#ecoamazonia

Our third day started very early, with breakfast at 5:30am and the trek starting at 6am.  This was a 4km hike to Lost Cocha, a refuge and feeding ecosystem for animals deep in the jungle.  We hiked for ~2.5 hours to get there, stopping along the way for various sites and sounds, including a wild boar I spotted through the dense trees.  There was another Observation Deck set up which sat high above the tree line, which provided a spectacular view of the surrounding jungle.  In the distance through binoculars we could see some monkeys high in the trees.  We also saw several humongous trees, such as Brazilian Mahogany, Wimba, Lupuna and Ficus trees.

From there it was a short hike to the Lost Cocha lake, from where we boarded a canoe and paddled our way slowly around, catching sites of a turtle basking in the sun and a black caiman lurching behind a tree, as well as several types of various birds.  We paddled for roughly an hour before landing on ground and hiking back to the lodge for lunch.  The afternoon was free, for the first part, and concluded with an optional tour of the botanical garden on the Ecoamazonia grounds, which provided an interesting “back door” view to the supporting staff of the grounds and what they grow there to help sustain their community and provide food for the guests.  Tons of plants and trees for food and medicinal purposes, including an Ayahuasca vine, which was cool to see growing in its natural environment.  The day concluded with dinner and cocktails again, and we were early to bed soon after, since we had arisen so early!  The following morning we arose early, had breakfast and headed back to Puerto Maldonado, which concluded our trip to the Peruvian jungle.

The Ecoamazonian lodge was very nice, clean and comfortable and we enjoyed our stay there.  The tour guides were friendly, spoke great English (ours spoke French as well) and were quite knowledgeable of their environment. 3 of the 4 days we were there were quite overcast, so although that provided shelter from the sun and cooler temperatures, we likely missed out on seeing more animals because the reptiles tend to come out more when it’s sunny outside.  Also note that it’s kind of rare to see jaguars for they are elusive creatures.  The guides only see them a few times a month apparently, and they are there every day.  At any rate, if you’re looking for a comfortable, easy tour of the jungle, Ecoamazonia is a good option, but if you want to get deeper into the jungle and don’t need the comfort necessarily, there are better options for the same price or less.  Note that the deeper you go into the jungle, the more wildlife you’ll see, and these tours are normally 6-8 days, for it takes time to travel out that far.

The second day of our excursion started bright and early, with breakfast at 6:30am.  All meals were substantial and quite tasty, which was quite a treat, for most of the “free breakfasts” the hostels offered ended up being toast, jam and coffee.  At any rate, we spent the morning hiking out to a beautiful lagoon ~2 hours via walking from the lodge.  Along the way we saw a few trails of huge ants (the biggest I’ve ever seen) scurrying along carrying pieces of leaves, apparently to build a nest somewhere. The guide also walked us over to relatively small hole in the leaves next to the path, took a long stem from a branch and inserted it into the hole, and when he slowly withdrew it, there was a huge tarantula attacking the end of the branch!  Saw a couple of different fuzzy caterpillars, lots of butterflies and of course, lots of lush, green vegetation.  

Upon arrival at the lagoon we climbed up a huge platform that overlooks the lagoon and observed the peaceful setting.  With binoculars the guide pointed out a sloth in the trees way across the way, but unfortunately we couldn’t get a good picture of it.  We went out on a boat into the lagoon, and saw a few shanshos birds, herons and some sort of frigate bird as well. After hanging out for a bit taking pictures, we made our way back to the lodge for lunch.    

After lunch we headed over to Monkey Island, a roughly 2.5 hour tour of a small island directly across the river from the lodge that is home to 4-5 different types of monkeys. When we asked how so many monkeys ended up on the island, our guide informed us that they were rescued from the black market and brought to the island for protection, so even though we saw monkeys in the main part of the jungle, it wasn’t quite natural for them to be so concentrated on this island.  They do however thrive by themselves on the island, apart from the periodic bananas the guides take over to them as treats. ;-)

It was really neat observing their behavior – some were playful, others quite mischievous and antagonistic.  We were reminded that they are wild animals, and hence to keep our distance (one of the tour guides was bitten a short time before our visit). One of the monkeys was not afraid of us one bit, and walked on the beach right into the middle of the group, intently observing us, before meandering onwards to a nearby tree.  The different kinds of monkeys we saw are:  Maquisapas, Capuchins, lion and spider monkeys.