Ten Unforgettable Weeks Exploring the Amazon Rainforest, the Andes, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, and Beyond
My first jaunt away from the megatropolis of Lima was a week out in the Amazonian outpost of Puerto Maldonado. I met an English woman named Sylvia, and we stayed at a hostel — a thatched unit that the couple from Spain had made themselves.
We did a five-day trek out into the wilderness. We hired a boat to get us across the river, hiked all day through the rainforest, then made camp on the river at an old abandoned nomadic hunting camp with several thatched roofs.
That night, BIG thunderstorms moved through the rainforest and dumped a major deluge of rain on us. We were camped near the river, and it was rising fast. We still had a lot of miles to hike the next couple of days, but that night we devised a plan: what if the river kept rising? The trails would be real sloppy. Maybe we could somehow build a raft out of balsa trees and FLOAT 15 kilometers down to where the old suspension bridge crossed the river?
There were plenty of balsa trees around — this was very deep in the interior of the rainforest — but we only had two machetes and one old ax, and figured it would take at least half a day to build a stupid raft that might or might not work. But our guide Jaime was awesome and was all for giving the raft a try. Sylvia and I just laughed, thinking, “this is insane!”
Sure enough, the next day we cut down several balsa trees and built ourselves a nice raft.
Floating Downriver
The third day we hopped on the raft and somehow navigated 15 kilometers downriver. The river was rippin’, and full of sediment and debris! The trees were full of howler monkeys and all kinds of weird birds and animals. Jaime, our “guide,” was kinda nervous. You could tell by the look on his face!
A Hut by the River
The child smiled and waved back. Our guide yelled something to him; then the little boy’s papa showed up and said something like, “come on ashore!” We stayed with them in their little thatched hut overnight and had dinner that consisted of soup loaded with organ meat of some kind! We pretended that it was delicious, and even asked for seconds, but we both had full — though queasy — stomachs that night.
We had lashed the raft to a tree on the riverbank when we came ashore the evening before, but it rained again overnight, and by morning the raft was still tied to the tree but almost completely underwater. Breakfast was excellent, and that next morning the whole family took us for an awesome hike all throughout their sacred special places. They led us on a bushwhack through the rainforest that saved us about a day of hiking.
Late that afternoon we flagged down a passing putt-putt — a motorized dugout canoe — on the river and got a long ride back to reality along the flooded riverway. Lots of villages along the river were flooded out. Later we heard that many people died from the flooding and mudslides in the mountains that night.
We got back to Puerto Maldonado just in time for Saturday night. After an excellent dinner, we went into town with Jaime and his wife — they had a golf cart! — and got good and drunk with them and their friends. Boy could she dance!
These are awesome folks; you’ll never find them listed in the guidebooks. They run a “youth hostel” very near the airstrip. Just ask around; all the locals know them. And to my friend Sylvia Gurr: cheers and big hugs to ya Sylvia! What a fun week we had, eh!
Cuzco, Machu Picchu & the Andes
That was one crazy week. Hundreds of villagers died that week from flooding. But for us it was just a long, wet introduction to the incredible rainforest.
I spent nine more weeks in Peru. Some folks say it is a dangerous place, but I think it’s a lot safer than New York City or Washington, DC.
No one goes to Peru without visiting the sacred city of Cuzco. And of course, only a few hours by train from Cuzco is the awesome four-day trek to Machu Picchu. I sure as hell ain’t a believer in organized religion, but my time in Machu Picchu was one of my most memorable spiritual experiences — and I’ve had a lot over the miles and years!
Six weeks after Puerto Maldonado, I spent an awesome week trekking up in the high peaks of the Andes. I did a nice loop up San Antonio Pass at about 17,000 feet. If it hadn’t been for excellent guides and lots of mate de coca, that is one long, high trek I would never have been able to complete.
Took a long bus ride down to Lake Titicaca. Ended up in a hospital near the border of Bolivia. After three days of severe constipation — too much local food; I’ll try everything — some friends said I was acting severely dehydrated and should get some IV fluids. The IV helped a lot, and the test for cholera was negative, but they wanted me to stay in the hospital overnight. I said “no gracias,” checked myself out, then jumped on a rickshaw and headed straight to the waterfront for a boat ride out on Lake Titicaca.
More South American Wanderings
Somehow I got myself invited to assist a Smithsonian Institute group with a bioassessment of the incredibly diverse interior Amazon backcountry near Manu National Park. I was helicoptered into the middle of nowhere for five awesome weeks. Someday I’ll post the whole story!
After Peru it was north to Ecuador. Took the more scenic back way in, through the jungle, via Macara. Had to bribe immigration officials, but had an excellent journey that day, and ended up that night in Vilcabamba!
Peru Map
