La Amazona

Hola- This will likely be my last entry. I am leaving Cusco today, making my way to Lima and then tomorrow to Miami and finally to Minneapolis. I don't know that I will have internet access again. My final interesting adventure in Peru was my trip to the Amazon jungle. I booked a 3 day tour to a lodge near Puerto Maldenado. I had to fly there because it takes 21 hours by bus to go only a short distance. There are not any good roads from Cusco to Puerto Maldenado. The flight was only 30 minutes. Once in Puerto Maldenado, we were transported by motor boat for about and hour down the Madre de Dios river to our lodge.
I ended up in a group with 9 people from Spain and 5 girls from Ireland. The Irish girls also happen to be teachers like me. We stayed in bungalows which were nice, for jungle standards. I had my very own room which was really nice.
That night, we took a mini-trek in the jungle with our flashlights to see if we could find any creatures. We found some spiders, geckos, and night monkeys. The night monkeys happen to be in a tree right next to my bungalow! The next morning we got up really early and took the boat about a half hour to a nationally protected area. We hiked about 2 1/2 hours to a lake. Once at the lake, we got into a canoe and paddled around to search for creatures. Our group was quite fortunate because we spotted many. We saw turtles sunning on a log in the lake, 2 black caimen alligators peering above the water, jungle turkeys, and we saw a family of giant river otters. Apparently there are pirahna in this lake AND anacondas! Our guide said he once saw an anaconda. Yikes! He assured us that it's not like in the movies. The pirahna will leave you alone if you go into the lake, UNLESS you have some sort of open sore. They love the smell of blood and then will come get some if you are offering. Ha ha! After our canoe expedition, we hiked back to our boat on the river and went back to the lodge for some relaxation.
After my trek, I came back to Cusco for some much needed R & R. I have a hotel with a TV and cable! I hadn't watched TV in almost 5 weeks. For those of you that know me well, that is a record! I have read 5 books though, which I have enjoyed a lot. I need to read more when I get home. In an hour, I will be going to my school to take a test. I'm hoping to use my time and study at the school to apply for credits at a University in the States. I may be able to use it toward a lane change at work. I'm a bit nervous about the test though. I hope I pass! I practiced talking with the locals at the market yesterday. They said my Spanish was good, but I know they were just being courteous AND trying to make a sale.
Thanks for reading my blogs and making comments. I really enjoy blogging and reading comments when I travel.
Until my next trip, ADIOS AMIGOS!
Kristin