And...we are in the Peruvian Amazon!

Another early morning (do you see a pattern here?)...6am pick up for our flight to Puerto Maldonado in the Peruvian Amazon.   Both Katelyn and I are a bit nervous, as I am NOT a camper and while she has camped...she hates spiders, snakes and anything different that moves.  Ashley on the other hand is so excited she can hardly stand it.   Since her Masters is in Ornithology (aka birds for those of us not in the science arena), this is heaven to her.  Yesterday in Machu Pichu she saw 19 species including some cool hummingbirds and a very rare c*** of the Rock (only in the MP area) ...so her expectation for the next 4 days is very high (her goal is 150 species.   Katelyn and I on the other hand are pretty damned happy with a toucan and some macaws. 

Flight was a short 55 minutes and in that short time we went from 11,000 feet high to 500 feet above sea level.  No more altitude pills!!  But still on the malaria pills.   Oscar our guide for the next 4 days picked us up and we went to the Amazon Expeditions office, not far from the hotel.  It was POURING rain (it is the rainforest!) so we were in a holding pattern for our 2.5 hour trip to the Amazona Posada, our eco resort for the evening.  We ended up getting a snack at a local restaurant (tamales, empanadas and a really good cookie) before heading to the long boat.  It was still sprinkling, but good enough to head out.  

The time went by very quickly, with Oscar and Ashley bonding over various birds on the way.  For Katelyn and I, the highlight was the two caymans (mini-alligators) sunning themselves on the riverbank.   Once arriving at the Posadas we hiked through mud and rainforest to an amazing eco-resort.  No electricity, except at the lobby and restaurant from 5-9pm.  Open air rooms, with mosquito nets.  Gotta say, very different from Houston!

We did a two our walk into the rainforest and immediately saw two monkeys...soooo cute!  After about 30 minutes we arrived at a very high tower (120 feet) that we climbed to be above the canopy.  Great views and Ashley was seeing some wonderful birds (parrots, macaws, etc).  After about 30 minutes of hanging at the top, Katelyn and I headed down to wander a bit around the ground (neither of us are fond of heights...but we made it to the top!).    Of course after we got down, they saw howler monkeys at the top...oh well, we saw a cool ant hill with the little guys dragging leaves 10x their size into the ant hill.  

Now, enjoying a nice glass of cabernet, updating my blog, listening to all kinds of animal/insect noises  and  ready for dinner in the outdoor restaurant.  Tomorrow...a 430am wake up call.