Amazon adventure

So I am running a couple of weeks behind on my blog as I have been having too much fun. Now that I don't have such a full schedule I'm hoping to catch up a little.
First stop in Peru (after one night in Lima... arriving late and flying out again early) was the Peruvian Amazon. We flew into Puerto Maldonado which airport for the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. Over half of Peru lies in the Amazon but aparently less than 5 percent of the population live there. However there are still tribes living in the rainforest that have had very little contact with the "outside" world!

After swapping our bags for a smaller duffle bag we took a 2 1/2 hour  boat ride along the Tambopata River( tributary of the Amazon ) to our eco lodge  (www.tambopatalodge.com) where we would be spending the next 2 nights. Tambopata Eco Lodge is situated within the Tambopata National Reserve and is on the edge of the Bahuaja Sonene National Park, creating an immense area totaling more than 3,000,000 acres of sub-tropical rainforest.
Sadly due to farming and mining the river is not as healthy as it should be and a lot of the banks where I was expecting thick forest was cleared for bananas and papaya. Luckily the government is cracking down on the illegal gold mining, where they use mercury to separate the gold from the sediment. Sadly years of mining has meant mercury is into the river systems and has polluted it. Hense, sadly, no swimming in the Tambopata River.

After arriving to the lodge we found our room and then went on a night walk through the forest spotting spiders, night owl monkeys, lizards, and lots of different insects. It was a shock to the senses when we all put out our head torches and stood in the dark listening to the sounds of the jungle including the loud calls of the smokey jungle frog and jungle bamboo rat and watching the  fireflies flitter through the forest. It was equally exciting knowing that all these sounds would continue all around us as we slept. Sadly no jaguars or pumas sighted... but maybe thats a good thing!

The next day we had a walk through the rain forest to an oxbow lake. Animals spotted were: tarantula, tortoise, crested owls,  agutee, heron, weavers,  hoatzin (bird), leaf cutter ants, one massive snake that I cant remember the name of (but no not an anaconda!), yellow headed vulture, toucan, macaws and lots of other parrots. Oh yeah,  not to forget pirahnas and sardines in the lake. We were assured that it was safe to swim but no one volunteered!

Our guide, Edwin showed us lots of different trees like the walking tree (which can move uo to 20cm a year), erotic tree (yes... looks like a penis), kapok tree and super old trees including fig, iron trees. Edwin told us some of the local treatments the shamans(witchdoctor) uses. One in particular which was pretty interesting... If you break a bone your, lets say your arm, it is then wrapped up in a bandage soaked in the sap of a particular tree. In the next 3 weeks the patient is told to catch a toad and then return to the Sharman. The toad is then deboned and then the body of the toad is wrapped around the break, covered again with a cloth covered in the sap of a tree and left for a couple of weeks!! Then aparently it heals! Okay for some I guess but I think I'll stick to modern medicine. There were also plenty of other bush medicines such as bush viagra and hallucinogenics. 

That afternoon we were offered to visit a local farm, however I felt a nap in the hammock outside my room was where my time would best be spent. Alas it wasn't as peaceful as first planned as I was joined by Homer...  the lodges tame Amazon Parrot which used to come every morning to talk. He had a very wicked laugh, like a creepy kid, and would politely say "Hola" when you greeted him.

After a few cervesas and dinner we were off again onto the boat down the river to spot cayman. We were lucky as in a matter of minutes we spotted our first one on a bank. This was followed by many more including a few babies. My most treasured moment of this trip was when they turned the boat off and the spot light and we sat admiring the myriad of starsfrom one horizon to the other. It was the most stars I have seen with the exception of visiting Uluru. Magical, especially when you spot the southern cross.

Although the Amazon didn't live up to my expectations, mainly due to the lack of animals. (I blame the Galapogas for that!) I did enjoy my time at the lodge and would have been happy to have a few more nights there. Maybe then I could have spotted the allusive Jaguar!

Voyage of the Western Islands of the Galapagos.

So it has been my dream to visit the Galapagos islands since studying evolution in high school and university.
Although I knew about Darwin and his Finches and thanks to Sir David Attenborough I kindof knew what was awaiting me when I arrived however it was so much more than I expected!

Flying into Baltras island felt like touching town in central Australia. Dry,  bare volcanic ash ground with the occasional cacti around. Not at all inviting! However after a quick bus ride to a small dock the wildlife emerged! A seal lion frolicking in the water, huge Frigate birds circling above, a hammerhead shark cruising tne bay and a marine iguana sunning itself! I was instantly excited about the next 8 days on board the Daphne.

Even the small  cramped rooms could not dull my enthusiasm! We instantly set sail for our first island where we went for a small walk along a sandy beach  viewing pelicans, red lava crabs, blue footed boobies and Darwins famous finches. This was followed by snorkling off the beachwhere we saw reefs of small colourful fish... but nothing could prepare me for the next day which also happened to be my birthday!

Thursday 6 November 2014 will forever be the best birthday, or possibly best day EVER!
The morning started with an early delicious breakfast... the food on the boat was amazing... followed by a walk on North Seymore island. Instantly after stepping onto the island from the panga (dinghy) we were surrounded by wildlife. Sea lions lying all over our path, boobies sitting on the rocks waiting to spy some potential meal of fish. This island is special because it is one of the breeding islands for the frigate birds. The males ofthe species have big red pouches on their throats which they inflate to woo the ladies.
We also got a glimpse of our first yellow land iguana who are much bigger than the black marine version.  More boobies, more  birds of different species,animals everywhere. It was awesome!

