Danny & Liz: Peru - Day 2 {The Amazon}

FOUR (possibly more) late nights in a row plus waking up super early do not make for a happy Liz. The next morning it was everything I could do to not throw up at breakfast, in the taxi, at the airport, in the plane, etc, etc. Our first breakfast in Peru was a little rushed and I felt bad I had to leave my food pretty much untouched. I was super grateful for the bell hop who somehow knew I was near my room and struggling to take 2 enormous suitcases down the stairs all while trying not to throw up. I hope I gave him a good tip. It was interesting to see Lima in the day light. It was a bit of a culture shock and nothing like anything I had seen on my previous travels. We made it in plenty of time, checked our bags, had some confusion about the security rules regarding liquids, rechecked our bags, made it to our gate, got Liz some food (sprite and freeze dried fruits...my first Peruvian food), changed gates, changed gates again, and changed gates again. It's a good thing Danny can understand Spanish because we probably would have missed our flight with all the gate changing.

At the airport waiting for our Taca flight to Puerto Maldonado aka the amazon via Cusco

The flight to Cusco was fine. I felt the effects of the high altitude immediately. It was shocking. As we waited for the plane to unload and re board it became clear that someone who was suppose to continue on the flight to Puerto Maldonado had gotten off the plane. The flight crew at first were concerned it was one of the kids on a tour but they were all there. We ended up having to unload with all our stuff and then re board the plane. On the next leg of our flight we sat next to a girl from the UK who was doing the opposite of our itinerary and was on a gadventure tour. She was loving it and had some really good tips for us (things that our guide book should have told us but didn't...piece of crap). I thought it was pretty funny that most of the people on our flight to Puerto Maldonado were American and that the in flight entertainment was Modern Family and The Middle.

Our stop over in Cusco

Arriving in Puerto Maldonado might be one of my favorite memories ever. It was exactly like what I expected. A single runway in the jungle with a large overhang for the airport. Danny was convinced the hotel/ecolodge wouldn't be there to pick us up like our hotel the night before but I knew it would be. If I was going to be staying in the jungle for 4 days I had some requirements. It turns out flush toilets and hot showers are only available in 5 star accommodations so that is where we were staying. VIP pickup and welcome reception were part of our package at the hotel. Sure enough, after we got our bags and walked outside there they were in khaki safari gear in a midst of the locals. As we were walking with our guides to the parking lot full of run-down vans with the other tourists from our flight we spotted an Indiana Jones looking truck. I knew immediately it was for us. You should have seen Danny's face though. He was like a kid on Christmas morning. "This is our ride?!?!?" He was so excited. I couldn't help but feel a little sad for the other tourists who got into boring vans. Another fun touch was a band and local dancers performing right as we came out of the airport. At first I thought it was for the tourists but it turned out the mayor or something was on our flight and it was a welcome back party for him.

First glimpses of the amazon from the plane

Waiting for our bags at the airport

We left the airport and headed to Inkaterra's Lodge and Butteryfly House in town. It was actually right next to the airport. We received starfruit juice in champagne glasses and cool towels once inside. It was so luxurious. They got our return flight information so they could check us in and print our boarding passes for us and they stored our extra luggage (the big bags that didn't weigh less than 21 lbs). I was beginning to think the rest of Peru was going to be a let down after this stay in the amazon (and I was right). We got back on the truck and headed through town to the port. The town was not what I was expecting. It was poor. I had never seen living conditions like this before. Danny was shocked by the number of motorcycles on the road and the crazy driving. Our truck almost hit some motorcycles. We saw two missionaries on our way through town but they were confused when we shouted out to them. The port wasn't what I expected at all either. It was basically just a muddy bank of the river where boats were waiting. We had to climb down the muddy bank and make shift stairs and balance across a bridge made of a 2x4 to get to the motorboat. I have to admit I was a little afraid I was going to fall in while trying to balance my way across the 2x4 with my pack on. We said good bye to the other guests (4) as they were staying at the other Inkaterra resort and had their own motorboat. We boarded our motorboat and enjoyed the ride up the river to Hacienda Concepcion.

Our ride

Modeling the VIP welcome

At the welcome lodge

Walking to the "port"

The motorboat

"Bye, friends"

We're loving it so far

We got to the resort and were so excited about the awesomeness of our room and the service. They had lunch ready and waiting for us and it was delicious. We missed our afternoon excursion because our flight had been delayed in Cusco with the missing passenger incident. Boo. But we were able to go on a night cruise on the river to look for animals. I had very low expectations about wildlife sightings in the amazon. On tripadvisor a lot of people said they didn't see any wildlife and I knew since we were staying at a nicer resort with hot water we weren't that far from civilization. I was pleasantly surprised when we saw 3 caymans (one really up close) on our night cruise. It was really exciting! Honestly, I was shocked. Our boat was traveling pretty fast and it was dark. There was a guide using a spot light to search the shore but she was moving the light so fast I had hard time believing she could see anything. But she did. She was good! We returned and had dinner which was also delicious. I slept like a baby that night but was not looking forward to another early wake up call!!