Jungle Brothers

Me cleverly pointing at a cute little tamarind

The mega cool "walking palm"

John and I mucking around with a huge "rocket tree"

My first Tapir...he was bigger than expected...maybe 200kgs!

Tarantula coming out of his little hidey-hole

The Amazon Jungle is awesome.




After spending so much time at high altitude, it was great to breathe again!




After yet another luxurious flight with my friends at Air Condor, I arrived in Peurto Maldonado, famous for the "El Jaguar Zoo and Disco" (yup, probably the world's only combined zoo and nightclub)...a couple of hours journey via boat led me to the Eco Amazonia Lodge on the Madre de Dios River (one of the tributaries to the Amazon River), in an area known as Tambopata.



The jungle itself was amazing, there were "rocket trees" (with the big fin like roots) that were bigger than anything similar I have seen...because the soil quality is so poor, most of the nutrients are on top of the ground...as a result of decaying vegetation etc. Thus even these monstrously big trees have roots that only go 1 meter into the soil.



There was also a "walking palm" which grows roots above ground and by killing off old roots and growing new ones manages to "walk" through the jungle to take advantage of available light.



Peru must be home to more epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants...kinda like parasites...but not exactly) than any other country on Earth...There were trees so covered in orchids and bromeliads that one couldn't see the supporting tree. One of the trees, which the locals sometimes call the "tourist tree" peels it's bark like a sun-burnt gringo...thus ridding itself of any epiphytic tresspassers...in some areas they seemed the only variety that wasn't hosting a micro-community of guests.



There were more monkeys than I had thought possible...particularly at the very appropriately named "Monkey Island", ridiculously cute little tamarinds...as well as bigger brown and black capuchin monkeys (which the locals always referred to as cappuccino monkeys...without intending to be funny!)



The Cayman I saw were all pretty small by Aussie crocodile standards, but they were certainly big enough to give one a fright if you came across one at night. (They lie along the river bank and are easliy found by their eyes which reflect bright red when a flashligh is shone on them.)



Tambopata is also home to 700 types of butterfly and 1200 species of bird.



There were parrots, macaws, hawks, vultures...pretty much every bird that one can imagine...and one of my favorites...the carpenter bird, builds hanging nests shaped like tear drops...a single tree can contain many dozen nests...from a distance they look dangling fruit.



There were monkeys and tapirs wandering around the huts, making any trips around the compound have the potential for excitement.



I got to see some snakes and a tarantula...but missed out on seeing an anaconda :(



The incredible noise generated by the local bird population meant that waking up at 05:00AM was guaranteed...but as the generators were switched off at 22:00PM...most nights finished early after a few drinks in the hammocks along the river side...sipping rum and watching the fireflies.



It was a perfect contrast to the mountains and cities of Peru...a trip I highly recommend.