Hannah & Angus’ Honeymoon Part II- The Amazon

PART TWO - THE AMAZON

Then came the day I had been waiting for - the Amazon! We decided to use ‘Bonanza Tours Peru’ - a family run operation with whom we felt safe with from the get go. Their prices were very competitive and we found them to be efficient and informative. We dealt directly with them, no agents. What was especially nice was that the sisters dealt with the office and the brothers dealt with the tours, so it was family run from start to finish.

Boris, who was our initial guide took us so far, from Cusco to a small village in the mountains. From Cusco we travelled through the little towns, across rivers and Boris was really entertaining and knowledgeable. We then met his brother Will, who took us the rest of the way and was to be our guide from the start of the river and beyond. Will was funny, calm, respectful and knowledgeable; owing to their family being born and raised in the villages in the Amazon region itself. The family left their home when Will was about 11 years old and now, they use their tour company to support themselves and their parents. We definitely made the right choice and would highly recommend to anyone.

We officially entered the Amazon by arriving at a cloud forest, a jungle mountain peak engulfed by rain clouds where we had a short break after the first leg of the long minibus ride. Fruit, chocolate and a bathroom break and we began our descent down the mountain. Imagine a warm torrential rainstorm, skirting the outside of a dirt track circling a mountain in a minibus with steamed up windows. The visibility was so poor that drivers were honking on their horns around every bend….for hours (on top of the 4 hours it had taken to get to this point). Needless to say, everyone in the bus had had quite enough of each other by the time we were released! The best part of the trip down the mountain, was that we saw Peru’s national and beautiful bird - the Cock-of-the-Rock. Bright red and black in colour, we just about made out this gorgeous creature through the relentless rain.

Later that day, we arrived at a small village on the edge of the Amazon river where we were to spend the night. Our guides had pointed us in the direction of the local shops, which supplied basic essentials (including rum) and we felt altogether much happier (less sober) sitting around the campfire that evening. We realised that we were ill prepared for a jungle nightcap in our rooms, having no cups to drink the rum we had bought earlier that day. Angus quickly rectified this by sawing in half an empty bottle of water with his pen knife. Leaving the lid on one end, he created two ideal receptacles and we were in business. Fanta and rum became the drink of choice for the next week. We slept well that night (extremely well considering Will had showed us the enormous tarantula that called the gap underneath our beds ‘home’).

The next morning it was time to take to the water. We spent days cruising in a catamaran up and down the river, the intense sunshine crisping us up into human jerky. We spotted caiman, parrots, capybara, spider monkeys, giant otters, igrits, spiders and frogs to name but a few. We also saw an incredibly beautiful species of monkey, the Emperor Tamarin, so-called because of its long, curled white moustache. Will was amazed and over the moon to catch sight of one as they are so small and inconspicuous. Towards the middle of the day, when the sun was at its hottest, we arrived at our accommodation. We jumped off the catamaran and walked across the burning hot stones to the edge of the jungle canopy. Having spent months beforehand training to walk the Inca Trail, (the third part of this short story), the 15 minute walk to camp was, in a word, ‘agonising’. I have never experienced heat or humidity like it. A few minutes more and the forest parted into a little oasis of calm. Hammocks hung from the trees whilst soft music and the smell of food danced on the breeze. We relaxed, dozed, ate, chatted and cooled down with a nice cold shower.

One of the highlights for me came that very same night. We trekked into the jungle in our wellies and climbed a tall open platform, strategically built in front of a clay lick (animals of all kinds use these licks as a way to get a shot of minerals in their diet). The platform was built of wood so as not to be completely out of place in the glorious surroundings and had a simple roof. We had a basic meal that had been prepared for us earlier that afternoon, bottles of water and sleeping bags that were already laid out for us. After a sweaty trek through the jungle and climbing the 10 metre high platform, it was time to eat and rest. Our small group took turns on ‘animal night watch’ in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the elusive giant tapir.

Bats flew over head and the sound of the insects was almost deafening but in the most symphonic way. It was muggy and the smell of rain was thick in the air. I woke in the night to Angus nudging me; he had seen something during his watch. It wasn’t a tapir, but when my eyes adjusted to the darkness and caught a glimpse of the creatures eyes reflecting back the torch light, it became clear that it was a jungle cat. It froze for merely seconds, but it felt like an eternity, staring at this stunning creature which then sidled away into the darkness of the night. We think that, on reflection, it was an ocelot, a stunning breed of medium sized cat, but the beauty of the mystery, is that we’ll now never know.

Our guide Will from Bonanza Tours Peru

The morning came with a crescendo from nature’s orchestra; wind, rain, birds, insects and the thunderous calls from a troop of howler monkeys. If you have never heard this noise before, it literally feels like you’re in a storm cloud; deep and vibrating. A morning’s walk back through the forest and it was time for breakfast. Looking back, I don’t know how the team created what they did. The food throughout the day was always delicious and plentiful. Chicken, rice and the most amazing lentils I have ever eaten as we sailed down the river, feet up on the side of the boat with the spray cooling down our parched skin along the way. We never wanted for anything. We even had a batch of pancakes one morning for breakfast!

