Out of the jungle and on to the North.

Tags

Chiclayo, Flights, Heat, Hotel, Lambayeque, Peru, Tambopata, Transfers, Translation, Transport, Travel, Weather

What a crazy night. After the 42C heat of the last couple of days, the rains finally broke in the wee hours of the morning. I’ve never been deafened by so much heavy rain in my life and it was fantastic to lay in bed and listen to. If maneuvering with cracked ribs wasn’t so exhausting, I’d have sprung out of bed and stayed up all night, mesmerized.

Someone forgot to tell the morning call that we were on the later boat, so there ended up being a 4:30am holler. Drifted back to sleep for 45 minutes before finally getting up and ready to get out. I’m sad at having to leave but in a way glad that it’s not longer, as the humidity has meant that clothing won’t dry and only being able to sleep in a set position with the cracked ribs, and in a pool of sweat, made things a lot more uncomfortable and difficult than they should have been.

After breakfast it was a short hike in the now light drizzle, back to the boat, and a speedy journey that took one hour less than the time heading in, three days ago. Going at the later time to our original group meant there were a lot more people and the bus back to the lodge was packed solid. With some reggae blasting, brown pooled bumpy roads and plenty of palm trees swaying, the trip back could have easily been in Jamaica and the ambience of it all was very enjoyable.

Didn’t really have the time to visit any of Puerto Maldonado but we did drive through it on an alternate way back to the lodge, so that will suffice for now. By time the baggage was checked in, there was still a couple of hours to wait for the flight. The timing here is odd, as the flight (as with the incoming) is supposed to be one hour to Cusco but ends up being 35 minutes. The rest of the time, seems to be made up with boarding and having a tow truck pull the A319 Airbus out from the gate. We weren’t due to stop in Cusco, but I guess it’s a combination drop-off/pick-up stop and refuel. Got to sit for 45 minutes on the plane during the process, before finally taking off and heading to Lima.

I knew it was going to be cutting it fine with 45 minutes between flights in Lima when the flight was booked, but there wasn’t much else in the way of options at the time. The plane eventualy arrived fifteen minutes late and it was literally a mad dash to get off, go through the baggage claim exit and back to departures, so we could pay the aiport tax to fly out. Why they don’t have the option to come off the plane and walk to the departure gates without leaving the area for internal flights, I don’t know. It’s a hassle and unessessary. Thankfully the bags were checked right through to Chiclayo, otherwise the flight would have been missed.  Finally made it to the gate, ten minutes before take-off.

Just an hours’ flight North and it was arrival in Chiclayo. Big relief when the bags had made it, too, and that there was also some daylight left to get bearings and validate the taxi drivers. There’s a board in the exit area with set prices on it, Lambayeque being 25 soles – this was almost double what the tour books had said, so be aware if visiting here (They don’t appear to have an ATM, either).

Sunday night appears to be party night in Chiclayo and the streets were packed, with the music blaring out. It’s more relaxing to be sat in a car passing through and enjoying a bit of people-watching from a comfortable distance. After about twenty minutes, we were outside the hotel. A brief greeting later and the eyes are treated to some very fine living areas and well-tended plants. Unfortunately for me, the night staff didn’t comprehend any English or attempts at translation and when responding with ‘no comprende espanol’, they just kept rattling off conversation in Spanish like there’s no tomorrow. As luck would have it, there was one other occupant of the hotel this evening, which was a girl who spoke great English. We were able to get some basic info and I was able to get across that I’d like the passport copied for the record now, rather than them leave it on the front desk all night to hand back ‘later’. I’m ok trying to translate basic words slow but I don’t think this guy got it, as he just barely stopped talking to breathe and didn’t seem interested in sticking to the key points. Despite this, he opened up a wonderful room, with a balcony overlooking the walled pool and the church a couple of blocks down. After he left, all I wanted to do was sleep and get out of the still damp clothing. The water was cold, so I’m going to have to see if it’s a set-time thing but I did manage to get a basic wash and a good shave, before getting in to bed and passing out within minutes.

Tambopata day 1.

