We arrived to Iquitos late in the afternoon and left early the next day to transition between lodges. There was a lot of construction and numerous street closures so our taxi had to drop us off a block away from our hotel. One day was enough time to get a feel for the city, but not enough time to do laundry. Something to think about if we return to the area.
The Tree House Lodge is located at the confluence of the Yarapa and Cumaceba rivers near the Pacaya Samiria Reserve. To get there, we drove about an hour and a half to the city of Nauta and then took a motorized boat for another hour and a half.
The lodge is made up for eleven tree houses (more are currently under construction) connected by thatched-roofed corridors, suspension bridges and stairs winding around tree trunks. Extensive research and planning went into the design and building of the treehouses to ensure safety and care for the trees.
We stayed in Treehouse Seven. It is 65 feet above the ground with a diameter of 18 feet and one of the deepest in the jungle. To get there we walked about 200 feet from the main lodge along the corridors, climbed up a 55 foot spiral staircase and crossed two suspension bridges before entering through the trap door. It was easy during the day. At night, we either walked in the dark or had bugs swarming the lights. So, we generally stayed in the main lodge and enjoyed the hammocks after our afternoon activity and returned to our treehouse after dinner. Intense rain storms woke us up three nights in a row. It was magical to be swaying in a tree, watching the sky light up, and listening to the sound of rain.
After setting into our treehouse, we rode down the river to visit the nearby community of Libertad. They were having a celebration that evening, and we got to see a monkey sitting in the trees on our way back to the lodge.
Carlos and Gyrson, our guide and boat driver made an excellent team. Carlos was an expert with the plants and Gyrson was able to see animals camouflaged in the water or on land. We went on numerous hikes, traveled by boat, and tasted things like juice of the red wine tree, wild peppers, water from a drinkable vine, and cocona. We were offered a worm from a palm tree that is said to taste like coconut, but declined. The chef prepared wild mushrooms we foraged and one of the piranhas we caught. The mushrooms were delicious but the piranha was nothing special (so the meat/fish eaters said).
We went on numerous boat rides and walks to see animals and plants. To name a few of the many animals, we saw osprey, tucans, hawks, egrets, herons, king fishers, macaws, monkeys (tree, wooly, pigmy and sacchi), tree snakes, sloths, iguanas and dolphins. Carlos identified plants that were medicinal, edible or poisonous, as well as the common trees, flowers and vines we walked past. There were giant ant hills and we watched the leaf ants worked day and night. The few bullet ants we observed were very large and got their name from becuase their bite is said to feel like a bullet wound! At night we searched for and found many tarantulas (one was pink-footed), bull frogs, a multitude of spiders, and the eyes of a caiman (luckily not the entire crocodile).
Carlos introduced us to some of his family and friends. One had a chicken farm and several birds. The three-year old grandson carried several of their birds out to show us and then went off to play with a machete. The other family had pet sloths. The male was docile and enjoyed being held.
We also visited the local community of Puerto Miguel (where our boat driver lives). It was fun to see Gyrson with his family. There was a small jail, stores, greenhouse and churches. We also got to see many chickens, puppies, cats and dogs. We even witnessed a very bad dog fight. They had to be separated by locals throwing water on them.
On our last evening we enjoyed a sunset boat ride to watch the dolphins. The Amazon river dolphin in grey or pink is the largest river dolphin. The males can be up to 400 pounds and 8 feet. They were playing and feeding. We even saw one dolphin catch a trout! We saw a rainbow but the camera did not capture the colors well. A great way to end our time in the Amazon.
