Me and Sarah got a lift back to Cusco on the truck. From Cusco we would be able to get a jungle trip. However since the robbery Sarah had changed her mind about the jungle as she didnt have any clothes, shoes or malaria tablets. She just wanted to get out of Peru. So Sarah booked a flight to Santiago and I booked a 4 day / 3 night jungle trip in Manu National Park.
Jungle Trip - Day 1:
I got up at 4:30am and got dressed in the dark. I picked up my two bags and tip toed out of the room. I went to the bathroom to finish getting ready but there wasnt any water as it was turned off at night as there is a shortage. I went to the reception to wait to be picked up. At 5:15am the guide called Nefi came to the door to collect me and showed me to the van. I was the first one. We went to another hotel and picked up 6 more people, they were French. We drove through Sacsayhwaman to get to Pisac where we had breakfast. After that we drove to another town called Paucartambo, a typical Spanish colonial town. All the buildings in the main square were painted white and blue to make it look appealing. In the centre of the square were lots of statues of the figures that the people dress up as during the festival of the virgin. We then looked around the church to see more statues of the virgin.
We then continued in the minibus to Acjanaco, the enterance to Manu National Park. From here the landscape changed from the rocky Andes mountains to forest covered mountains of the jungle. It is known as the cloud forest as you can see the clouds covering the forests and the mountains popping out the top. We drove through the cloud forest and stopped ofr lunch near a waterfall.
After lunch we walked along the road loking out for animals. We saw lots of pretty flowers and butterflies. We came to a viewing platform, so very quietly we went inside. In the trees just infront of us were a few bright orange coloured birds. They are known as c*** of the rock. The orange birds are the males and they like to show off their crests to the females and dance for them. Whilst we were watching them they did keep bobbing their heads up and down. After leaving the platform we walked a bit further and saw some cat footprints but there was no sign of any animals.
We got back in the minibus and drove to the San Pedro lodge. I had a room to myself, in it was two beds with mosquito nets and a chair. Dinner was of course a 3 course dinner with Soup, a main meal and dessert. I ate most of it, just left some rice i think. Nefi told us the plan for the next day and we went to bed.
Day 2:
We got up for breakfast at 7am. It was bread rolls and jam followed by an omlette type thing with ham in the middle. We left at 8am in the minibus and drove to Pilcopata. On the way we stopped in a village to buy bread. We saw it being made and put in a clay oven to bake. At Pilcopata we had the option to do rafting if we wanted to. Only one French girl chose not to. It was the dry season so the rapids were only small, class I or II. I didnt mind this as I hadnt done it before and thought it would be a good way to start. We got changed and put our life jackets on. The instructor explained to us what to do. Adelante meant paddle forwards and alto meant stop. We were ready to go. The hard part was we had to carry the boat to the river on our heads! Well being quite short it didnt touch my head so I was pushing up with my hands. It was heavy! Thankfully the river wasnt very far away. Once at the river we climbed in. We didnt need to paddle too much as the current just pushed us along nicely. We came to the first bubbly fast bit. I was a bit nervous but it was ok. The boat bounced up and down a bit but it was not enough to bounce me out of the boat so I relaxed. We went over a couple more bumpy bits and I loved each one more and more. We then pulled over on a n island so we could get out and have a swim as the sun was really hot we needed to cool down. I didnt swim as I´m a bit nervous of moving water but I went in up to my shoulders with my feet firmly on the ground. After 15 minutes we got back in the boat and carried on down the river. We saw many birds and waterfalls along the way. An hour and a half later we arrived in Atalaya. Here we swapped our raft for a motorised canoe boat. We loaded our bags from the minibus onto the boat and then sat back and relaxed and enjoyed our trip down the river. We had lunch on the boat. The boat took us to Erika lodge our home for the next two nights. This time I was sharing with two of the French girls. We unpacked and settled in before meeting to go on a jungle walk.
Nefi sorted us out with wellies so we wouldnt get our shoes dirty and then we set off. Only 3 of the French people came. We walked through the trees and Nefi told us about the different ones. He also showed us how one tree wraps itself around another one and eventually the first tree will die. We saw some mushrooms growing on logs and more flowers. There were some really big black ants that were as long as my finger. We also saw some smaller, normal sized ants, walking in a straight line and each ant was carrying a little bit of a leaf on its back. There were lots of vines hanging from the trees and we came across a really big one. Nefi got hold of it and took some steps back. He then swung on it like Tarzan! Then it was our turn if we wanted. I had a go, I felt like Jane of the Jungle! It was turning dark now and we had come across a small stream. On the rock face next to the stream there were spiders starting to come out of their holes. They were really big spiders about 15cm across at least. We also saw a little crab and a frog. With our torches on we made our way back to the lodge. Even though we didnt see any bigger animals it was a really good jungle walk.
