I was up at the “butt crack” of dawn to go on one last excursion down the river with Nixon. We cut the motor and let the current take us down river.
The sunrise was incredible and in short order, butterflies and birds were criss crossing the river. As we left the lodge we crossed over to the little island outside of the lodge and called for the resident wooly monkey “Derilla” who had been rescued from an animal market and repatriated into the semi-wild. Derilla could not leave the island, but she was now self sufficient and had even been bred so that she produced a little one … Mowglie. Never saw Mowglie, but Derilla made an appearance and then left pretty quickly once she realized that we were not there to feed her.
After the trip to see Derilla, we floated down the river, but did not spot any birds we had not already seen. Just as we were about to head back, Nixon slowed pointed towards the sounds of howling coming from he trees. Monkeys. Apparently they were titi monkeys way back in the bush. I could hear them, but could not see them. Unfortunately, Nixon told me not to bring my boots so I could not go on shore to track the monkeys. Nixon not the other hand ignored the protocol, grabbed my camera and proceeded to head off into the bush leaving me with the boat tied up to a tree. Uh .. Nixon please don’t let the anaconda get me.
After about ten minutes Nixon reappeared with pictures in hand. Yay. He even managed to capture an awesome video of the monkeys howling.
By now it was 7:30 and time to head back to the lodge. After a quick breakfast, Nixon and I began the much shorter boat ride back to the main lodge. Since we were travelling with the current, we shaved about an hour off our trip up river.
The plan was to leave on the main boat at 1:45 so Nixon suggested that since we had a couple hours before lunch we had to El Chino village and wander around. Once docked, we climbed the stairs to the village, but did not see a sole around. Apparently, everyone was at the high school construction site helping to complete the school by Saturday, which was the last day the high school volunteers who be at the site.
So Nixon and I wandered around the square and found a local store opened where we pulled up a couple chairs and sat and drank a beer at 11:00 a.m. Pretty relaxing.
After the beer and a chat with the local proprietor (with Nixon translating), it was time to head back to the lodge for lunch and the ridge back to Iquitos. I would be flying to Lima and then spending the night at the hotel across the street from the Lima before taking an 8:30 a.m. flight to Arequipa. My trip to the Amazon was over. I could not have asked for a better guide. Nixon was fantastic as was the entire staff, accommodations and food at Tuhuayo Lodge and Amazon Research Center. As the lodge’s motto states … Let the Adventure Begin … and boy was it an adventure!
Fantastic I feel almost like I was there with you!
Still love those monkeys! Sounds like your guide was great.
He was awesome.