Swapping cruising the Galapagos for cruising an Amazonian tributary we’ve gone from the youngsters to the elder statesmen! Most of our group not even a twinkle in their parents eyes when we married! Lie-in and breakfast over, we sped along the Madre de Dios to Gamitana creek farm. Essence of citronella and Eau de deet vanishing in the breeze.
The river level, 4ft higher after the rains, made climbing the muddy bank easier. Seeing little eyes peeking out, transported our guide back in time; he shared his childhood stories living on a similar family farm in a small local community, (not indigenous)… Multi-age single teacher primary school with long walk to and fro, strangeness of gringos, education so important, self-sufficient farming, Catholicism in exchange for viewing Betamax videos, the expensive shock of life in the city, and the unscrupulous selling of mining rights on his family farm unbeknown to his family!
Before the highway, a 10hr journey to market, took 3days or almost 2weeks in the rainy season. The local communities practiced poly-cultural farming for their own consumption, selling excess produce within their communities rather than for export like the mono-cultural plantations in the cloud forest.
We toured the orchard sampling fruits plucked from the tree, learning about their husbandry including medicinal properties; Star fruit, ladies finger bananas, oranges, and commercial bananas.
Bananas are huge for the locals used as flour, dried, raw, for baby powder, the flowers are eaten as well as the rest used for construction. Felling single plants after fruiting each year, allows the younger sprouting shoots to take over the nutrient supply.
The sap of the dragon blood tree, bright red, emulsifies on contact with the skin, used by locals as an antiseptic, wound healer, for abortion or gastric ulcer cure tasted very bitter. Yep I tried it!
We also saw cashew trees (the nut forms below the poisonous fruit), the bark shedding snake tree (cool to the morning touch), and a 40m, ~ 100year old iron tree. These simply gigantic ancient trees can grow to 60m over 400years! What changes to the Amazon rainforest have they experienced?
I then helped paddle back down Gamitana creek to the river and a welcome breezy ride at speed back to the lodge. We glimpsed an odd riverside contraption on the way out. Still there on our return; not a re-fuelling station, but a gold mining/panning prospector!
Hot, hot, humid, hot! The plunge pool just so inviting; I am extremely extremely appreciative! The watch says 37’C, why was I moaning about rain and needing a sweater on arrival!
Lunch at 12:30 followed by donning my rather damp, rank jungle gear for the boat trip to Hacienda Conception. Transformed 13 years ago, into another lodge on a lagoon, frequented by Mick Jagger. Wandering through the grounds, after searching for a good luck red and black seed, I discovered the name of the unusual bright red flowers everywhere; a type of inedible ginger & lobster claw.
Popping out by a bayou, I’m guessing (this is what’s meant by lagoon) we paddled around the water for a last look at wild life. Turtles, caiman, many birds including a rare sighting of an American pigmy kingfisher by an ongoing raucous territorial dispute between stinky birds or wild turkeys. These crazy plumed rasping sounding, prehistoric birds have four stomachs, smell of rotten hay, and when young have claws on their wing tips; á la velociraptors; Jurassic park again!
Right atop the canopy we managed to see red howler monkeys playing as well as spotting a humongous non-stinging bees nest.
Walking back to our ride to the lodge, “Has anyone got any water?” our guide asked. Handing ours over, he rinsed a leaf, tore it into pieces and got us all to chew it… Nothing then suddenly a fiery taste and my mouth went numb! We were eating a natural anaesthetic, cordoncilla still used by the locals, mainly for tooth ache and childbirth. With no easy access to modern medicine the rainforest provided; you can see why big pharma is so interested.
The breezy return boat ride somewhat soothed my overheated body; nothing for it but a second dunk in the plunge pool. A last hammock swing, before claiming our free pisco sour and lemonade/glass of Peruvian wine. Dinner, packing and early to bed, ready for our last adventure on the river, breakfast watching the sunrise and clay eating parrots! (One of the only opportunities in the world to observe this behaviour); 4:20am start. Hope we don’t oversleep!
Gamitana creek farm:
(Boat along Rio Madre De Dios; the captain; river from farm; organic free range local chicken; Snake or naked tree, cold to the touch until sap rises; starfruit; Cashew fruit with nut below; cashew nut inside shell)
(Bright red blood dragon tree sap; emulsified sap closing wound; Banana tree; wild cocoa tree; termites)
(40m, ~ 100year old iron tree, pano, width, dwarfing us both)
(Creek from canoe; Paddling along Gamitana creek; on creek canoe)
(casting off back to the lodge; on wooden canoe; gold mining)
Hacienda Conception grounds:
(Grey green Lizard; good luck red and black seed; Red flowers, a type of inedible ginger & lobster claw)
(Oropendola hanging nests; house plants in the wild)
Bayou canoe & wildlife:
(Stinky prehistoric birds; American pigmy kingfisher; huge non-stinging bees nest; Long nosed bat)
(Red howler monkey somewhere!; Yellow side necked turtles; tree sap on the bayou; Caiman)
Medicine plant
(Natural anaesthetic cordoncilla)
Video to follow if technology back home allows.
We stayed in a cabin at Reserva Amazónica in the Inkaterra Reserve Puerte Maldonado.
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