From the very beginning of our trip we just knew it will be a very special trip and that it was a top choice of a tour company. Crees who I researched in advance are promoting a sustainable Amazon. The profit from the tours goes to the Manu Learning centre and to support the research and volunteering.

http://www.crees-manu.org/

As an introduction I can say that Manu is situated in the heart of the Madre de Dios region of the south eastern Amazon of Peru only 70 miles from the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. The Manu Biosphere Reserve was established by UNESCO in 1977 as part of their Man and Biosphere Programme and The Manu National Park was declared a World Heritage Site ten years later in 1987.

Our trip started when Ronnie, our guide, and Julio, the driver picked us up at 6:10 from the hostel and then we picked up a Dutch couple: Maurtis and Esther. We stopped a few miles outside of Cusco in Oropesa - a national capital of bread, to pick up some delicious bread and hear from Ronnie about the local bakers, mainly families that can produce up to 5,000 breads a day if only they could sell them.. Some of the breads are fancy shapes such as horses or a dolls and colorfully decorated - they are for special occassions. The wood they use in the bread owens is eucalyptus and the bread has a slight sweet taste due to brown sugar, plus it contains aniseed.

Other local villiges specialise also in one type of food, Sayalaya in chicharros (fried pork), pork skin marinated in lemon and fried or Tipon in cuy, fried guinea pig that I still need to taste.

We have been driving along the Urubamba river, passing Peruvian women carrying babies on their back wrapped up in colourful peruvian blankets heading with them to work, mainly on fields of wheat of vegetables. Then the road started to go up and the serpentines has started. The road has been build only a year ago and what is interesting the steep rocky side has been still dropping debris onto the road. Nobody was fazedby that and needless to say we have been driving on the outside as the inside was more often than not not driveable due to large tent sixe rocks blocking the lane!

A dirt road has started at 4000m a.s.l. Still feeling good, no sign of altitude sickness.

As we have been passing the local villages or small settlements Ronnie showed us a Peruvian dog which apparently is great for rheumatism and people even sleep with them to help with it. Also we found out that most of the agricultural work is being done manually and that sometimes traktors can be rented for 50-70 soles an hour (up to 20GBP).

CONTINUED:

Next stop was Paucartambo where we stayed a bit longer, tasted local chicha, a fermented corn drink of about 2%, watched black corn sellers - you make chicha morada, not fermented pink drink out of it, and seen dried byt frost potatoes that last ages. Also learnt that you can recognise if a woman is married by the colour of flowers in her hair or if her plaits are loose that means she is single as opposed to the plaits ends being tied together.

We also tasted Inka Cola, Peruvian version of Coca Cola, owned by Coca Cola now. Apparently it deserves its nuclear yellow colour and taste to verbena and lemon grass. I am not so sure about it...

We continued the journey heading up the mountains to 3500m a.s.l. towards the entrance to Manu National Park in the mist. The entrance lies high up in a point where two different climates meet. From there we started descending through foggy cloud forest. First stop from there was our lunch, which we ate just on the side of the road giving us opportunity to listen to the sounds of birds and simply watch the rainforest. Lunch was delicious as usual, quinoa salad, Peruvian chocolate cake and coffee of tea.

We also stopped many times when Ronnie or Julio managed to spot a bird or an animal during the ride. We jumed out of the van with binoculars and Ronnies amazing telescope for a bird watching session. On one of this stops we accidently come across a group of super cute Wooly Monkeys that were playing in the trees and then decided to cross the road just meters away from us!

After a few hours of ride the tarmac road was replaced with a dirt road. Still it was a never ending downwards serentine. Here we were crossing multiple streams cutting the road and in a few cases also the waterfalls that were the source of these streams. Important thing to remember was to close the windows - just as in a car wash! Weather was still foggy and not warm yet.

Eventually we reached our accommodation for the night - the Cock-of-the-Rock lodge, named after the national bird of Peru. Following Ronnie's advise we rushed towards the dinning room, a separate outbuilding with one side open to face the forest. He expected that the monkeys we have just seen will be there. And we were not disappointed. Absolutely cute and mischievous! Stole all bananas and disappeared! Then we concentrated on humming birds which drank from the feeders water mixed with brown sugar - only a meter far away from us!

Then it was time to unpack. Mine and Julianne's hut was number 2, completely build out of timber with two beds with mosquito nets above them. The bathroom had a shower with hot water which is a luxury here, in such a remote location. Even in Peru Julianne told me taps have only cold water. We were told before the trip to take with us head torches as there was no electricity in the lodges. We had a few candles in the room but were warned better not to use it - everything here was timber! At the entrance door I spotted a basket with sand and a whistle in case of fire.

With the headlamps we walked through the darkness towards the dinning room again for a meal this time and to charge batteries over only two hours available to us. When there is no electricity bed time comes faster. So straight after dinner we walked back to our huts, covered the beds with mosquito nets and our selves with mosquito spray DEET 50% and fell asleep really fast. Early start tomorrow again, 5am.

Morning came fast and after a breakfast of omlete, bread and jam we left the lodge on foot to try to see more animals. First Cappucin Monkeys but also a lovely lime gree catepillar that was trying to cross the road. Just as we were watching it a lorry approached. It survived the front wheel but the second wheels rolled over it. R.I.P. green catepillar!