Kapoc Jungle Camp - Maranon River (part 1)

It is steamy in the jungle at the best of times - and in the rainy season, it's really steamy! I did a very poor job of keeping my camera from getting moist and fogged up - consequently many of photos are dark and a bit fuzzy.


We landed along the shores of Maranon River at the Amazon Natural Park near Monte Alegra. It was a great surprise as we trekked up the stairs and walkways to discover the Jungle Adventures lodge at the top. It was like a piece of heaven on earth with the wonderful sounds of birds and monkeys all around us ... and scarlet macaws and blue & gold macaws showing off for us.





We hopped in dugout canoes, bound together to create a catamaran of sorts, and paddled across a lake to the trail head. Around the lake we encountered a number of different species of monkeys (spider monkeys, squirrel monkey, wooly monkeys, dusty titi monkeys, saddleback and one other that escapes memory) some of whom followed us and played in the tree tops above our heads.

We stumbled upon a family of capibarra's - the world's largest rodents (they are about the size of a domestic pig and weigh up to 140 lbs) and sat and watched them for awhile. These guys look like a cross between a rabbit and a pig!

We traveled on and Robinson gave us a great history and status of the rain forest and all of the things that create it, destroy it and exploit it. Robinson is a wealth of knowledge and he readily shares it. He is a master of spotting animals and birds along the shores and he can identify birds like no other. Thus far, we have seen over 60 species of birds and at least 10 of monkeys. Danielle is anxious to see an Anaconda but thus far they have been elusive. Me, I've seen at least 50 3-toed sloths ... but alas, 48 of them turned out to be termite nests cleverly disguised as sloths.



We arrived at the Kapoc camp just before dark and in time to see how beautiful this tent lodge really is. This is no ordinary camp -- we were greeted by Raoul, Oscar and David - our wonderful boat chef and service team! Raoul went out of his way to cart up my favorite wine and a cooler full of beer for the others. (apparently there is a back way, short-cut trail but these guys still had to haul a lot of food and supplies into the jungle for us ... and we really appreciated it!)


Dinner was incredible. David cooked inside the dining tent and we were treated to traditional Peruvian chicken and rice cooked inside banana leaves. After dinner, Robinson had arranged for a shaman to visit us and participate in a healing ritual.

The even more incredible part was that mosquitos were at a minimum and we hardly even needed bug spray. :) We all headed to our tents and after a quick scan of my tent with my wind-up flashlight ... it was an incredible night of heavy rain and magnificent night sounds of monkeys and birds making haunting and fascinating calls all night long. I didn't get much sleep but it was a night to remember. The fresh-brewed coffee was very welcomed in the morning. Muchas gracias, mi amigo Raoul. :)