Thursday, December 14, 2006
Monkey hunting. We're going on a Monkey hunt, we're going to see a big one...
Just for the record I am part of a group of 3 visitors (2 English birders and myself) who are sharing our guide Moises - 29 years experience guiding. There are 5 guests in house at the moment (max 40).
We left the lodge by small canoe powered by a small outboard motor on the end of a long pole that has the propeller at the bottom. The boat driver (in the back) lowers the pole into the water to the correct depth for the channel and the flotsam blocking the way. It's rather like powering the canoe with a electric beater...I wondered why we didn't have an electric motor which would have been much quieter for animal spotting, until we reached further upstream where the river, flood plain, lake and swamp, chokes up with grass, water weed (hyacinth), logs, flood debris, etc. We needed the power of the deisel engine to get us through; and needed the help of the guide (in the front) with a paddle to force a channel in more difficult parts. The driver takes direction through hand signals from the guide standing in the front as he has better visibility. The guides paddle is shaped like the spade in a pack of cards. The point of the paddle gets traction on the muddy bottom or in the thick weeds. The flat side is slightly convex to assist viscosity and is used to paddle, push weed islands and logs aside or scooping weed out of the way and from catching on the front of the boat. The river has become a sea of green weed and how he knows the channel is impressive.
The greenery is alive with insects. Grasshoppers, dragonflies, spiders;all shapes, sizes and colours go busily about their business ignoring us. Their colours are almost dizzying. Red, green, blue, gold - nothing is plain here.
A small frog, not much bigger than a thumbnail jumps off the grass into the boat and across to the grass on the other side. These little frogs land on us as often as dragonflies and grasshoppers. Tammy you would be in frog heaven. The croaking goes on insecently. On the river. In the jungle. Daylight and night time.
We beached our canoe and started walking though the jungle. I don't need to explain the density of a tropical jungle or the thickness of the air. Interestingly many of the species here have been introduced to Oz and are pests at home. Water hyacinth, sensitive weed, mimosa, nut grass, morning glory...
We do not walk on prepared or maintained tracks here, just straight through the bush. I stood on a log expecting to use the lift to push up over it and my foot went straight through. It had completely rotted and the shell looked strong and complete. We crossed swamp by tree trunk bridge and water filled my 'wellies' as I sunk deeper in the mud than the height of my 'rubber'.
NOTE TO MYSELF - choose higher sided 'wellies' tomorrow!
I continued to squelsh in search of monkeys. We saw an amazing array of birdlife even 3 of the 5 species of kingfisher found in Peru. Huge birds called Horned Barkers that sound like a cow. It is easy to enjoy bird watching here. You see something new and different every few minutes. Like fishing, it's interesting when you are catching something...
We could hear the monkeys but they kept moving and were making monkeys out of us. Finally success. Titi monkeys, Howler monkeys, Squirel monkeys. All showed themselves. The Howlers were as big as tree kangaroos and the squirel monkeys obviously small like squirels.
The mozzies were insecent but not as bad as expected. The summer storm built as the afternoon passed, thick black clouds banked on the horizon, thicker each time we sighted them in a clearling. The thunder accompanying us on our jungle adventure. The Amazon seems thicker, denser, more intense than our rainforest. Certainly less controlled and more animals to be seen.
We arrived back not 5minutes before the storm broke and it has been raining constantly since. Now 11pm. Tried going Cayman spotting after dinner but too wet. All hiding under the surface. Cayman are not protected so not common.
HINDSIGHT When we were swamp walking later in my stay we crossed prime 'croc swamp' and dry banks between still water and there was not a Cayman to be seen.
Just for the record I am part of a group of 3 visitors (2 English birders and myself) who are sharing our guide Moises - 29 years experience guiding. There are 5 guests in house at the moment (max 40).
We left the lodge by small canoe powered by a small outboard motor on the end of a long pole that has the propeller at the bottom. The boat driver (in the back) lowers the pole into the water to the correct depth for the channel and the flotsam blocking the way. It's rather like powering the canoe with a electric beater...I wondered why we didn't have an electric motor which would have been much quieter for animal spotting, until we reached further upstream where the river, flood plain, lake and swamp, chokes up with grass, water weed (hyacinth), logs, flood debris, etc. We needed the power of the deisel engine to get us through; and needed the help of the guide (in the front) with a paddle to force a channel in more difficult parts. The driver takes direction through hand signals from the guide standing in the front as he has better visibility. The guides paddle is shaped like the spade in a pack of cards. The point of the paddle gets traction on the muddy bottom or in the thick weeds. The flat side is slightly convex to assist viscosity and is used to paddle, push weed islands and logs aside or scooping weed out of the way and from catching on the front of the boat. The river has become a sea of green weed and how he knows the channel is impressive.
The greenery is alive with insects. Grasshoppers, dragonflies, spiders;all shapes, sizes and colours go busily about their business ignoring us. Their colours are almost dizzying. Red, green, blue, gold - nothing is plain here.
A small frog, not much bigger than a thumbnail jumps off the grass into the boat and across to the grass on the other side. These little frogs land on us as often as dragonflies and grasshoppers. Tammy you would be in frog heaven. The croaking goes on insecently. On the river. In the jungle. Daylight and night time.
We beached our canoe and started walking though the jungle. I don't need to explain the density of a tropical jungle or the thickness of the air. Interestingly many of the species here have been introduced to Oz and are pests at home. Water hyacinth, sensitive weed, mimosa, nut grass, morning glory...
We do not walk on prepared or maintained tracks here, just straight through the bush. I stood on a log expecting to use the lift to push up over it and my foot went straight through. It had completely rotted and the shell looked strong and complete. We crossed swamp by tree trunk bridge and water filled my 'wellies' as I sunk deeper in the mud than the height of my 'rubber'.
NOTE TO MYSELF - choose higher sided 'wellies' tomorrow!
I continued to squelsh in search of monkeys. We saw an amazing array of birdlife even 3 of the 5 species of kingfisher found in Peru. Huge birds called Horned Barkers that sound like a cow. It is easy to enjoy bird watching here. You see something new and different every few minutes. Like fishing, it's interesting when you are catching something...
We could hear the monkeys but they kept moving and were making monkeys out of us. Finally success. Titi monkeys, Howler monkeys, Squirel monkeys. All showed themselves. The Howlers were as big as tree kangaroos and the squirel monkeys obviously small like squirels.
The mozzies were insecent but not as bad as expected. The summer storm built as the afternoon passed, thick black clouds banked on the horizon, thicker each time we sighted them in a clearling. The thunder accompanying us on our jungle adventure. The Amazon seems thicker, denser, more intense than our rainforest. Certainly less controlled and more animals to be seen.
We arrived back not 5minutes before the storm broke and it has been raining constantly since. Now 11pm. Tried going Cayman spotting after dinner but too wet. All hiding under the surface. Cayman are not protected so not common.
HINDSIGHT When we were swamp walking later in my stay we crossed prime 'croc swamp' and dry banks between still water and there was not a Cayman to be seen.
The people live on the river as they always have. They are partners in the Lodge I have chosen which is independant and refuses to pay the touts commissions in Iquitos. No electricity here, or hot water. The only down side is 100% humidity and everything stays wet. My trousers from today and fresh ones tonight will still be damp when I put them on tomorrow. But everyone is in the same condition and we all smell damp and peaty.
The Lodge is on a tributary of the Amazon and is a black river, full of oxides and tanin. The colour of strong black tea. The Amazon is a brown river full of top soil and sediment. Each has it's own ecosystem.
# posted by The Essence of Good Taste @ 2:00 PM 
