good use of the netting but it stifled any flow of air. The roof was thatched, but thin; it did not allow heat to escape nor hot air to flow out. The roof was waterproof.
We had about 30 minutes before our Jungle Hike was to start.
Our Jungle Hike in the Amazon
Above: Several Tree Vines are growing around a regular tree. The vines cannot grow upward on there own, they can only grow upward around and existing tree. The vines will slowly envelop the tree and suffocate the tree (kill it over time). The original tree is about 50% entombed.
We have not made it off of the lodge's property for this first piece of education.
Above Left: Termite made tunnel. The termites are protected from predators by use of their tunnel.
Above Right: Termite nest.
Above Left: Insect egg nest.
Above Right: We're in the Jungle now.
Above Left: A twisting vine.
Above Right: An Army Ant.
Above: Insect caused bumps and scarring, I forget the story.
Above: Walking Stick (like a praying mantis).
Above: Walking Tree - I moves by planting roots in the direction that it wants to travel for better light or water. The process is complicated but it can move about a foot per year.
Above: Our guide has found a pod from a Brazil Tree.
Above Left: He lopped off the top with his machete.
Above Right: The pod id full of Brazil Nuts.
Above Left: Our guide has broken the shell of the Brazil nut. We each shared a Brazil Nut with our partner.
Above Right: Our guide is demonstrating the medicinal benefit of having a Fire Ant (big Red Ant) bite a scar on his leg. The scar has been slowly disappearing over time; technically I think the ant bite's slaver can destroy Collagen.
Our guide was raised by a Native Shaman and he has a lot of Pharmaceutical Knowledge about local plants and animals.
Above Left: We returned to the compound in time to observe this animal. I don't think that it is a pet but I have a feeling that it gets fed regularly.
Above Right: The same can be said for these parrots.
Back at Corto Maltes, Amazonia
Above Left: The temperature was about 95F/35C and the sun baked humidity was about 90%. It was hot and muggy outside and it is worse in our room. We have had Dinner but we are waiting for an evening boat ride to see the night life.
Above Right: It was so hot and muggy that we opted for some Ice and Beverages. The Indian ladies had the same ideal.
Night River Boat Wildlife Observation Ride
Above Left: This was our observation boat; a spotter used a search light. We were looking for light reflections of an eyeball and that would be our clue to the presence of an animal of some sort. It could be and Owl, Jaguar, Dog, Cat, Frog, Caiman, Capybara... We only saw the last three listed animals on this night.
Above Right: What a light reflection looks like.
Above Left: A Caiman, they tend to be smaller than their relatives like the alligator or crocodile.
Above Right: Another Caiman.
Above: These are the same pictures, one has Light Enhancement Processing, it is sort of a Giant Guinea Pig, its a Capybara.
Capybara - The capybara is the largest rodent in the world. It is a member of the genus Hydrochoerus, of which the only other extant member is the lesser capybara. Close relatives are guinea pigs and rock cavies, and it is more distantly related to the agouti, chinchillas, and the coypu. Native to South America, the capybara inhabits savannas and dense forests and lives near bodies of water. It is a highly social species and can be found in groups as large as 100 individuals, but usually lives in groups of 10–20 individuals. The capybara is ... is hunted for its meat and hide ... - Wikipedia
Above Left: Normal vision with Spotlight.
Above Right: With Photo Enhancement, Three Capybaras, they did not so much as move an inch from our presence.
Above Left: Normal vision with Spotlight.
Above Right: With Photo Enhancement, a Caiman.
Above: Bookends.
Above Left: Caiman.
Above Right: Frog and a Caiman.
Above: Same picture, 3 Caiman.
We saw many more Caiman and Capybara ...
We had a Late Dinner and called it a Night
Left: Pumpkin Soup (all very good!).
Center: Rice and Chicken Mango (I think).
Right: Mosquito netting down. There were plenty of bugs and the night was very noisy!
The Amazon! What a Day. It Rained Hard that Night.
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