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Exploring Peru's Manu Forest ReserveMary Ashcraft
Peru’s Manu National Park, since 1997 a UNESCO’s World Natural Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve, is just one of this South American country’s treasures. Thanks to the variety and rarity of its ecosystems and their scientific interest, Manu is considered to be one of the most significant parks in the world. Its Reserved Zone is now open to visitors.
Forty minutes from the ancient Inca city of Cusco, bouncing through a low cloud cover in a chartered eight-seater, twin-engine aircraft, your pilot aims for the clipped, rectangular landing strip cut into the jungle vegetation at Boca Manu village, the jumping off place for an adventure of a lifetime into the Amazon River basin. One hundred yards from the landing strip, a motorized canoe and expert guide wait to take you to the jungle lodge destination of Tambo Blanquillo, located on the Madre de Dios River in an area of the reserve where visitors are allowed. Your visit has been planned by Explorandes, based in Lima and one of Peru’s leading adventure and cultural tour operators. As you step down unsteadily from your aircraft onto the dusty landing strip, you are met by Doris Valencia Puella, your guide, teacher and friend for the duration of your time spent in this one-and-on-quarter-million acre rainforest. Trained as a guide and frequently assisting wildlife filmmakers from America and Europe, this young woman has a thorough knowledge of the flora and fauna of Manu. During your days in her care, you will learn why Manu is considered by many to be the number one place remaining in the South American rainforests for its diversity of life forms with monkeys, jaguars, puma, otters, ocelots, thirteen species of primates, over 850 species of birds, more than 1,200 species of butterflies and twenty percent of all plant species found in South America. These are staggering statistics for one country.
The next three hours in the canoe pass quickly as the great current of the Madre de Dios River carries the canoe through its waters, brown in color like those of her great cousin, the muddy Mississippi. Herons are seen strutting on the sandy banks of the river along with Muscovy Ducks, and vocalizing Macaws in twos and threes streak across the sky in the determined fashion of folks who are late for an important appointment. Along the way Doris explains how and why the vegetation along the river’s edge grows and struggles for a small space of sunlight and then dies as the never ending fight to live continues. She explains how the indigenous people, aware of the fragile nature of their rainforest, gather floating fallen trees from the river for their building needs instead of cutting from the jungle floor. Tambo
Blanquillo Lodge Finally, several thatched roof buildings come into view, and a modest sign reads: “Welcome to Tambo Blanquillo Lodge.” The simplicity and rusticity of the buildings echo the style of the huts of the indigenous people of the rainforest and are just what one would hope for in this environment. The largest building is completely open-air with a platform and thatched roof designed for dormitory style sleeping arrangements. Sleeping spaces are divided by six-foot wooden partitions for a modicum of privacy. Each bed has a mosquito net that keeps out pesky flying critters but allows one to hear all the varied night sounds. Kerosene lanterns light the passageway and communal bathroom at night, and those lights are dowsed when weary guests retire. From then until daybreak, navigation by flashlight. It should be pointed out that plans are underway at the lodge for a major expansion to build twenty new individual cottages, fully screened and with private bathrooms. Completion of the expansion is scheduled for April 2001. Trails
to explore With the coming of dawn, the forest wakeup calls begin with the deep, roaring hoo hooing and grunting sounds of the Red Howler monkeys, followed by the clack and basso chortle of the Russet Backed Oropendola that nests in the Mango tree outside the screened dining room. Armed with all the essentials like rubber boots, bug spray, sun screen, long sleeve cotton shirts, cotton pants, hat and flashlight, you are ready to hit the trail. There are trails into the forest of varying degrees of difficulty. Some of the trailheads lead directly from the grounds of the lodge and other trails are only accessible by canoe. Many trails end at the edge of a river or lake where platforms secured on two dugout canoes--a sort of catamaran--are boarded for a quiet float across the water for close up views of giant South American river otters at play as well as some of the more than 650 species of birds spotted in this area including Heron, Horn Screamers, Hoatzin, Greater Ani and Chestnut Macaw. Night treks are an option as are catamaran expeditions before moonrise to spot Black Crocodiles resting on the riverbanks. Flashlight beams from the catamaran light reptilian eyes like glowing coals before the creatures slip into the dark waters. Monkey