When we got back it was dinner time. Once again we had soup, followed by spagetti with chicken and a poached peach. The food was really nice. After dinner I sat on the swing over looking the river for a little while before going to bed.
Day 3:
We got up early to leave at 5:30am to go and see the parrot clay lick. We got in the canoe and went about 10 minutes down the river to a viewing platform. The platform was opposite a clay cliff. Here in the early hours of the morning parrots will come to feed on the salt and minerals in the cliff to supplement their diet. We sat very quietly and waited. After about 10 minutes the first birds started to appear. They were small green parrots with blue heads. Shortly the orange brown cliff had turned green. Nefi had his telescope set up so we took it in turns at looking at them close up. They made quite a bit of noise as they squawked over our heads. They stayed there about 20 minutes to half an hour before flying away. Nefi also pointed out 3 macaws that flew over us. He said they would be mother, father and baby as they mate for life and look after their young. As they had gone we went back to the boat to go back to the lodge for breakfast. On the way we stopped as the other guide saw some monkeys in the trees at the side of the river. They quickly set up the telescopes againnn and we saw two red monkeys climbing down the trees before they disappeared.
Back at the lodge we had breakfast, a healthy one of fruit and yoghurt. After breakfast we got ready for our next activity, zip lining. We walked through the jungle forest to get to the starting point. This involved going uphill which was quite hjard in the blazing hot sun. We were worn out by we got to the top. We got kitted out in our harnesses and helmets and were told what to do. I went last after all the French people. There were 4 zip lines each one getting a bit longer and a bit faster. The two guides were really good and the zip lining was amazing. The only thing that was slightly annoying was the flies! There were loads of little flies in the trees and they kept flying inyour eyes so you couldnt see. Zip lining over there was now the challenge of getting down from the platform. We had to abseil down a rope to the jungle floor. I hadnt been scared up to this point and I was the first one to do it. I nervously leant back and lowered myself to the jungle floor. You were not supposed to hold on with your left hand but I couldnt let go, I felt safer with 2 hands. I made it to the bottom and it turned out to be not as bad as i thought it would be. It was then back to the lodge for a hot buffet lunch.
After lunch we went to the river for a while to cool down from the hot sun. The guides made a sand sculpture of a girl that I came up with the name for, SANDY (how original). Soon it was time to get ready for the afternoons activity, a trip to a lake. We got in the canoe boat and went down the river a little way. We walked through the jungle a short way until we came to Lake Machuwasi. Here we got on a raft made out of wooden logs. Nefi pushed us along using a pole at the back. Here we saw many birds. We saw black and yellow birds called caciques, a bigish bird with a crest on his head called Hoatzin and a social flycatcher that has a yellow belly. We also saw 2 Capybaras near the edge of the water. Capybaras are the largest rodents on Earth. They were rolling around in the reeds. We went up a viewing tower to see the whole lake and apparently a tucan flew over our heads. It was starting to get dark so Nefi pushed us back to the mainland. There we joined another group and had another night walk through the jungle. We saw lots more interesting bugs and spiders, and a frog. We came across some water and when we shone pour torches over it some red eyes reflected back at us. We tried to move closer to get a better look at what it was but we couldnt get nearer. Unfortunately I cant remember the name of what they said it was. We made our way back to the boat and back to the lodge. It was dinner time, soup, meat and mash potato with jelly for dessert (I had 2 jellies!!)

That evening they made a bonfire on the beach, so everyone sat around drinking and chatting under the stars before going to sleep.

Day 4:

Our last morning in the jungle. We had our breakfast which was pancakes and then waited for the boat to come pick us up. Whilst we were waiting the guide heard monkeys so we quickly ran into the jungle. The guide was calling out to them, and then we spotted them up a tree. There was quite a lot of them. One of them had a baby on its back. They were Brown Capuchin monkeys. They had a white head with a black stripe down the middle. We watched them for about 10 minutes climbing around in the trees before they disappeared.We then returned to the lodge to wait for the boat. On the way we saw some tapir footprints but unfortunately did not have time to follow them.

The boat came and took us back to Atalaya where the minibus and John the driver were waiting for us. It was a long drive back. We stopped in Paucartambo for a hot drink and had lunch at the side of the road again. We passed some old ruins of the tombs of Ninomarca on the way. We arrived back in Cusco at about 8pm, after 4 excellent days in the jungle.