Manu jungle reserve trip - day 1

We visited the Manu Jungle Reserve, on the Amazon basin in the east of Peru.  It was a 3 night, 4 day tour; there were four on the tour, plus Freddy our guide, his sister Veronica, our cook, and our driver Saturno as well, the driver replaced by a boat driver and his assistant for the two days in the jungle. 

The drive was most interesting. After an hour and a half of normal paved road, going past Inkan ruins and deep, deep Andean valleys, we stopped at an ancient cemetery for pre-Inkan royalty.  In these, the royals were set up in a fetal position (for birthing into the next realm), packed into one of these with a favorite dog, some edibles and favorite trinkets, and sealed in, facing west. 

 

Then we went to a market town, also known for its Dance of the Virgin (Mary) wild drinking fest in July.  The market was little, but had interestingly shaped pineapples, and chickens (live) in a box.

Huge river valley. 

First time I'd seen this sort of terracing -- in a herringbone pattern.

Then we hit our stride on a gravel road for the next 8 hours.  I've been on a road that "bad" before, but never for more than a couple of kilometers.  There'd been rain, generating landslides and great waterfalls, and we drove on and on and on.  Van bouncing and rattling were too loud for  conversation but there was lots to see, lots to think about as we bounced along.  Only once was our driver concerned enough about passage to get out and check the waterfall over which we were to drive.  The road was left rough, we were told, to limit visitors to the reserve area.

 

That's our road, from a distance.

We passed into the cloud forest, and into the jungle side of the Andes.  Our road got no better, only wetter and the view, lots greener.

 

 

We ate lunch along the road, and walked a bit.  Steve, Jane, McKay and Freddy, our guide.

Along a waterfall, the moss had grown in rivulets, with the forces of the constant gentle water flowing through.

  

This family was out cutting succulent grasses for cuy (guinea pig) feed..

Day 1 on the road ended with an Andean Cock of the Rock blind -- and we saw them again.  Weird birds.  We slept in a small town on the jungle side of the Andes, in a very basic room with the bathroom and a cold shower a short stroll away.  The heavy rain that night was delightful, promising an exciting drive the next day.