A welcome to the jungle from the king of the jungle
Early morning flight to Puerto Maldonado where we'll start our journey into the Tambopata National Reserve. The folks from Rainforest Expeditions meet us at the Puerto Maldonado airport and take us back to their office to rendezvous with others heading upriver into Tambopata. The welcoming committee at the office includes Ivan, our guide; Antonio, another guide and possibly the funniest person we've ever met; and the cutest pink-toed tarantula we've ever seen. Actually, it's the only pink-toed tarantula we've ever seen, but that didn't make it any less cute.
After a quick, 45-minute drive down a dirt road highlighted by Antonio's stand-up routine, we arrive at the port.
The porters must be wearing red capes under their t-shirts because they are carrying superhero loads of luggage and bags down to the motorized canoes. And doing it all with huge smiles on their faces.
We board a canoe with Ivan, Antonio, Ramon (our captain), and Richard and Gemma, two newlyweds from England. Ivan gives us the jungle version of fast food, delicious chicken fried rice wrapped in a banana leaf. Add in a juice box and you've got the perfect picnic. It's a gorgeous day, we're on a boat, meeting new people, eating good food--life just doesn't get much better than this. Or so we think.
The view from the canoe is awe inspiring--capped herons, chestnut-fronted macaws, yellow-headed vultures, red-and-green macaws, russet-backed oropendolas, a crimson-crested woodpecker, capybaras (the world's largest rodent), crane hawks, and a squirrel cuckoo. As it turns out, that was just the opening act!
Everyone told us not to expect to see a jaguar. They're shy, there aren't that many of them, they're mainly out at night, yadda yadda yadda. Even Ivan tries to manage our expectations, but we know. Just know. And there, on the first day, as if to welcome us to his world, is a jaguar. A JAGUAR! Sitting on the bank, he looks at us in a rather bored fashion, obviously not as excited to see us as we are to see him. After a minute or two, he stands up, turns around, and walks slowly back into the jungle. We're at a loss for words and just stare back at the spot where he was, huge goofy grins on our faces.
We arrive at Refugio Amazonas fully expecting to rough it in the jungle. Who knew it would be so nice! This place is gorgeous. The main lodge has two floors and everything is open so you can see the jungle everywhere you look. The rooms are simple but beautiful and very comfortable. The people are so friendly and helpful. Dinner is delish. We will discover as the week goes on that the food, while simple, is fresh and always delicious. And who knew you could get such killer cocktails in the jungle? Blue Morpho, Forest Fever, Amazonian Paradise. Our vote: definitely the Blue Morpho. But just to be sure, we recommend you follow our lead and try them all!
The agent had great response to questions and coordinated well to create an itinerary that met our expectations.
Bob Sunshine
1 day ago
Very responsive to all questions
Teresa Cardoso
2 days ago
Kelly and Rhenee were excellent to work with on planning our trip. The logistics all worked smoothly and everyone was friendly and on time. Our accommodations were very good, particularly the incredible Patagonia Camp in Torres del Paine! Our guides on every excursion were outstanding and made the hikes memorable! Overall we had a wonderful trip with incredible memories!
Scott Gibson
2 days ago
Adventure Life is definitely a first-class safari tour company, and our representative was Franny Friesz. First of all, she responded immediately after we contacted Adventure Life. We told Franny that we had never been on a safari, and she was more than eager to offer a mountain of information about the trip. She informed us fully about all the ups, downs, and all arounds! She even prepared a number of packages for us to review -- even after we made changes to the areas we wanted to explore. Friendly, helpful, professional, and extremely knowledgeable -- these words describe Franny, and what a wonderful trip she prepared! We couldn't have asked for better service than Franny of Adventure Life. We HIGHLY recommend her and her outstanding company! Bon Voyage!
Prima Burke
3 days ago
The staff at Adventure Life made planning my family's trip to the Galapagos Islands as easy as possible. They listened to what we were hoping to experience and made thoughtful suggestions about how to accomplish our vacation goals while meeting the needs of travelers ages 17-76! They patiently answered questions and follow up questions in the months leading up to the trip. They helped us trouble shoot and customize the trip in every way possible. The logistics involved in traveling from Boston to the Galapagos are innumerable. The Adventure Life staff helped us arrange every detail and the team they assembled in the Galapagos was tremendous. I have never done a trip this big before and after working with Adventure Life this time--would not hesitate one second in working with them again.