business One trail leads into the habitat of the Brown Capuchin monkeys who shake and rattle the branches high up in the treetops in hopes of frightening intruders. Troops of as many as seventy Squirrel monkeys with their marvelous Disney faces stare at the intruders with curiosity and then go about their business of racing through the trees. All the while, flashes of the Razor Billed Curassow are seen, tapir tracks are spotted and that pungent odor in the air means that a herd of peccaries recently has passed by. One of the difficult and more interesting trails leads into the habitat of the best known monkey in the Peruvian jungle, the Spider Monkey. The trailhead is reached by canoe with a climb up the riverbank to an entry into the jungle. The trail leads across small streams that require a bit of balance and the trusty rubber boots to walk over bridges made of chopped tree trunks. There are some climbs and descents requiring a bit of careful negotiating through the narrow, bushwhacked jungle growth. It’s worth every effort. You will know that you are truly in some primeval rainforest. Spider Monkeys can often be seen hanging by their prehensile tails eating fruits and leaves while sounds of the Common Piping Gwan punctuate the air. A Quechua word for Spider Monkey is maquisapa, meaning long arm. The word describes them perfectly. Unfortunately, they are hunted for meat and have mostly disappeared close to human settlements.
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wildlife spectacle It’s five in the morning and time to take the canoe a short distance up the Madre de Dios River for one of the best wildlife shows in the rainforest. Your canoe ties up to a floating thatched roof hut tethered midstream about twenty meters from shore. It is actually a large blind from which as many as thirty people can watch in concealment while an amazing avian spectacle takes place on the ccollpa or clay bank. After the crew has provided a breakfast of hot tea, coffee and bread with jam or sweet rolls, it’s time to concentrate on the arrival of the parrots. There are Orange-Cheeked parrots, Blue Headed parrots and Mealy parrots. Hundreds of them swoop down to the clay bank to lick the salt and the minerals that the clay provides. Doris points out that without this, they could not produce healthy chicks. During the dry season their regular supply of nuts and berries is scarce and, the birds must rely on lesser fruits and nuts, some of which contain toxins counteracted by the clay. The cawing and gurgling of these darting, colorful birds escalates into a wonderful continuous symphony of noise. Meanwhile, the Red-Green Macaws and their kin, the Blue-Yellow Macaws, are hovering in the trees nearby waiting to take over the lick as soon as the smaller parrots have had their fill. Their Technicolor arrival is the grand finale, and it is an unforgettable sight. Raptors and other predatory birds also hover about, waiting to snatch a careless Macaw. There is no other way to see this many parrots at a single time in their natural environment and with or without binoculars the view is spectacular. Piranha fishingAt another time and for a side diversion, Doris will take you Piranha fishing. All you need—provided by the lodge, of course-- are a couple of fishing ropes, a packet of red, raw meat and a lot of luck. Believe it or not, they make quite good eating. Fortunately for recreational swimmers, there is only one kind of flesh eating Piranha, as the others are vegetarians.
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view from the canopy Deep in the jungle by a lake lives a one-hundred-fifty-foot-high giant. It is rather a miracle that it has never been struck by lightning, high winds have not stripped it of its sturdy branches or flooding eaten away at its mammoth roots. The giant is a healthy Kapok tree. Kapok trees are generally tall, but this one is in a class by itself. The indigenous people of the Amazon believe that when you die, your soul goes to the top of the Kapok tree because it is so close to heaven. Now all of us have the opportunity of being a little closer to heaven, for the owners of Tambo Blanquillo have built a split-level platform in its upper branches that can be reached by a safe metal stairway. It is the tree house of one’s dreams, only better. The thrill is powerful as you look down over the top of the jungle, the Camunga river and flying birds. It is even more of a thrill to sleep overnight in its welcoming branches with nothing but the enormous, black Peruvian sky above. The day closes as it always begins with the roar of the Howler monkeys, echoing through the trees and the strange but somehow soothing clank and chortle of the Russet Backed Oropendola.
