Adventures in Amazonia: Arrival in the Rainforest

When I think of the Amazon, I think of a vast green swath of impenetrable forest filled with colorful birds and howling monkeys, stinging insects and prowling jungle cats. There are snakes that can kill you with venom or a squeeze, ants whose bite feel like cigarette burns or gun shots, and plants that can, depending on the dose, cure you of almost any ailment... or render you blind or possibly kill you. It is by far the most diverse and fascinating biological hotspots on the planet, so of course I jumped at the chance to go. 

The original trip was scheduled for April of 2020, and Anil and I were supposed to go with my Nat Geo entomologist friend Aaron, who had done his field work at the Tambopata Research Center. With the delay, Aaron was no longer available, but instead we brought along David, a Professor of Forest Ecology at Cambridge who did his field work in the rainforest of Venezuela. I also invited Jillian, a science teacher friend who studied forestry and who would help with curriculum development. And David's son Samuel came along as our student consultant! 

We planned to visit two ecolodges in Madre de Dios, Peru - both along the Tambopata River. We'd stay at the Tambopata Research Center within the Tambopata National Reserve, and just one day before our arrival, Refugio Amazonas reopened after the COVID closure, so we would be some of the very first people there in two years. 

Our flight took us first to Lima then to Puerto Maldonado (Jillian and I were delayed about 4 hours so we missed our connecting flight and had to meet the boys at the lodge) where we were picked up at the airport and taken to the headquarters of Rainforest Expeditions (who ran the lodges). We then had a 1.5 hour bus ride to the river, during which we could see how the forest had been clear-cut, for farming - lots of papaya grown here! After a bumpy ride down a dirt road, we were dropped off at the loading area. 

The first glimpse of the Tambopata was of a muddy brown river, with banks covered in thick vegetation that led straight down to the water. There are so many kinds of plants here - from palms, grasses, and canes to towering kapok and ironwoods dripping with lianas and epiphytes. Already the air was heavy with heat and humidity, and we all welcomed the breeze from the moving boat.

 

The Tambopata River

Lunch was served along the way, which was a delicious leaf-wrapped fried rice, banana, plantain chips, and brazil nuts. 

About halfway into our trip, the boat driver suddenly cut the engine and one of the guides pointed at the bank: "Capybara!" he whisper-shouted, "in the grass!" We all strained to look, but we couldn't see anything. The boat backed up until we were parallel to the area where the guide was pointing, and finally some movement caught my eye - our first large animal sighting! Capybara are huge, lumbering rodents that look slightly like a guinea pig on steroids. While they are semi-aquatic, these two were hiding in tall grass, then moved up the hill and into the bushes.

The "boat dock"

After an hour and a half of motoring downriver, we pulled up to the boat dock (which was really just a mud bank) and took a short hike through the rainforest. 

While the trees tower over us leaving the understory in complete shade, the ground was still completely covered in younger trees, bushes, and vines. The walkway we went on was really wide and well maintained, but you still couldn't see very far through the twisting path.

So it felt a bit surreal when the vegetation suddenly broke away and before us was Refugio Amazonas, the ecolodge where we would spend the next four days. 

Where were we, Fantasy Island??

No joke, this is a five-star resort plunked down in the middle of the jungle! 

...well, a five-star resort whose rooms only have three walls... the fourth is completely open to the rainforest! 

Thank goodness for
mosquito nets!

But it brings nature much closer to the guests, and even though we had plenty of visitors, there was never much** of a problem in the room since we slept under a mosquito net and had a safe where we kept any snacks.

**particularly since the opposum that visited in the night just wandered around without disturbing my things, and I made David catch the palm-sized cockroach that was flying around my nightstand...

The next week is sure to be AWESOME!!!!!