The Amazon Rainforest

After spending days up in the mountains, coming down to the Amazon Basin was a huge change. It went from cold temps to "wow it is hot and huuuuuumid!" After a short bus ride from the airport, the group wound up in Puerto Maldonado for a stop.

Team Loco

We also happened to catch a very cool military parade that was cut short due to a huge downpour (yes, it is a rainforest)...

After the parade, we headed for the boat and a 2.5 hour boat ride into the Amazon Jungle. 

There was a very nice breeze while traveling by boat, and it felt wonderful! At this point, I guess I should mention Spot. Being the engineer type that I am, I rented a Spot GPS unit for 3 weeks from LowerGear.com. I knew that the cell coverage along the Inca trail would be iffy at best. (In fact, there was no cell service for 3 of the 4 days.)  I also assumed that the Amazon would have very little service which certainly was the case. Spot has GPS and communicates via satellite. Anyone who was interested in our little journey was added to the email list and received regular location updates, and I am happy to report that Spot worked very well during the entire journey.

Spot the Team Loco Mascot

After leaving the boat and walking a little distance, we arrived at our next home away from home: Refugio Amazonas.  I thought I must be in heaven. Who knew such an amazing place was in the middle of a jungle!?

The entire lodge was incredible. It was made out of wood and fit right in with nature. It was a work of art. 

Mary walking from the main lobby area to the lodging area

Walk way to the rooms

The rooms!

The restroom - cold water only, but that feels
pretty darn good in the Jungle.

Pisco sour - the awesome bartender makes
Jo's favorite drink!

Did I mention there was a
full service bar? A drink that
looks like a parrot...

Above the tree line

Electricity was provided by generators during certain 2 hour periods during the day. Our Amazon guide, Paula, gave us a tour of the trees, wildlife, and a fruit farm, and took us caiman spotting during our second night at the lodge. Here are a few pics from the Amazon adventure:

Paula tells us about the fruit farm

Marg enjoys a boat ride in the rain

Hey Jo!

Tarzan Mary

What a view from the boat!

Here kitty kitty....

That's not a kitty.  It's a caiman! Nothing better than a
cool evening boat ride in the moonlight looking for these
little fellas.

And, of course, no blog post about the Amazon would be complete without a picture of a monkey.  Without further ado...

I never really thought I would actually see the Amazon Jungle or Machu Picchu for that matter. Thanks for sharing in the blog journey of my Peru experience! Adios!