One-third of the Sexy Llama team arrive in Puerto Maldonado. While we bus with a much larger group to the local G Adventures office to repack the necessities for the next few days into smaller duffel bags and to leave our larger bags behind, we are happy to find out that the four of us have a dedicated guide. Rafael, indigenous to the area and a real son of the Amazon Rainforest, will accompany us on our excursions.
From the G Adventures office, we are driven to the river. From here, we will enjoy a packed lunch while on a motorised canoe, taking us 2 hours upstream to the Tambopata Eco Lodge. We head upstream on the noticeably brown river, a result of the silt and sediment which is carried downstream.
Tim getting a hand into our motorised canoe and our packed lunch for the day.
Can you spot the Capybara? and the little deer mouse living by our lodge.
We have some time to ourselves to explore the lodge’s ground, head to our “private” cabin and relax before needing to meet back with the group later that night. The reason I say “private” cabin is because the lodge has a series of huts. Each hut has been divided into A and B rooms and each room is fully self-sufficient, much like a hotel room with toilet and shower. However, the walls between the rooms do not reach the ceilings of the hut’s box gable style roof. As a result, we try to be as quiet as we can, while our hut-mate is in her room, but really, she can hear everything that goes on in our room and vice versa. The huts are quite an amazing space. There isn't any electricity, but there is hot running water provided from a tank, heated by solar energy. At night, we get around with candles provided by the lodge or using our torch lights. I quite liked the feel of the candles and we used that most of the time.
After a short rest, we head to a presentation room, where we watch a short video of what we can expect in the Amazon. Unfortunately, it didn't sound like there was much chance of seeing leopards or anacondas. Dreams shattered. After the video presentation, around 7pm, it is already pitch black. But this is there the fun starts, because it is time for a Wildlife Spotting Night Walk with Raphael. I have to admit that I wasn't expecting much especially when I realised that the track we would be walking on just went around the perimeter of the lodge grounds - but I was wrong. The path was completely dark, and the only thing illuminating our way were our torch lights. Raphael carries his own torch in one hand, a machete (or parang for those in Singapore) in the other. His second wife he calls in.
Within seconds of being on the track Raphael shows us bullet ants. You do not want to be stung by a bullet ant. The pain caused by its sting is ranks as the most painful according to the Schmidt sting pain index, given a "4+" rating, while some victims equate the sting to that of being shot - hence the name. When the bullet ant stings, it releases a neurotoxic venom that causes extreme pain an paralysis. We'd heard stories and we shy away from the bullet ant nest, but it wasn't until we'd watched these videos that you really understand.
Watch the video on the left first. This is a National Geographic piece on the bullet ants and how they are used in tribal "coming of age" ceremonies. Then watch what happens, in the video on the right, when non-indigenous participant decides to give it a go. The second video is a excerpt from Hamish and Andy's Gap Year: South America. Hamish and Andy are an Aussie comedy duo formed currently host the radio program Hamish and Andy for The Drive Home which airs in Australia nationally on the Hit Network.
As we head down the path, we come across spiders spinning their webs, stick insects, butterflies and moths (none of the blue morpho tonight) and when we turned off our torches, even fireflies. But the exciting part was when Raphael stops us and points at a hole in the ground. Its time to go tarantula fishing. He grabs a stick, carefully pushes it into the hole and gently shakes it. He tells us not to move our feet as the vibrations in the ground could scare the spiders. After a few minutes, mum comes out to say hi.
You can see the tarantula's legs move in the hold initially. She then comes into full view for the first time around the 1:00 mark and again later in the video where you'll also be able to see our guide's hand in the background to give you an idea of size.
One of the other fascinating things we come across are leaf cutter ants. These are ants which cut leaves (legitimately cut them like as if they had a tiny pair of scissors in their pincers). The leaves are then taken back to their nest where fungus is allowed to grow. The fungus then becomes food for the ants and also forms part of the structure of the nest. These little guys are possibly the first farmers in the world.
When it gets close to the time when we need to turn around and head back to the lodge for dinner, Raphael decides we should play a game. He gets us all to stand together and we all turn off our torches for 2 mins. We oblige, and as we stand there in the darkness, not able to see our own hand even if it was millimetres in front of our face, the silence is shattered by Raphael slamming his machete into a tree stump and almost falling over in laughter.
Once that is over and we compose ourselves, there is one more task to do - also in complete darkness. We are hesitant but eventually say yes. First we leave Adam at the end of the track. He has to turn off his torch and wait for 5 mins in the darkness, before following the track back to the lodge. Along the way, approximately 100m along, he will collect Tim, who will have been waiting for him in the dark as well. Then another 100m along the way, Adam and Tim will come across Amy and I who have been too chicken to stand separately. Finally, all four of us will head along the track until we see Raphael again. Raphael never really explains why we do it, but it was definitely an experience to hear, smell and feel the Amazon Rainforest without being able to see it. After we arrive back at the lodge, it's time for a feed and sleep before waking up at 5:30am the next morning for a jungle excursion.
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