Manu – Day 4 – Around Casa Machiguenga

Day 4 didn’t start so well – we were supposed to go and see some Macaws at a clay lick first thing in the morning – but at 5am it was absolutely pouring with rain 🙁 Macaws don’t come out to eat in the rain, and if the rain is really heavy it’s a bit dangerous to walk in the forest…. so there was nothing we could do 🙁

So we got postponed until 6am when we had breakfast, and then because the rain was fairly light by then, we went for a cruise up the river in the boat to look for wildlife. Obviously visibility wasn’t great, but the boat provided shelter and we saw a few interesting things. Not ideal, but it could have been be worse…

PB is ready to spot animals in the rain…
Looking out on the gloomy river.
CC is also looking out for animals in the rain…
The rain got worse before it got better…

After our boat trip it was still raining – so we had a few hours where we still couldn’t do anything… we didn’t manage to stay awake for very long! After our snooze it was time for lunch at 12.30pm.

It was our first lunch in an actual building as opposed to on the boat, or by the roadside – and the cook really went to town and made us a Peruvian speciality.

A specially made Tamale.
A glimpse inside the tamale.
Lunch with all its accompaniments. Tarwi seeds, salad, ceviche, guacamole, and fried wantons.

After lunch the rain had cleared even further, and we were hopeful for a bit of sun by the end of the day. The afternoon activity was a walk to another oxbow lake – Cocha Salvador – and then time spent out on the lake in a special catamaran – primarily looking for giant otters.

We’re off into the jungle again.
Giant trees are in the jungle.
PB still has his mac on, as the rain has not fully stopped yet.

Once at the lake, we boarded the catamaran. The cataraman was REALLY excellent – it was constructed as a wooden platform mounted across two boats – there was tons of room on it, a couple of benches, and you could get up and walk around easily. It was powered by paddles which the boatman and the assistant boatman used – one on each side. I felt kind of sorry for them having to paddle a giant raft with 8 heavy foreigners and a guide on it! They did an amazing job – the boatmen never ceased to amaze me with their skills.

Cocha Salvador.
The little hut is the boarding point for the catamaran.
CC on the ‘boat’ part of the catamaran.
Here is everybody chilling on the catamaran.
The sun had come out, and we were having an excellent time on the lake.
Sun sets on Cocha Salvador.

After the sun went down, it was time to head back – this time we had a short walk, and then headed back to the lodge on the boat. Back at the lodge, there was time for a short night walk before dinner, and once again the range of creepy crawlies at night was quite amazing.

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