Mealtimes
at the Lodge Explorandes not only provides its clients with excellent nature guides, but with excellent chefs as well. If you are lucky, Edgar Barcena may be your chef, performing his culinary magic for you out there in the middle of nowhere. His provisions come out with you from Cusco. His three course dinners for American visitors are American style, but with a decidedly Peruvian accent. He plans his menus according to the nationality of the lodge’s guests, and he has his own special offerings for Germans, Japanese, French, etc. After graduating from the well-known cooking school, Huampani in Lima, he was chef for Entur Peru and in the kitchens of the Posadas del Inca in Urubamba and Cusco. Your group will crown him the king of soups. His memorable Crema de Maiz is one to try at home, so here it is. Crema de Maiz (serves from four to six):Make a stock of chicken and vegetables such as turnips, carrots onions, etc. Enough for six cups. In a frying pan, brown a medium size onion, several minced garlic cloves and huacatai, a Peruvian herb—but 6-8 leaves of cilantro, finely chopped, will work as a substitute. Add one cup of the stock to the browned vegetables and cook on low heat for five minutes. Put the cooked onion and garlic back in to the main soup pot and add 1 pound of corn, fresh scraped off the cob and then finely chopped in a blender or Cuisinart. Set the pot on medium heat and stir for 5 minutes. Beat three eggs in a separate bowl. Cube about two cups of a mild white cheese and add to the eggs. Add broth to eggs slowly, cover, turn off heat and let stand until cheese is melted. Serve and, “buen provecho,” or, “enjoy.” A few words about the cost of the full experience…Explorandes’ package to Tambo Blanquillo lodge was priced at $790 during the 2000 season. It is for 3-days, 2-nights and includes RT air from Cusco, transfers to/from the Lodge by motorized long-boat, lodging at Tambo Blanquillo, all meals and guided excursions. Departures are every Monday and Saturday. Prices will increase in 2001. There’s more to Peru… Explorandes’ master guides are extremely knowledgeable and sensitive to the needs and desires of their clients. At the very least, they are able to open one’s eyes to a Peru most people never see. They are there to help you explore Ollantaytambo where the Inca stored grain in hillside caves, and Maras, where rock salt has been mined for thousands of years and is still being mined in the old way. Spread out over 100 hectares, the little pools of hardening salt looks very like bricks of soft cheese like Brie. Nearby in Moray is the newly excavated circular terracing of the Inca botanical laboratory. All these are in the dramatic sacred valley of the Inca, Urubamba. Then there is the great valley of the Inca pyramids in Tucume, Lake Titicaca, reportedly, full of Inca gold, the gigantic and mysterious drawings of the Nasca desert, and much more. The Spaniards came searching for gold treasure in Peru long ago. Today, Peru’s treasures are there for the rest of us to discover. Manu Expeditions and Explorandes.Explorandes represents 25 years of experience in leading trekking and river expeditions throughout Peru and ten years in doing the same through Ecuador. They work mostly with tour operators and travel agents abroad in providing trips on a fixed departure basis in the areas of cultural, soft and hard adventure. They offer a staggering number of itineraries, but specialize in customizing these for special interests. If you are interested in discovering much more of Peru, best to check out their Website. For more information…Explorandes: Manu Nature Tours: www.manuperu.com Manu Expeditions: www.ManuExpeditions.com Tourism and Culture: www.rumbosperu.com Peruvian Recipes (Excellent but in Spanish): www.geocities.com/Athens/Crete/7763 Tourist Information: www.perutravelnet.com PHOTO
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