A relatively late start today – 7:30am. Caught the plane to Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon jungle. Packing for the trip was fun as Andy couldn´t bear to be parted from his Inca trail walking stick; for 5Sol they were wrapped in newpaper and plastic in the airport and checked into the hold.

The view from the plane was fantastic as we were coming into land – a great sea of broccoli florets stretching as far as the eye could see!

Very hot and humid in the rain forest, as you might expect. After we´d landed the heavens opened. Our first mode of transport to get us to the jungle lodge was a thatched truck! Unfortunately we were sat under the bit that wasn´t thatched very well and we got a bit wet... It was an hour´s journey to the port along a very bumpy dirt road, but this was broken up by food; banana chips, locally produced pineapple juice, finger banana and a fruit related to the passion fruit whose name we´ve forgotten. After the bumpy road we were quite glad to get to the port; it was then 45 minutes upstream to the lodge. It was still raining hard by the time we got there so the planned afternoon activities were cancelled. So we relaxed in our room. This was large, all made of wood and had one wall ´missing´ so we could see the jungle. And it contained a hammock which was very comfy! Biodegradable soap in the bathroom (of which we highly approve!) and candles for lighting as there was no electricity. The noise from the forest was amazing – monkeys, insects, birds could all be heard.

We had a meeting to explain how the lodge was set up and is run. The company, Rainforest Expeditions, works with the local community; decisions are made 50:50 and profits are split 60:40 in favour of the community. The locals are trained and can work in the lodge for two years (longer if they become guides), after which time they can work in other lodges. Furthermore, the ownership of the lodge transfers to the local community in 2016. We highly approved of the setup and management of this lodge – more like it please!