Tags

Boat, Cocktails, Electricity, Heat, Infierno, Monkeys, Peru, Puerto Maldonado, Reserve, Spiders, Sunset, Tambopata, Transport, Travel, Water, Wildlife

Cusco to Puerto Maldonado is a short flight of just over thirty minutes and actually took longer to leave the terminal, taxi and land, than it did flying time. The view en-route is a stark contrast to the dry browns of Cusco and within minutes, it was nothing but green jungle and thick brown rivers, snaking below.

Puerto Maldonado airport consists of a single runway and small terminal which despite its sparseness, gets a fair bit of commuting traffic through the day. Walking from the plane across the concrete to the baggage collection, the humidity hits you fast. Coming from moderate altitude and with a dry heat is a fading memory as 90+ degrees and 80% humidity smother you immediately. After some confusion over which bus to take, the tour guide finally loaded us and eight others, before putting the luggage on the roof-rack.

Rib still killing me, it was a ten minute grind to the check-in point and time to re-pack essential items. The lodge puts the remaining luggage in ‘safe storage’, translating to a locked room, with straw walls and no roof. Instant introduction to the wildlife looking up at the reception ceiling, as a pink toed tarantula was sitting comfortable, upside-down, right above our heads. I’m no fan of spiders but was totally fascinated to see something in the wild like this. After the re-pack, it was a 45 minute bouncing bus ride to the town of Infierno and the port at which to take the boat up the river.

The trip was broken a little with some free snacks and some brief description about what to expect on the river and in the jungle.  The boats aren’t the most comfortable but after finding a position that my side could handle, we were handed another snack of fried rice wrapped in leaves, and headed off on the river. There’s a checkpoint about 1.5 hours into the trip and a chance to stretch legs, as we all have to sign in to the visitors book and get a stamp on our passports. The heat is heavier at this point and the bugs are starting to move around.

It was great to finally get to the reserve and some cooling juice while getting the talk about room allocation and lodge rules. Our room was thankfully away from most of the groups, so the night was quiet and the jungle sounds loud but intensely calming. The showers are cold here, unless you wait until late afternoon, when the Sun has heated the water pipes a bit. Beds are very comfortable but a little small after living in a King bed and there are mosquito nets that are to be slept under, to avoid the wildlife munching on you, in the twilight hours. Electricity is also sparse here and there is none in the rooms themselves. All lighting is by candle and oil lamps, the latter being turned on and put out at set hours by the lodge staff. Electricity goes off just after 9pm in the main area, so if you need a cocktail from the bar that requires blending, it needs to be ordered before then.

After settling in, the group took a short walk, to watch the Sunset over the river. So relaxing after the hot travel today, and great to see the lodge has its priorities right. Along the way, there was also a sighting of a couple of monkeys chasing something in the trees.

Back at the lodge it was time to try out the bar offerings and a tasty drink named ‘Blue Morpho’ was quickly downed, before sampling several other local concoctions. This did the trick of finally shutting the brain down to desire sleep.

Casa Grande.

Tags

Arizona, Casa Grande, Coolridge, Heat, Jasmine, Lizards, Road Trip, Temperature, Travel, USA, Wildlife

About seven miles outside of Casa Grande, I got hit by the most incredible smell of Jasmine overpowering the air, which was totally unexpected and really beautiful. This pleasure was turned to amusement, after seeing the sign for a McDonald’s, one mile from the monument. They sure have an interesting grasp on where to market food.

The city of Coolridge where Casa Grande is located, was founded in 1925 it seems and I’m curious whether it was founded, just to accommodate visitation of the ruins.

After a missed turn and careering around some closed roads, I eventually got into the site car park. To my dismay, all doors to the visitor centre where closed and all gates tot he ruins, locked. Eventually a ranger had pulled up and I asked him whether the place would be opening. Apparently, there was a huge wind storm on the Wednesday, which had taken out the power and they were still recovering. I guess there’s my answer then – no close-up visitation this time around unfortunately. It really is a shame too as ‘Grande’ is certainly an apt word in this case, as this Casa is huge, even from this distance. I did come away with a few pics though and my first glimpses of lizards in the wild. I must say that I thought that pet lizards were fast but these things are like lightening.

Off to Tucson next and the temp has dropped a little; Down to 106 from 110 🙂 The steering wheel is almost too hot to touch, after fifteen minutes parked.