Day 12 Alta Madre de Dios River

Day 12 All day on the Alta Madre de Dios River to Manu Wildlife Center

We enjoy our last breakfast at Amazonia Lodge. The days of juice and papaya for breakfast are over. Our clean laundry is all neatly folded for us and delivered to the wonderful porch where we are enjoying a last look at the garden. A new bird arrives, the Red-capped Cardinal. We make a last attempt at the barbet and see a female! And now it's time to make the trek in our rubber boots to the river where our Expediciones Manu boat awaits us. It's a seven-hour boat ride with a lunch stop. Our hosts have packed us a picnic of pasta salad, homemade cake and fruit. We make a quick stop at Boca Manu, the closest town to our next destination. It is still another 2-1/2 hours to Manu Wildlife Center. Boca Manu is a tiny town with some funny smelling shops that carry everything from rubber boots to eggs to Milo. We all have a stretch and a look around and then it's back aboard the boat for the last leg of our journey today.

Along the river we see Sand-colored Nighthawks, an Amazon Kingfisher, Drab Water-tyrants (oh, what an awful name), lots of Large-billed and Amazonian Terns and hundreds of White-winged Swallows. There are many, many "dinosaurs" in the water (huge trees with gnarly roots that have washed into the river in some long ago storm). Our boat driver Lads are very familiar with this river and know when to slow down and which channel to take to avoid hitting one of these submerged giants.

We arrive at our home for the next seven nights, Manu Wildlife Center, just as the lanterns are being lit along the pathways. The bar is a large, inviting space with hammocks strung for relaxing. Drinks are served under a thirty-foot rubber anaconda hanging over the bar. The gift shop display case is filled with t-shirts, jewelry, and postcards (all of Julia's favorite things!) and there are several comfy sofas and chairs for kicking back in. We are served lemonade and given a few instructions from Huw. Toilet paper goes into the bin provided, not into the toilets. Hang up any food, as there is a possibility of nighttime munchers. Put away toothbrushes as cockroaches love them, and they are plentiful here. We are assigned bungalows, ours being named "Piraña". We have twin beds again, and we choose the one nearest the bathroom.

Each night during our stay here, we all meet in the bar for drinks and extra salty popcorn before dinner is ready at 7. The paper products on the dining table are minus the roll of toilet paper this time. Instead there are two paper napkins at each place setting, one on each side of the plate. Interesting. Fruit juice is served for lunch and dinner only in large plastic pitchers. Andy makes sure that it is well stirred during the course of the meal. He does this with his knife.

There are usually a couple of other tour groups here. They are seated at different long tables in the large dining room. Sometimes the other groups leave in the morning before we do. On those days, we are free to browse their snack bowls and help ourselves to any of our favorite cookies or fruits that were left behind. Of course we have our own bowl of snacks on our table too, but sometimes the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, in the form of Casino Menta cookies, that is. We also learn that by asking at the kitchen door for something that is not out and readily available, like bananas for instance, that you will be handed not one, but three just washed bananas with a smile. We like this place.

We have learned early on that Joy does not eat her dessert. Sitting next to her will sometimes mean you get hers as a bonus. She has taken a liking to Bill, so he is usually the lucky one. Twice while we are here we are served ice cream. Real ice cream. Whenever there is a spoon upon one of those twin napkins, it means either ice cream or pudding. Such a treat.

After dinner, we retire again to the bar, and arrange the candles on the big table so that we can see our bird lists and begin the process of remembering all of the birds that we have seen or heard that day. Then we make our way quietly to the Piraña bungalow, shining our flashlight on all of the eyes that reflect the light. There are some very interesting creatures out all around us. This includes spiders with green eyes, toads with red eyes, and Pauraques with red flying eyes.

All this time there are house elves busy making the bungalows ready for the night. The water pitcher in the room is filled and the mosquito netting is dropped down and tucked in around the bed. After a couple of nights in our little bed, A & J decide that a bit more padding is needed. So we move the mattress from the unused bed on top of our close-to-the-bathroom bed. Ahh, much better, we think, as we collapse into it. We get the giggles every time as one of us refers to it as the "Princess and the Pea Bed". Easily entertained, us. The travel alarm is set for 5 every morning, and the night sounds of the Amazonian Rain Forest lull us to sleep.