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Peru - Jungle - Puerto Maldonado - Inti Raymi
Uñt’ayata: 12.06.2018
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One thing before. The pictures from the last post about Machu Picchu and Cusco are now online too!
Puerto Maldonado
After saying goodbye to Stefan and completing my museum tour in Cusco, I felt the longing for a warmer place. My destination: The source of the Amazon or the rainforests around Puerto Maldonado. So off we go by bus. Literally. Overnight, descending from 10 hours at about 3200m to about 200m in height. The previous daily maximum temperature now becomes the minimum temperature at night - about 15 degrees. Up to 30 degrees during the day - pleasant! Puerto is located on the Madre de Dios and Tambopata rivers. The city itself is not exactly a highlight. With 50 thousand inhabitants, it is manageable but somewhat chaotic. The good, old, noisy Mototaxis are back! Honking and buzzing everywhere.
First of all, I treat myself to 2 days for acclimatization and follow the first World Cup matches. With Charlie (Greenhouse Tambopata) I have found an excellent tour operator. So let's go to the jungle for 4 days. In style with the boat 1h along the Madre de Dios (Mother of the Gods - there was no other way to go) to the Ecolodge. Beautiful, out of civilization, no internet, almost no electricity, just listen to nature. In the next few days, various activities were on the agenda. And finally, I could relax a bit! Breakfast around 8, start of the tour around 10 and back at the lodge around 5. So enough time to relax.
The program includes: visit to Monkey Island, day and night walks in the jungle for viewing animals and plants, nocturnal boat tour, kayaking, Lago Sandoval Nature Reserve. So there was a lot to see - and eat. Always well taken care of by our cook, who prepared a lot with few means. In the jungle, we couldn't keep track of Peru's and Germany's defeats either.
And at night, there was a wonderful chorus of all kinds of animals to be heard. Plus the gentle rustling of the river and the trees. The next morning, you would be woken up by various funny bird sounds.
After that, I stayed in Cusco for a few more days. I had already seen almost everything. So I mainly watched the World Cup. Breakfast for the first game at 9 am, then do something in the city - fix cell phone crash, etc. - then have lunch at 1 pm and watch the second game. Then afternoon nap and maybe go out in the cold in the evening. That was it for now in Peru. I will return to the north later.
Impression of Peru
It is certainly not the most welcoming country in South America. The highlights, in my opinion, are mainly to be found in nature. It is varied and spectacular. But you are still a tourist and cash cow everywhere. You notice this very clearly here. Of course, every place also has an oversupply. For every tourist, there is a cafe, a restaurant, and a travel agency. Accordingly, everyone also advertises aggressively for their customers. So everything is rather unfriendly. The people are rather reserved. This may also be due to the cold and the altitude. It just doesn't warm your heart. It is not bitterly cold, so it does not freeze. But you just can't warm up anywhere. There are no heaters. So you either go to bars, restaurants, or go to bed. This makes the cold uncomfortable. It is simply everywhere once the sun is gone.
On the other hand, of course, it is also due to poverty. That is also omnipresent. At every corner, someone pushes their mini-business through the streets to somehow get by. Kiosk, handicrafts, clothes, hats, sunglasses, shoe shining, selfie sticks, food, tattoos, massages, etc. - everything is for sale but usually completely useless. So you can get by here pretty cheaply. Accommodation and full meals for only €5 to €8. And even the long overnight trips usually cost only €10 to €20.
You do meet interesting people. Power tourists like the Thais, who have been to the US for a week for university and then fly to Peru for 5 days to hike to Machu Picchu for 4 days. Or a South Korean who needs 2 days each to arrive and depart via London and Brazil and then still has 10 effective vacation days to do everything in Lima, Uyuni, Titicaca Lake, and Cusco that other people would need 4 weeks for. And overall, the French - simply full of French people. I have no idea why they are so present here. Or always just around me. A Spaniard - a photographer - who has been traveling mainly by bike around the world for 8 years and takes great photos. And overall, the cyclists. Some of them are crossing South America from Tierra del Fuego through the Andes. One of them even to Alaska! Sometimes, you get the impression that the tours my former colleagues always take are more like coffee rides. Especially after I myself ventured on a small tour at Lake Titicaca. See my next post.
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