Written by: Cathie
Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Orotongo Lodge 6.00am Catherine and Moises (our jungle guide) and I went in search of the endangered pygmy marmoset. We didn´t have far to go before we saw 2, the male and female who usually travel together. The jungle term is ¨the little lion¨. Incredibly small and cute with little faces and a large round fine mane all around.

After brekky we set forth for the big Ceiba tree, some of the few remaining in the jungle. It was massive and maybe 200-300 years old. It´s wood is used for boats as it is solid and won´t rot in water for many years.

The flora in the jungle is amazing. Brilliant colours, endless varieties of any species. We happened upon a humming bird´s nest under the huge leaf of a palm. It was a conical cocoon with 3 tiny eggs in it. The cocoon was wrapped up in spider webs to make it attach to the leaf. I can´t wait to have a look at my photos to see if I´ve captured the moments. So many moments of spectacular beauty, strangeness and unfamiliarity. Our walk to the tree took ages, another epic adventure through mud and scrub following a thin and at times hard to pick trail, 2 guides in front and 2 behind protecting us all the way, machette´s in hand.

Up front they spotted an extremely venemous coral snake which they tried to catch but it got away annoyed at having been disturbed. The local boys cut pineapples and assorted jungle fruits and nuts for us to try. They showed us how to weave string from bark and chopped up a water vine so we could taste it´s pure water. We were away 6 hrs soaking up the mid morning, midday and mid afternoon hot jungle feast. Tired and sweaty at 3pm I danced around my shower trying to catch the sprinkles, eventually slothing the layers of perspiration off.

Tattoo time. Henna. I had the traditional Amazon symbol wrapped around my upper arm – Amazon girl Moises said. Marayka got a dolphin and the others got variations on the Amazon theme. How cool. Estimated time till it fades away was 3-4 weeks. Unfortunately it only lasted a day and was washed off with the morning´s shower. Bummer. I watched the pet Ocelot and Camen being fed a chicken carcass each. The Ocelot they have here is only a cub and we were able to play with it which was a big highlight for me. He had it´s claws removed and was soooo gorgeous. The last activity of the night was tarantula spotting. Anthony captured 2 and brought them into the dining area for some real close-up photos. The pink footed one was nearly the size of a hand if it was outstretched. Great...

We head back to Iquitos tomorrow around 9.30am for a lunch with zoo peru and dinner with Gudrun.

Friday will be a day of last minute loose ends, blogs and starting our 5 day journey back to Oz. Plane leaves Iquitos around 6.30pm Friday and arrives in Lima where we have 3hrs to meet Zac who will have our bags that have come from Huaraz. We arrive in Buenos Aires Saturday morning and leave again at 12pm that night so we have 15hrs to kill in BA. A brief stopover again in NZ is expected on the 15hr flight home plus the time difference lands us in Sydney at 8am Tuesday morning. Flight 1182 Aerolineas Argentinas from Buenos Aires. Phew. See you on the ground in the big smoke of Sydney.

What a trek, what a trip, what an extraordinary chapter in my life. This will remain forever imprinted in my memory as a special journey both physical and spiritual that took us to amazing heights and immersed us in many other people´s lives. The money raised will be well spent. It is clear that anyone who comes to a place like this and perseveres with continual passion, creativity, conservation and animal rescue needs a medal just for that rare quality of stamina and pushing for something they really believe in. Well done Gudrun and Zoo Peru it has been a pleasure meeting you and helping you to realise your dreams.

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