Where to begin...?

We have recently returned from what I think we will both agree was one of the best weeks of the trip! Though Esther will complain that there wasn´t enough hugging of the wildlife for her liking - I dont think the tapirs would have been so happy with that arrangement.

The first day involved driving from Cusco to the cultural outskirts of the rainforest and through the Cloud Forest on what was a nail biting bus journey complete with burst tyre and nearly reversing off the side of a sheer drop along the side of the dirt track that in England would be a one way road or at least have some sort of traffic light system! Our driver however seemed to know every bend in the road and we made it to our first stop alive and well!

On this rather precarious journey we made various different stops to look at wildlife and birds many birds! The first of theses stops was a lake similar to one you might find in essex so thrilling! I abused the bird watching world at this point but by the end of the trip i have to admit i had become a bit of an avid twitch. But while we were at the lake i wandered off and spend more time trying to photograph cows than birds, whilst most other people got out there crazy big binoculars and cameras with lens the size of a tree trunks and started to get all excited about the different kinds of moor hens. (and yes by the end of the week i was also entering into conversations about the different species of Heron and so forth).

Along with Esther I stood at the side of the lake thinking this might just be a very long week. However , surrounded by other members of our group looking like they had been doing this all their lives I put my binoculars to my eyes and ummmed and ahhed at the birds the guide was pointing out...the majority of which looked like ducks.

As the day went on however we learnt that we were not the only ones 'faking it' as twitchers. For an american couple scot and Adam this was also their first journey into the bird watching world and like me they were struggling to see exactly what we were meant to be looking at. I think we all improved over time but each of us definately had our own areas of interest and expertise!

I have to agree with leigh as i definatley had a constant struggle to see or understnd what bird was what, to me they were all BJ´s. Which in the bird watching world as now know is a brown job or an unidentifiable bird. (look at me with my knowledge).

The journey for me was similar to other journey,s where i was often asleep. But on this occasion when i woke up`the landscape had changed again from dusty mountains to green and lush cloud forest. Its amazing how quickly it all changed, it did really confused me though as each time i woke up i kept thinking i had been asleep for a day and was possibly on another trip!

On arrival at the c*** of the Rock Lodge (named after a famous Andean bird before you ask!) I think it is safe to say Es and I were a little concerned we may have snuck in on the wrong trip and someone would soon discover us and throw us out! As much as we tried to get it, the staff insist on carrying your bags to your rooms. In these rooms we were provided with fluffy white towels and minature soap and shampoo (I shouldnt really be telling you that as Im pretty sure someone will be getting it as a gift!). The mosquito nets on our beds made it look like some sort of fairytale along with eveything being lit by candle light. It was a truely magical place with amazing smells and sounds. This was just a tiny indicator of what was to come.

I have to agreee with leigh that the lodge was the Jungles answer to the Ritz especially as i had been expecting canvas or a bit of bamboo housing.

Jungle life really started for me when i went out that evening looking for i dont really know , but i tagged along with a couple from the netherlands. The man of the couple was a vet at home and an expert in exotic pets and a serious frog and snake fan. So i pretty much glued myself to him and his girlfriend most of the week. Bless them they were probaly hoping for a romantic stroll through the jungle but they had a nattering Essex girl tagging along with them, asking a hundred questions about bugs, snakes, frog, basically anything that moved. "whats this?", "whats that noise?" "can i pick this up or will it kill me?. That nighti saw loads of really werid animals, frogs, bugs bigger than my hand and the weridest of all a spider crossed with a scorpion. Also we heard bears moving around us, at this point i did poo my pants a little as it would have been a real shame to have been eaten by a bear on the first day, perhaps a snake bite or mulled to death by a Jagur sounds a bit more exotic but lucky for me none of the above happened.

To finished i must just tell you the best part about the lodge were the monkeys that we shared our breakfast with! They were obviously aware of how the tourist thing worked as they werent afraid of us at all as they knew after we had had our fill they would be coming in to have there cup of tea and bread and jam!