After getting back to the boat  we spied 3 large Galapagos sharks. There were definitely a few anxious passengers watchingthe sharks circling the boat as we were about to go snorkeling only a few meters away. Being one of two Australians about to get into the water I instantly got street cred for not being worried... our sharks are much bigger! However these sharks are known to be aggressive... but its my understanding they would prefer a scared Englishman or Norwegian over me! Haha never fear we all got into the panga and proceed to have the most magical snorkel of my life!

Picture this... its your birthday and you are swimming in crystal clear blue water with sea turtles, sea lions, whitetipped reef sharks, and fish everywhere. I must admit the first time a seal lion swam up to me atfull speed showing its teeth I squealed bit but after it started swimming circles around me I was readyto play. Sadly my tablet doesn't like the video my underwater camera takes, otherwise I could share with you the beauty of this spectacle.

Amazing, Awesome. Best birthday ever and it was only lunch time!
Back on the boat to sail to Bartolome to climb a volcano to view the lava fields and craters below. A spectacular sight, and amazing to see what different hostile environments all these islands are and how animals have adapted to each of them.

To top the day off we had one more snorkeling trip planned for the afternoon. More sea turtles, rays, seahorses. Unbelievable sights. So many turtles and all such cruisy individuals. Actually it was the same with all Galapagos wildlife - they have thousands of visitors a year but theseanimals could careless.... the just keep on keeping on.

After such an epic birthday I was surprised at dinner with a  cake... up to this point I had thought I had kept it a secret from most people. I did love that it said "Happy Birthay Kate"! Who needs correct spelling - it was delicious!

Amazing that this was only day 2. The rest of the trip was equally amazing. The best trip with a great group of people.
You must come!

Ecuador - Quito

6 continents down one to go.
Arriving at 11pm after 34 hours of travel time... November 1 was the longest in history I think!
First stop in South America was Quito, Ecuador. Driving though the streets lined with colourful graffiti reminded me of the lane ways in Melbourne.

On our first day in town we organised a trip to the "museum" on the equator where they show you all the tricks you can do on the equator.... like how the water spins different on each side of the equator and how it goes straight down when on the equator... completely lame but when in Rome... or Ecuador. I did see a shrunken head of a human and a sloth. I felt sorry for the sloth.

Next we headed back into town for a walking tour of the old city. Such amazing architecture, impressive golden churches and great graffiti lining the walls around the city. Marco, our guide was a travellers dream. He managed to sneak us into the presidents palace to have a little look and tried to get us into a church which had a wedding going on at the time. He said we really needed to see this church and its flamboyant gold interior. Unfortunately we weren't allowed into the wedding but Marco insisted we check out another part of the city until we were allowed into the church. Definitely worth the wait. The gaudy gold interior was over the top like many of the Spanish churches built using Inca gold however it was great to see how the inca slaves managed to sneak in details of their god - the sun - into the Catholic church. Suns lining the roof and one big sun on the entry. Clever!

The following day we drove to Pululahua volcanic crater where 60 families actually live and farm in the crater. At 3000m above sea level it was some good practice at altitude and provided a beautiful view of the surrounding area and volcanoes.

We then continued the drive  to Mindo Cloud Forest for a bush walk. After getting soaking with sweat from the humid hike and having local trout for lunch Marco suggested we go to his friends house where he said there is usually a lot of hummingbirds around. Although it was raining slightly we were treated to a hundred hummingbirds buzzing around the garden. It was a completely magical experience just watching them flying from one feeder to another. This was definitely the highlight of my day!

The final day before heading off to the Galapagos we caught the cable car up Pichincha volcano which rises up to 4080m above sea level and looks out over Quito. After walking about 500m up a hill I realised hiking at elevation won't be as easy as first thought!

A gorgeous introduction to Ecuador. The people are lovely, and as a bonus the sales people at the market not pushy which makes the experience so much more enjoyable!

Next stop Galapagos! So excited!

Imminent Departure

Unbelievable,  can't believe it! My countdown has whittled down to two sleep in record time... well obviously the world has been turning at it's usual rate. If it hadn't I'm sure there would have been many a Facebook post about it! Regardless in my mind my countdown went from 2 months to 2 days in a blink of an eye.

 

After some frantic last minute purchases, including a brand new backpack (after I realised that I could not possibly squeeze 3 months of bare essentials into 65 litre bag) I am packed and ready for my adventure.

 

 I've been curious to know the distance I will be covering on this trip. Using  Travellerspoint to make a map of my itinerary I was amazed to work out that I will be covering a mere 50,573km on this trip. I'd hate to work out my carbon footprint but this is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure so I'm going to play ignorant on that one!



Travel Planning

To be honest I haven't ever considered blogging about my travels. However in the past few years I have enjoyed reading about the travel & daily adventures of my friends and family which have made me extremely jealous and have fuelled my need to travel to more and more places.

 

I normally like to let my photos tell the story of my travels, not adding any text to photo books I have created in the past. But I feel the access to internet and technology everywhere these days I thought I'd try and chronicle my thoughts and feelings of new and exciting places I visit. 

I have been lucky to have travelled to 5 continents already: Asia, Europe, Australia & the Pacific, Africa and North America. Leaving only South America & Antarctica to tick off the list.

 

Words cannot describe my excitement at the prospect of going to Antarctica as it has been on my list of places to visit for as long as I can remember. South America has always been the "next trip" for me... so finally I have said the time is now.

I am all booked and ready to start this adventure... Only 1 month to go!!