Week 10: Chichería and the Return to the Jungle

Monday

Back at ISA again. What has happened since we've been gone? Well, Christmas has arrived. In force.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

What else? Well the rainy season is really kicking in. From my bus observation platform, I realize that the Cottonwoods are greening up and the small patches of lawn here and there are growing more vigorous and dense.

Tuesday

It's basically raining every day now. Man, today was a long one. I had not one, but two presentations.

After anthropology, we felt like we deserved ice cream. I've been eating a bunch since Iquitos... Got a week-long void to fill.

On my way home on the bus, Get Lucky was broadcasted on the radio. That made me happy.

Wednesday

Today especially I'm missing a few things. Driving and fishing come to mind.

Another bus anecdote:

While sitting and enjoying my usual quiet time on the bus (it almost feels like time-out sometimes), a group of ladies hopped on and greeted us with a warm and inclusive "¡Buenos días!" It took me by such surprise that I could not help but smile.

Soccer transpired in the evening. It's becoming a more routine occurrence, and it's honestly more fun every time. The ride home featured one of Papa Jesús' favorites: a James Brown/ Luciano Pavarotti duet of It's a Man's World:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb-B3lsgEfA

That night at home, I witnessed a gem of Peruvian productions. Here's how the concept goes: people come to audition and perform as celebrity look alikes. I just lost it when I saw "Jim Morrison" singing "Touch Me."

The Likeness is Just Uncanny

Thursday

A wild one for sure. Also a day of Georgia fans and coincidence.

 I got to the point of slacking off that brought me back to my early days in Cusco, when everything was new and mine for exploring. School was in the peripheries, the unknown was at the forefront. 

With that in mind, Marissa and I headed to the historic center to search for a baby gift for our professor. En route, I encountered a somewhat less passionate Georgia "fan."

A selfie please?

Our visit to the market was extremely successful, and we made it back to class in time.

Entering the house for lunch, Papa Jesús could not have made a better choice with a Mark Knopfler/ Emmylou Harris youtube mix. It ended up evolving into a Saturday Night Fever/ Bee Gee video binge.

I can't think of a better way to prepare for the upcoming Anthropology final exam. Yes, it's our last class and it's capped by an exam. But what's more noteworthy is the fact that our professor offered to take us to one of Cusco's most legitimate Chicherías.

What is a Chichería? It's like a bar/ social place where lots of Quechua traditions are still being observed. The name and concept revolves around the ancient drink known as "Chicha." It's a fermented corn beverage that was sacred to the Incas; they often offered it to their gods.

Ironically, this Chichería was out of Chicha. So our professor, his colleagues, and we students all went with a humorously large glass of frutillada, that fermented strawberry drink that I had a previous experience with.

Then Spencer and I dined down on our inaugural Cui (guinea pig). It reminded me of a mix of squirrel and pork wrapped in partially photo-degraded plastic.

Then the Pisco shots began, as Edgard searched for honest evaluations of the class. Man what a time. I felt so much belonging and contentment at that place.

But the night was young. We said our goodbyes and thanked Edgard for an awesome and enlightening semester. And for his truly inspiring lectures. Then we let our hair down and pinned our ears back. 

From there it was time to head to Spencer's newfound sports bar for a night of football viewing, darts, foosball, fellowship, and of course drinking. Our other buddies arrived. At one point, Laurel (in the middle of my quail hunting demonstration/tutorial) pointed out yet another dude with Georgia memorabilia.

What followed was something that I had hoped, deep down, would happen to me in Perú. But it's also something that cannot be forced. 

Springing out, I asked if the two dudes spoke English. But one look at the way they dressed and their familiar way of speaking had already suggested so much. A few connections later and I realized that I was talking to a man that I had already known by proxy. A fellow birder, a man who had been active on GABO and at my go-to hometown hotspots, Pendleton King Park and Lake Olmstead. 

What a sec, what!?

Fellow Augustan/Birder

Friend from Columbus

I retuned to the bar with their contact info and a perplexed/thrilled expression. For the next few minutes, I relayed the tale of my great fortune to everyone. 

Spencer's promise of dirt cheap Tequila lures us to another venue, where we are in fact greeted by a shot ski.

Next is a new discotheque with live music. We danced the night away until we could bear no more.

And this is where the night took us: a 2 am meal on the sidewalk.

Where else would you wanna be?

Friday

Ha. I don't feel so good. I rise early to pack my bag, but it's all happening in extreme slow motion. I don't want to upset the fragile equilibrium of my brain. 

Damn, I'm going to the jungle today. With ISA. Puerto Maldonado.

After a quick breakfast, I jump in a cab to the airport. What a beaut it is outside. My status cannot possibly foil the idealess of the morning any more. Traffic is bad. A white cat perches on a windowless windowsill three stories up in a building.

I arrive a little late at the airport, where my fellows are waiting. Wow, we look like shit. At least we're all in the same boat, destined for the same plane.

Before long we're on the ground in a new department: Madre de Dios. I feel a little better for having slept on the plane. We hop onto our shuttle and head for the city of Puerto Maldonado.

First impressions: cleaner than Iquitos with less traffic. I'm not getting that sense of sprawl that I read about before coming. But a several-month long hiatus is broken: I hear my first Peruvian House Sparrows! Wow, they're a long way from their Middle Eastern homelands.

We grab ice cream, and then things happen like clockwork. We shuttle to the ferry dock, hop on a ferry, and make our way to the lodge before noon. We flow with the mighty Madre de Dios River until we've arrived at our stay: Monte Amazonico Lodge. 

