15/04 22/04 - perhaps the most amzing 8 days of our lives!

We've been jungle explorers!

After sparking minor panic amongst those at home due to maxing our debit card limits, we made a last minute decision to take this trip to the Manu Reserve with Manu Ecological Explorers! GOOD DECISION!

Day One.

Early start (the first of MANY). Made a long and bumpy ride to the first lodge. 12 hours on the road and we had to change a wheel once, and traverse many landslides! Literally having to unload the contents of our bus and transport it by human chain down 100ft of muddy mountainside! The locals are small but amazingly srtong - they were carrying 40 litres of water on their backs! Crazy. Met a who load of new friends - Andy and Alvero (our Peruvian guides), Matt (Nz), Caroline (Chi), Mel (Aus), Bruno (Swiss/Aus), Guy, Ariel, Talia (all Israli), Rodger, Ellie (both Swiss), Heidi, Ian (both British), Nico (Italien), Paulina (french) and another Israli who we can't for the life of us remember his name! (sorry!) We also met an Austrian and a Polish guy who we played cards with on the first night - sorry again - bad memories! Anyway, we all descended on the first camp amid the biggest downpour you can imagine! Add that to the millions of insects and it was a swift initiation! The lodge was nice tho and the food good - excellent first day!

Day Two.

Early start number two - off for a short walk to see the c*** of the rock - a red bird with a weird looking head - it's eye is surely in the wrong place?! Saw quite a few and realised we had digital zoom on the camera - score! On the way back to the lodge saw Cappuchino monkeys right by the road! After breakfast saw a snake outside our cabin! then went bike riding down to the jungle river - the Alto Madre De Dios, and from there we rafted down river to our first motor boat - on the way we saw an entire family of Capibaras! Then went on to Erika Lodge - beautiful! - and had a walk around the jungle seeing frogs and spider mokeys etc.

Day 3.

Went for the canopy tour to start the day off - amazing! Lots of fun, although Sophie nearly took out Talia and Andrew nearly took out a tree!!! Got back to find that the boats bringing the fuel we needed to power our boats had not arrived - due to landslides causing delays, so the guys played football and then we went on another walk as we couldn't get to the next lodge as planned.

Day 4.

Early start! Then an 11hour boat ride to our 3rd lodge! Saw loads of wildlife - millions of birds and caymans and monkeys! Had lunch on the boat (honestly Richard our cook was amazing!) and signed in at the ranger station before arriving at our lodge. The guy who was there obviously wasn't expecting us and must have had a minor heart-attack getting the place ready for us - the beds were in bits when we first got there - it looked like a bomb site! Anyway, to give the poor chap time, we went for another walk - which proved very successful - a troop of about 50 squirrel monkeys (or feeoou monkeys as the Whittaker's like to say!) crossed within 5 meters of us! Got back to find a perfectly arranged array of lodges - amazing!

Day 5.

Got up early for breakfast then went to Lake Salvador. Took the Catamaran out on to the lake and watched the giant otters playing, saw cayman, loads of monkeys, herons - you name it - we saw it! (apart from the jaguars - boo. We did see their footprints tho!) Went back to the lodge for lunch, went for a very hot, sweaty and unsuccessful walk - Bruno squashed a frog! In the afternoon we all piled back onto the catamaran for a spot of evening wildlife watching and were treated to the eerie calls of the red howler monkey - weird! Sounded like a steam train! During the walk to the lake poor old Rodger had to get a piggy back off Bruno across the flooded paths - an amazing feat of strength for Bruno as Rodger is 6'3 of massive Swiss muscle (he looked like Jack from Lost, swoon! - sorry Andy!).

Day 6.

Got the boat to Boca Manu - a small village on the river. First briefly stopped off at a viewing tower, but saw nothing. At the village we met the local animals - a parrot that giggled and a baby cappuchin monkey, along with the resident drunk! We paid a mighty 4 soles for a twix - we had a chocolate craving! Then we went on to our lodge, a few mins away - apparently it had been underwater a week prior to our visit! It was abit muddy and lots of mossies, but otherwise fine - we had private bathrooms! (we later found out that tarantulas live in the rafters of these lodges! -Â we're bloody glad we didn't look up!) Guy retrieved some papayas from the surrounding trees, we went on a walk, which nearly resulted in Mel being sucked into the jungle mud! then we had tea - and nearly got eaten alive by insects!

Day 7.

Mel, Caroline, Matt, Bruno, Heidi and Ian flew back to Cusco - Rodger and Ellie flew yesterday. Us hardcore remaining few took the boat back to Erika lodge. We chilled out and Andy went for a swim in the river - where Guy nearly drowned! Then we had dinner - which was topped off by an amazing cake as it was Paulina's birthday, and we danced into the night, with the porters giving us salsa lessons!

Day 8.

The boat and then the LONG bus ride back to Cusco!!! The end of an amazing 8 days!