Now, a question I hear you all asking is “where were the toilets?” Well, in the same way that we had gone to the Amazon for a feeling of getting back to nature, the motto was that when nature called, you answered wherever you happened to be. The catamaran would moor at an appropriate spot, and we’d jump out and try to find a small shrub or rock to hide behind. It is fair to say that this task was a great deal easier for Angus and the other men in our group, who basically just stepped off the catamaran and went skin to the wind. I remember vividly a particular occasion when I was contemplating my life and the direction of it, whilst balancing precariously next to a tree. In the nature of keeping human pollution to a minimum, I allowed myself a glorious extra minute to ‘air’ before zipping up my cargo pants. As I found my feet, the line of tall bushes that stood proudly behind me made a tremendous rustle and shook one by one as an unknown creature ran in the opposite direction, away from me and my patch. To this day I have no idea what it was, although I have always believed it to be a capybara - a sort of large aquatic guinea-pig type animal. Just as well this happened after I finished watering the flora and fauna otherwise I may have been in need of more than just an airing. Moving on….

Up and down we cruised, watching the sunsets every evening from the catamaran or our lodgings, whichever came first. Our final night we stayed at Hummingbird Lodge, a gorgeous site pitched on the edge of a small cliff overlooking the magnificent river. We moored and before dinner, took our belongings to our assigned two-room shelters. I remember feeling like I had never been so at peace…then we went inside. Modest yet quaint and with no electricity, this adorable little abode had one candle on the small bedside cabinet, two single beds and a good sized room with a toilet and shower. One of those wet room style showers where there was a slight lip to keep water from running across the whole floor but where there was no bath tub. The sun was going down, the sky was painted a magnificent shade of coral and I decided to treat myself to the facilities. As I sat and let me eyes begin to adjust to the half-light, I noticed a three dimensional shadow in the middle of the shower floor. It was quite large so my initial thought was that a previous inhabitant had forgotten their flip flop. Then it moved. Probably a good time to mention that I have a pretty deep-rooted fear of anything with more than four legs, so the giant Brazilian wandering spider on our bathroom floor, wasn’t top of my list of dinner party guests I’d hoped to see.

I called for Angus, trying to remain calm in case I pissed it off and became number one on the menu! (Yes, it is an irrational fear). Sadly we had been told earlier that day that if, at any point, we encountered one of these spiders in our rooms, clothes etc we were instructed to kill it. A bite from a Brazilian wandering spider can be deadly, and in the middle of the jungle, days travel from the nearest hospital, well… it would have caused a bit of a nuisance. Now, just because I don’t like spiders, doesn’t mean I kill them. I don’t kill anything. Ever. My best hope is to ‘shoo’ them away or get someone else to deal with them. I tried to convince Angus, much against his will, to try and coax it out of the front door. (This thing was the size of the palm of his hand and just as thick). He said “no” and reminded me of our instructions. I didn’t even have time to think as I saw Angus’ flip flop hurtle towards the poor creature at 100mph. I let out a scream of regret, hurt, pain and said sorry to the remains that had been distributed across the walls of the shower.

After dinner, we celebrated our final night with the leftover Fanta and rum by candlelight and let the sounds of the nearby current wash over us until the morning. It was over. Our long awaited trip the Amazon had come to an end and it was time to head back to Cusco to prepare for the final instalment of our honeymoon adventure. We packed up, jumped in the catamaran and enjoyed one final trip up-river to the small village where we had taken to the water a week earlier.

The bus journey back to Cusco was long and we dozed on and off until the familiar sites of the city loomed. Thankfully, although Cusco is rife with steep, long and winding roads, the plush hotel we had pre-booked before leaving for the jungle, was literally 100m down hill and across the road from the tour operator. We were delivered, hot and sweaty and totally overwhelmed by the things we had experienced. I think it’s safe to say we brought the vibe of the hotel down a notch when we entered the reception, although the lady who showed us to our room was friendly and seemed so happy that we had chosen to spend our honeymoon in Peru. There is such a beautiful sense of pride that Peruvians have in their country without being arrogant. They welcome tourists and want only for people to enjoy their magnificent country. Dive head first into the culture, give Spanish a go and you will be welcomed by most.

A hot tub and a bottle of wine later and we were ready to enjoy a short break in the city once more before the most strenuous part of the journey! The Inca Trail was in two days time. A five day hike, starting at 2000m above sea level, peaking at 5000m and at the mercy of Peru’s violently changeable weather. We enjoyed passing time in the city, lazy lunches and just a small amount of white water rafting in the interim. We packed our bags once more, said goodnight and drifted off, excited about what the final leg of our adventure would bring….