Manu, Day 2
We left the lodge early in the morning and continued up the Alto Madre Dios. We still have not actually reached the Manu Biosphere Reserve. It is farther up the river at the junction of the Manu River and the Alto Madre Dios.
The Manu Biosphere Reserve is the largest protected rain forest in the world. Established in the early 1970's, with the help of UNESCO, the park covers over 9000 square miles. It has over 850 species of birds and 15,000 species of plants.
Along the river we see quite a few animals, mostly macaws, parrots and monkeys. The cook has set up a small kitchen in the back of the boat and makes us lunch. After lunch we reach the town of Fitzcarraldo. This is the last town we will see for a while, so the cooks fill up on food and the drivers refill the gas.
The name of the town reminded of the famous Werner Herzog movie 'Fitzcarraldo.' I ask one of our guides about the about the movie and it turns out that both it and another Herzog classic Aguirre: The Wrath of God were filmed in the reserve. This worries me a little, because those movies sure made the jungle look awful.
After a few more hours we reach the river junction and begin to head up the Manu river. this river is much more calm than the Alto Madre Dios.
Just before sunset we reach our camp for the night. As soon as we put our gear in the lodges we split into two head into the woods to look for animals. Our group did not come across much. We saw a pair of tucans, possums and a family of howler monkeys. The other group comes across a sloth on the ground. They live in the trees for 99% of their life, so seeing one on the ground is very rare.
The jungle is very noisy at night. Crickets, frogs and many other things that would not even dare guess about. One sound seemed particularly strange; slightly like a frog but with a addition hiss. Alvero, one of the guides, said that it was the call of a bamboo rat. He said this with a snicker, so we naturally did not believe him. He had lost all credibility earlier that evening. During dinner, here was a very large rat crawling through the exposed rafters of the lodge. Alvero told everyone to not worry it was a possum not a rat. You maybe able to convince the city folks with that one. But I have seen many, many possums. It was, without doubt, a very large rat.
We left the lodge early in the morning and continued up the Alto Madre Dios. We still have not actually reached the Manu Biosphere Reserve. It is farther up the river at the junction of the Manu River and the Alto Madre Dios.
The Manu Biosphere Reserve is the largest protected rain forest in the world. Established in the early 1970's, with the help of UNESCO, the park covers over 9000 square miles. It has over 850 species of birds and 15,000 species of plants.
Along the river we see quite a few animals, mostly macaws, parrots and monkeys. The cook has set up a small kitchen in the back of the boat and makes us lunch. After lunch we reach the town of Fitzcarraldo. This is the last town we will see for a while, so the cooks fill up on food and the drivers refill the gas.
The name of the town reminded of the famous Werner Herzog movie 'Fitzcarraldo.' I ask one of our guides about the about the movie and it turns out that both it and another Herzog classic Aguirre: The Wrath of God were filmed in the reserve. This worries me a little, because those movies sure made the jungle look awful.
After a few more hours we reach the river junction and begin to head up the Manu river. this river is much more calm than the Alto Madre Dios.
Just before sunset we reach our camp for the night. As soon as we put our gear in the lodges we split into two head into the woods to look for animals. Our group did not come across much. We saw a pair of tucans, possums and a family of howler monkeys. The other group comes across a sloth on the ground. They live in the trees for 99% of their life, so seeing one on the ground is very rare.
The jungle is very noisy at night. Crickets, frogs and many other things that would not even dare guess about. One sound seemed particularly strange; slightly like a frog but with a addition hiss. Alvero, one of the guides, said that it was the call of a bamboo rat. He said this with a snicker, so we naturally did not believe him. He had lost all credibility earlier that evening. During dinner, here was a very large rat crawling through the exposed rafters of the lodge. Alvero told everyone to not worry it was a possum not a rat. You maybe able to convince the city folks with that one. But I have seen many, many possums. It was, without doubt, a very large rat.
posted by Terrell at 8:06 AM
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