Milky River

I'm ecstatic to see my first Greater Yellow-headed Vulture float overhead. We pass by the largest trees that I have seen in Perú. Behemoths with many stories to tell. But there's little time to admire. We must grab lunch at the open-air dining hall, put our stuff in our bunkhouses, and report back for a trip to Monkey Island. Why does it seem like Monkey Island is a motif that spans multiple continents? This isn't my first Monkey Island.

An abandoned rehabilitation/ ecological experiment, this island is inhabited by Squirrel Monkeys, White-faced Capuchins, Brown Capuchins, and their hybrid offspring. All in all, I think there were about 30 individuals on the island. The Squirrel Monkeys were my favorite; the Capuchins came in to take our fruit offerings.

Young Capuchin

Mono Ardilla

Later in the evening I birded around the lodge, climbed a big observation tower with Spencer, and ate dinner with the group. The night brought a Spectacled Caiman cruise. It was very successful: we saw lots of a variety of sizes. I periodically dozed off under the breathtaking expanse of stars.

Evening on the Madre de Dios

End of day Lifer total: 6

Saturday

We were encouraged to go to bed early the night before, and I'm so glad we did. Breakfast at 4:30. On the River by 5:30, heading to the mega-diverse Tambopata Reserve, an expanse of jungle accessible only by boat.

Our first sighting of interest is a group of lazy Howler Monkeys: the first I've seen in the wild. Down the trail, we reach a special tree. Hollow for having overtaken another tree at some point in the past, it is possible to crawl through its heart. Of course we all do it, squirming through one at a time. For some, a nightmarish claustrophobic episode, for us, a jungle rebirth.

Along the way we experience the gallery of Mauritia palm swamp, where two species of Macaws command the habitat.

Lessons in Nature

Down the trail, we reach the fringes of el Lago Sandoval. Our two guides direct us through the flooded forest in canoes until we reach the paradise that awaits. Open water.

Young Black Caiman

We take turns paddling and soaking up the tropical sun as numerous ornithological wonders captivate us.

Sunbittern: an enigma and new favorite

Eye of the Neotropic Cormorant

Lazy Neotropic Cormorant

Hoatzin: A Prehistoric Bird born with Claws

Rufescent Tiger-Heron

Rounding the edges of the old oxbow lake, we made our way for the shade. As we rested in tranquility, Plumbeous Kites and a King Vulture dominated the sky.

In the distance, Giant River Otters, an endangered species, were making their way across the lake. It was time to chase them. We arrived just in time to get a good sense of their charismatic personalities. They clambered up a tree trunk, vying for a king-of-the-hill position.

A Playful Beast

Satisfied, we left them in peace and sought after our own Otter lifestyle. We crossed the open water, made landfall, and threw ourselves into the lake's welcoming waters. The next hour or so was spent goofing off, tossing mangos around, and flipping off of the canoe.

It was only 11ish by the time we hit the water again, but it felt like 5 pm. Our bellies hungry, we completed the circuit and made it back to our launch site.

We made our way in a light drizzle. The slick mud trail claimed many students on the way back, but the promise of ice cream made defeat impossible.

We left the preserve at noon to head back to the lodge. We ate a quick lunch in preparation for the zip-line/canopy tour.

Now I've done a few of these before, and it seems like the further south you go, the more relaxed the atmosphere is. We donned no helmets, and students were sent off before guides. We arrived to some platforms before any professionals. BUT, we survived, and it was really fun.

We scaled a tower to the first platform. From there, we made our way one-by-one across the sky bridge. On the next platform, we all adored a pair of Amazonian Pygmy-Owls at eye level. 

Then came the zip line portions, which were thrilling and rapid. As we waited on the platforms, we took in the sounds of the Amazon, the most distinctive of which is that of the Screaming Piha, a bird that cannot be missed in any Amazon Rainforest documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY_GrQL8W_U

The tour was pretty short, but it was enjoyable. It wasn't long, though, before our next activity: kayaking. We piled in the motor boat to be hauled upstream. In our new tandem kayaks, we paddled hard upstream for a while. Then the motorboat came up and told us to turn around, despite having not reached any sort of landmark.

With the current at our backs, the return was more relaxed. Flying pencils flew overhead as a flock of a new species of Macaw, Chestnut-fronted, made its way upstream.

As we neared the lodge, we splashed the other boats and then hopped in the river to float alongside our kayaks.

It's hard to get one's fill of water when in the Amazon. So, like any rational students, we made our way to the pool upon our return.

Then came dinner. But if you think we're done with this marathon of a day, you are mistaken.

After dinner, we embarked on our night hike. Critters abounded.

Snake Sp.

We also located some Tarantula nests, which we messed with to see some action.

One game of doubles pool later, and it was time to go to bed.

16 lifers on the jam-packed day.

Sunday

We have to get out of here early, so I get up at sunrise to do a bird-around. Here are some of the fruits of my labor:

Black-billed Thrush

Barred Antshrike

Peek-a-boo Yellow-browed Sparrow

Blue-headed Parrots

After breakfast, we bounced. I snagged a few more Hoatzins as we neared Puerto Maldonado.

Return to Civilization

As we grabbed ice cream on the way out to maintain congruency, I saw one last jungle lifer.

Then I was asleep on the airport floor. Takeoff ensued.

Within 30-45 minutes, snowcapped mountains appeared in the windows.

Then we were in Cusco. Just like that... An hour between the high Andes and the Amazon.

7 life birds today.

End of Week Lifer Total: 29

I achieved my 200th bird in Perú on this trip!!!!  Streaked Flycatcher

This jungle trip in general was more authentic than Iquitos in a nature sense. Iquitos was really more about the city experience, which we wanted nothing to do with in Puerto Maldonado.

I really didn't realize until recently how close we were to Bolivia: 25 miles as the Macaw flies.