Puerto Maldonado
-=[ DAY THREE - Mon 12th June ]=-
Woke up at 6am to get ready for a 10am flight from Lima to Puerto Maldonado, via a quick passenger drop-off and pick-up at Cuzco. After a short bus trip into town we put most of our luggage into storage, bringing only what was necessary for the jungle. We were all fitted with gumboots and headed into a motor boat for a tasty lunch of fried rice as we headed Eastward down the Madre de Dios toward Lake Sandoval. A 3km hike throught a slochy mud trail took us to the lake, then we got into canoes to go across to the eco-friendly Lake Sandoval lodge.
On the canoe ride we spotted numerous birds as well as a troop of around 50 squirrel monkeys, followed by a family of 11 giant otters.
The lodge was very comfortable, and most of the food was caught locally or grown in the vegetable garden.Our guide Oscar took led us on a jungle walk after dark in search of critters - mainly spiders. We were rewarded at the end of the tour, only about 15m from the lodge, with a good sized tarantula.