Hello from Cusco otra vez! We’ve survived the jungle!
After returning to our hostel in Puerto Maldonado from Robin’s jungle abode, we all parted ways to drop off our pretty foul-smelling laundry and to find some food. We finally reunited with Lizzy and Meghan (think “chariots of fire”), who had prepared everybody some pretty bomb iced lemonade. That night we all went out to one last group dinner with Robin and Brionne, and seeing an all-you-can-eat salad bar after days without the leafy green vegetable was quite exciting. It was definitely a strange experience to go back to the land of electricity, but I think for many of us it was a welcome change. With the help of the hostel’s DVD player and Lizzy’s selection of DVDs, Eli and Meghan were able to experience The Notebook for the first time ( after the movie ended there wasn’t a dry seat in the house). A pretty great way to end the day.
The next day we all got up and met our jungle guides for our Lake Sandoval tour. A forty(ish) minute boat ride down the Madre de Dios River, an hour walk, and a half hour long canoe ride later, we reached our hostel right on the lake. While staying there we got to hike around the neighboring jungle to see more jungle flora (like the giant Ficus trees, a brazil nut tree, and the strangler fig) and fauna (spider monkeys, parrots, spiders, and the ever-present fire ants). That night we even had the opportunity to go Caiman hunting, and one of our guides caught a baby. Some of the more daring members of the group asked to hold it, and I think some childhood dreams of being the next Crocodile Hunter were fulfilled that night. Back on land there was another late-night option to hunt for tarantulas and snakes, although some opted out in favor of going to bed. The next day, at a lovely 5:30 AM wake-up call, we donned our boots once again to continue the jungle exploration. After lunch we headed back out on the lake, but this time we were going back to Puerto Maldonado to get some rest before flying to Cusco the following morning. On our way out we got one last piece of the jungle: we passed a man fishing for Piranhas, and he gave us one of his caught fish to pass around. One of the guides promptly bagged it and stuck it, still flopping, into his backpack as a snack for later.
Being back in Cusco has had its ups and downs. The cool and dry climate is sweet relief in comparison to the sweltering sauna of the jungle, but some of us have had trouble adjusting to the altitude again. Tomorrow we head off to the Sacred Valley for our yoga retreat, and then after that all that we have left is the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu! It’s hard to believe that we have less than two weeks before returning to the homeland. Where did the time go? I think a lot of us are really excited to be back home and see our families again. The thought of flushing toilet paper and having a closet is rather mind-boggling.
Until next time!
Kai and Drew