La Selva

It's been over a year since this trip, but I really need to get this last post up.  All of our future blog posts will now include a new member of the family (pictures forthcoming).

After visiting Macchu Picchu and staying a final night in Cusco, we flew to the jungle city of Puerto Maldonado.

Plaza de Armas in Puerto Maldonado, right on the Madre de Dios river which leads to Brazil.

After arriving in Pto. Maldonado, we were taken by van to small "port" where we loaded our stuff onto a boat for about a 3 hour boat ride down the Rio Tambopata to the Wasai lodge.  The lodge is pretty remote and is only accessible by boat.  They have to use generators which only run for certain hours of the day.  It was beautiful to fall asleep to the many sounds of the surrounding jungle.

We got to eat some yummy Juanes, basically fried rice with chicken steamed in a big leaf.

I wouldn't want to run into one of these "caimanes" which are like little crocodiles.

As romantic as the towel arrangement appears, due to the heat and humidity, we were both more than happy to sleep on separate beds.

There were lots of critters around:

We took an early morning hike through the jungle to be able to watch parrots and colorful birds feed on a "salt lick", it was pretty amazing.  We don't have a big enough lens to get any good shots of the birds so there are none included here.

Relaxing at the lodge was always a highlight of the day:

There were some adventure-type activities too, including kayaking and zipline:

The night-time boat ride was a hit as well

David actually ate fish and enjoyed it.  Steamed fish in a bamboo-style reed.

Puerto Maldonado is pretty remote and not terribly developed so it is surprising to see this giant modern suspension bridge - it was apparently built as part of an ongoing major project to connect Brazil with the Pacific coast.

After 2 nights in the jungle, we awoke early for a very long day of traveling.  Boat ride to Puerto Maldonado, flight to Lima via Cusco.  Late night flight from Lima to Mexico City and finally on home to San Antonio.  I realized we used basically every major mode of transportation on the trip - plane, train, bus, taxi, and boat. It was definitely an unforgettable adventure.