Piranhas to Picchu

Welcome to the Jungle

The Jungle conjured up all sorts of images in my head as we flew over the snow peaked Andes and dropped into the infinitely green Amazon basin. I'm not exaggerating that we dropped because our flight out of Lima had to cross 20,000 foot peaks and descend quickly, which felt similar to an elevator plummeting from the top of a skyscraper to the lobby in about ten seconds. From the chorus of passenger reactions, I clearly was not the only one who experienced that physically.

We had arrived the previous night at Lima International Airport and

A cocoa tree with cocoa beans

by the time we got through passport control and customs it was after midnight. We were dragging since we started in Cleveland that morning at 8am, flew to Houston and then on to Lima. We were lucky enough to have a hotel booked at the airport. I mean literally, at the airport. Cross the passenger arrivals road and you're practically in the lobby of the Wyndham Costa Sol hotel.

We had a flight the next morning to Puerto Maldonado, which would be our embarkation point for the Amazon jungle. LATAM is the main carrier in Peru and they are friendly, clean and efficient.

Despite the rollercoaster approach into Puerto Maldonado, I had confidence in the crew to get us there safely. We were headed to someplace, deep in the jungle, and that was about all I knew. As we got into our shuttle van, Joe reminded the boys that they would not have cellphone or internet service where we were going. I kind of half-believed it, but texted my mom that I would likely be incommunicado for the next four days. How would I do it?

I knew we had a 45 minute boat ride down river, along with our luggage and about twenty other guests who were going to similar lodges on the way. I kind of expected something bigger, like the boat pictured here. My mind went to a cheerful riverboat ride with drinks and snacks while I sang Karma Chameleon at the boat's stern, supported by back up singers who just happened to be on board. But nope, our boat was a little more, shall we say, basic.

We got to the shore where our boat was parked, our luggage was brought onboard and we entered the ship through the gangway (a worm eaten plank) and sat on either side of the boat which was thirty feet long and four feet wide - kind of a tippy long canoe with a motor.

The area was experiencing unseasonably cold weather (65 deg). As promised, we arrived at our destination in 45 minutes and climbed another rickety staircase to be greeted by the Inkaterra Amazonica eco-hotel staff. We were guided to our huts, which were beautifully furnished, had ceiling fans and electrical power for about six hours per day. No air-conditioning which made my portable fan handy!

We had full board with three meals a day provided, which was great, considering the nearest restaurant was about twenty five miles upriver. Each meal was delicious, prepared by chefs that were brought in from Lima.

Every day, we had 2-3 excursions included in the hotel price. One night, we went out looking for caiman, a relative of the alligator that lives in fresh water. We saw many, along with large capybara feeding along the shore. The next day, we went to a farm that provided the produce and fresh fruit served at Inkaterra. The guide showed us lemon, lime, grapefruit, papaya, cocoa and banana trees brimming with fruit that the guide picked and served to us. Afterward, we enjoyed an unexpected visit by a family of white capuchin monkeys that wanted to observe us for twenty minutes, since we were on their turf. One of our excursions took us on a 40 minute hike to a lake where we got into a canoe and paddled around with a guide. We saw howler monkeys, many different birds and piranha nibbling at food we threw from the boat.

We had a night jungle walk that was as creepy as it sounds where we saw massive spiders, tarantula, leeches and caterpillars. Each morning we were awakened by a cacophony of birds signaling the new day. The huts at Inkaterra only had screens for windows, so during the night we could hear everything that crawled, walked or slithered outside. There is nothing like the jungle at night. The Amazon jungle is something I'll never forget - the massive amounts of water the rivers carry, to the vast diversity of plant and animal life - the smells, sounds and the stars that were visible with no light pollution. It was magical.

We went from the Amazon to the Sacred Valley and then boarded a train to Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. We stayed in another Inkaterra hotel that was perched above the Urubamba River, and were in a temperate rainforest climate. Unlike the flatness of the Amazon basin, we were now surrounded by stunning mountains covered in lush vegetation.

Machu Picchu had been a bucket list destination since I was a kid. Getting up to the ruins was either by foot or by bus - and we chose the bus. After snaking up the mountain, through twenty switchbacks that gave amazing views, I was convinced we were seconds from death each time we made a turn, encountered an oncoming bus and had barely six inches keeping us from plummeting off a 4,000 foot cliff. I decided after switchback number 5 that I wouldn't look down anymore.

We got into the site and our first job was to, you guessed it, climb up. The elevation of Machu Picchu is just shy of 8,000 feet, so we still had some work to do to get up there. It was a beautiful, cloudless day and in about twenty minutes, we were at the ruins. Machu Picchu is sometimes referred to as The Lost City of the Inca, but in reality, it's believed to be the Inca king's summer palace.

Hiram Bingham, the American academic after whom the Indiana Jones character is based, is credited with the discovery of the city, along with the help of some local children who acted as guides. The site had been consumed by the jungle, but as workers stripped away the trees, vines and grass, they found the ruins we have all seen in pictures.

The mountains around Machu Picchu are unlike those I've seen in other mountain ranges. It's called a Mountain Jungle climate, which I don't believe I've seen before. The mountains are steep and jagged, like shark's teeth. They're covered in vegetation which looks like soft green flocking from afar.

Machu Picchu is as beautiful and majestic as the pictures I'd seen before my trip. We had a tour guide explain some of the history of Machu Picchu and one piece of that really surprised me. The city was only inhabited for about 100 years, due to the invasion of the Conquistadores who brought weapons and diseases to which the Inca had no defense. Within a few years, the entire Inca civilization was toppled.

Machu Picchu was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site forty years ago this year. It was also named one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It's a definite MUST SEE!

The one thing I would caution any traveler going to Peru, would be the lack of handicap accessibility to many of the sites. For me, every day was a workout, considering the amount of climbing, combined with the altitude. We got through it and I've shared some helpful tips in my other posts on Peru. Just be prepared to climb!