Manu National Park

13th-18th Nov Manu National Park

At 3 o'clock in the morning Michel picks us up, along with the cook Herman and the driver, Morgaaahh! We have about an 8-hour drive ahead of us. Since there have been landslides on the road, we have to pass 3 construction sites. This takes time and is associated with long waiting times. What impresses us is how calmly, friendly, and charming they communicate with each other, a virtue that will be even more noticeable to us among the Peruvians. We pass the time with short walks along the road in the Bosque Nublado where we see many butterflies and birds. We have lunch in Atalaya and then load the boat. Here we also meet the rest of our team: Saoul is our captain and knows the Madre de Dios and Manu rivers like the back of his hand. Florentino is from the Matsiguenka tribe and is Saoul's assistant. Herman and Michel help with "water reading", mooring and unmooring the boat, serving us dinner, and also accompany us on some of the jungle walks. Florentino also wants to become a guide like Michel and is learning from him how to speak to tourists without fear and the customs, it is touching.

After a good 6 hours of driving (without the waiting time) and 3 hours of boating, we arrive at our Treehouse. A almost luxurious home in the middle of the Peruvian jungle, the smells, sounds, and admittedly also the stinging "sand flies" (sandflies) are unique.

The dinner, like all the other meals served by Herman, is very abundant and varied. Only rice and potatoes are always on the plate at the same time. And of course, a lot of chicken, Peruvians love chicken! Wake-up time tomorrow is 7:30, which, as we will later realize, will be the only "reasonable" wake-up time of the whole trip... Buenas noches!

14th Nov.

We enjoyed breakfast on the terrace with a beautiful view of the river. Today we do our first jungle walk! In addition to 4 different species of ants, including the giant bullet ant, we see three species of monkeys and many birds. From a viewpoint, we can also see an extremely rare species of eagle flying by. Our guide says he hasn't seen one in five years. After lunch, we can slide down the river on car tires, a refreshing pleasure. After dinner, we take a night walk in the jungle with Michel. A very special pleasure that captivates us completely. We see numerous large insects, jumping spiders, an owl that we can observe up close, and frogs. On the way back, we also encounter the bamboo rat, a truly funny little animal. The bird sounds during the day and night transitions are foreign, funny, and beautiful at the same time.

15th Nov.

Wake-up call at 4:00 a.m. Today we chug along by boat to the reserve zone, which is nine hours away. On the way, we first stop at the river junction where we change from the "Pekepeke" to a slightly larger boat. On the way, we see two capybaras on the bank. It is impressive how vast the Amazon basin is when you drive through the jungle for hours and hardly make any progress on the map. We have to register at the checkpoint. Our antigen test, which is required to enter this zone, is also checked. There are three villages in the park that have contact with the outside world. These, in turn, have contact with tribes that live completely isolated from the modern world. They need to be protected from all viruses. No one is allowed to approach the first three mentioned villages. We learn a lot of interesting facts about the national park in a small exhibition. Three more hours by boat, during which we also see caimans, we hike to a lake where we make more observations from ramps and observation towers. Monkeys, bats, and a bird's nest with freshly hatched chicks are our biggest "catch". Another 30 minutes later, we see three species of monkeys from the boat, right next to our accommodation. The Matsiguenka, the people who run the only open lodge at the moment, are extremely cautious and hardly ever show themselves. The huts are handmade in a traditional way.

An opossum visits us and looks down from the rafters.

16th Nov.

Wake-up call at 4:30

Today is the highlight of the tour. A visit to the giant otter family in the nearby lake.

We glide almost silently over the water on a paddle-operated catamaran and have great luck! The otter family, which has been sleeping on land, awakens and starts fishing for their breakfast. The otter mom still has to call a few sleepy slackers out of bed, but then they are all there. 15 of them, lively and hungry. After a short chase, we can calmly observe the family during breakfast. For a moment, it looks like they are going to attack a 2.5m caiman, but the safety of the little ones comes first and it remains with warning cries and a short nudge. We spend about three hours on the lake. On land, we walk to a "clay lick" about 3km away where the parrots get their important minerals to neutralize the toxic substances of the plants they have eaten. After a while, four of them show up. It is wonderful to watch these birds, which we have seen plenty of in the air, calmly and for a long time.

In the afternoon, a tour on the other side of the river is planned, but a storm has blocked the way and we wish to visit the otter lake again. This time we are allowed to row ourselves and enjoy this idyll very much. We see many different birds, including the "hoatzin" also called "stinky bird," which hisses more than it sings. The monkeys also frolic near the shore in the trees. On the way back, we see a huge group of about 200 squirrel monkeys moving like a caravan through the trees and occasionally looking down on us. What kind of impression do you think we made?

Here too, we take another night walk and observe some interesting-looking insects.

The night is stormy and loud. Thunderstorms in the rainforest are on another level!

17th Nov.

Wake-up call at 4:30 a.m. Today is the return journey.

9 hours of boating in the rain with caiman and bird sightings.

When we turn into the Rio Madre de Dios, thousands of branches and tree trunks come towards us, which were washed into the tributaries from the mountains last night. Our boatman Saul has his hands full avoiding the largest parts.

When we arrive at our accommodation, we take a short trip around the lodge where I'm finally bitten by a fire ant. Quite a nasty sting... For the finale of the tour, we share a bottle of wine with our guide. Florentino also gets a glass. The night becomes the loudest thunderstorm we have ever experienced! The lightning strikes directly next to our tin roof cabin, and the thunder is too loud for our ears, like an explosion.

18th Nov.

A 2-hour boat ride takes us back to the bus where we start the 7-hour journey back to Cusco. We say goodbye to Saoul and Florentino and get on the bus to Cusco with six other tourists who booked the short tour. Except for a lunch break and the usual waiting times at construction sites, we drive non-stop. We have enough time for a restaurant visit in Cusco before we fall into bed, exhausted but happy.