Visit to Manu with PANTIACOLLA

Friday (October 2000)

At five o'clock in the morning a minibus picked us up at our hotel. Our group consisted of five Dutch persons: Hanneke, Lenka, Peter, Frank and me, Marijke, then Bill and Brenda, Roy and Laurie from the U.S. and Wolfgang Cecilia from Germany  and Peru. Our guides presented themselves as Janice and David. The minibus took us to a gas station outside the centre where we stepped into a big terrain bus which was going to take us through the mountains to the cloud forest.

In the next village we bought some fresh bread. It tasted a little sweet. On the pass at a height of about 4000m we stopped to take a look at some pre-Inca tombs. We had breakfast in Paucartambo. Then we went into the cloudforest. We saw several American Kestrels and two Roadside Hawks and a lot of vultures high up in the air. After lunch we started to walk. David showed us wild tobacco and Oropendula's building their hanging nests, different Humming Birds and a Green Jay. Just before the Posada Son Pedro we met a family of Brown Capuchin Monkeys. They seemed to be used to people because they didn't run away and looked at us very curious. We reached a lek where the famous Cock of the Rock displays their courtship behaviour twice a day, early in the morning and late in the afternoon. From a platform we could see the beautiful birds very close and listened to their special calls.

Tea and crackers were awaiting us in the brand new Posada San Pedro. After a dinner of delicious mushroom soup, spaghetti and papaya for desert prepared by our cook Orlando, we went to bed early in small open houses, under mosquito nets of course.

Saturday

At seven o'clock we left for a walk, after a breakfast of tasty pancakes. In a turn of the road a small black animal came walking towards us. We looked in the book of the rainforest mammals and we concluded it must have been a Tayra with a black head instead of the white one it is supposed to have. We continued by bus and had a stop at a coca plantation. Ginger plants with beautiful white flowers grew everywhere along this part of the road. Hanneke's lips were painted red with the seeds of the achiote. Along the road we saw some Squirrel monkeys and again a Roadside Hawk.

At a quarter to eleven we reached Atalaya where we met our skipper Carlos and his assistant Melquiades. After the huge amount of luggage was loaded from the bus into the 15m canoe, the boat sped down the strong current of the risen river. Lenka, Hanneke and I chose the front seats to have the best view, but soon we found out that they were having spraying water as well. On the wet clay of the riversides butterflies were feeding on several spots. Hundreds of individuals of the same species clustered together, forming bright spots of orange, yellow and white. Among the vultures we could distinguish four different species: the Black Vulture, the Turkey Vulture, with a red head, and the Greater Yellow-headed Vulture, whose name tells you how it can be recognized. The King Vulture has a lot of white on the wings. Suddenly we saw a big group of Black Vultures sitting on a beach and right in the middle of them a beautiful King Vulture. We could see the colours of the head: red, orange and yellow.

We stopped at Pantiacolla Lodge to drop off a passenger and some supplies. Five minutes later at the river  gas station a boy with a muscled body carried a whole barrel on board by himself. When we continued the trip a Kingfisher crossed the river in front of us and all along we saw Great Egrets (yellow bill, black feet) and Snowy Egrets (black bill and yellow feet).

After a great lunch with a lot of crispy vegetables the first pair of macaws appeared on the scene. The Chestnut-fronted macaw in this case. Three Black Skimmers and a Yellow-billed Tern sit on a beach together with several Giant Cowbirds.

When we reached the village Boca Manu we heard that during the night they had to break down a house that was about to fall down, since the river had come so high that it took all the soil beneath the house away. Compared to the year before the village lost quite a lot of terrain. We bought some coca cola and chips and visited the new toilet. It was extremely expensive. one sol!

There are two women waiting for a ride to the biological station Cocha Cashu. Lili Rodriguez, a Peruvian scientist in the field of frogs, who even wrote a book about them, and Myriam, a Belgian woman, were there to assist a memorial for her son Francis. He was a biologist who was doing research on Dusky Titi monkeys and disappeared while swimming in a nearby lake. Maybe he was attacked and eaten by a caiman .....

We had to go to the airport to camp on the platform since there were no beaches because of the high river level. The two women we picked up started laughing because they landed there with a light aircraft and waited four hours for some one to take them and finally they got a lift to Boca Manu from where we took them back to the airport!

When Lenka went to the toilet we heard a terrible scream and saw her running out of it. There was a toad of at least 25 cm sitting there waiting for the insects that are attracted by the lights of the people visiting the place. Bill discovered a frog and when he grabbed it white foam oozed out of it. It was so sticky that he couldn’t wash it off with water. He had to scrape it off with mud. The cicades organized loud concerts.

Sleeping on the platform is not easy: when someone moves the whole floor shakes.

Sunday

Wake-up call at 5:30. The breakfast table has been put on the edge of the river. We have granola and yogurt.

Again we go to Boca Manu where we load a pump for the toilet and shower of the next camping place. We turn up the river Manu and have to sign the register of the Manu Reserve. There are some Tinamous in the garden and some Black Vultures on the roof. A bunch of shouting parakeets in the trees and pairs of macaws flying off and on. When we continue the boat trip we notice Side-necked turtles in this river and more species of herons: the White-necked, the Blue-capped and the Cattle Egret. The Drap Water Tyrant passes by and rows of Sand-coloured Nighthawks are perching on the logs of wood that are stuck in the river together with White-winged Swallows. On the beach more Black Skimmers and a Large-billed Tern and some Pied Lapwings. Then we get the most beautiful performance of a Swallow-tailed Kite flying alongside the boat for some time, then taking a sip of the water in full flight. Lots of trees contain big termite nests. In one of them we discover a Bat Falcon. The Tropical Kingbird is everywhere present as are the macaws. Most of them are the Red and Green Macaws and some are Blue and Yellow. If they are too far away to see the colours we call them 'Black macaws'!! Sometimes big butterflies with bright blue wings rest on one of our backpacks and fly away again before you can take a picture of them.

For lunch we have again a plate full of vegetables. Half past three we get out of the boat and we walk about 30 minutes to Cocha Salvador. We see Woolly Monkeys, Brown Capuchins and Squirrel Monkeys. The tents are already put up and we grab our bathing suits and go by boat to a beach to dive in the river to remove the sweat. Just before dark we return to the camp. The dinner tent is that hot that most of us prefer to sit outside. Fortunately there are not too many mosquitoes. At nine o'clock everybody is asleep.

Monday

At five the guides woke us up and half an hour later we left for a walk to the lake. As soon as we arrived we spotted the first Giant Otters. Quietly we got aboard of the catamaran and David and Melquiades paddled gently to the fishing otters that took little notice of us and went on diving and surfacing with big fish, that they devoured with a lot of noise. At first we see only four adults and one half grown who is begging for a piece of their catch. Later we count seven or even eight individuals.

We leave the otters in peace and concentrate on the birds. Several Hoatzins, strange prehistorical creatures with 'punk' heads . At birth the young have claws on their wings so they can climb back up if they fall from the nest in the take. There is a lot of bird-activity. Redcapped Cardinals sit on the bushes, three different species of Kingfishers fly past, the Purple Granule and the Grey-necked Woodrail walk on the lakeside, the Lesser Kiskadees are catching insects. Chestnut-fronted Macaws are nesting in a dead tree, two Red‑necked Woodpeckers, a Yellow-rumped Cacique and a Black-fronted Nunbird show themselves quite well while two Cuvier's Toucans play hide and seek with us.

Back at the campsite we enjoyed our breakfast with omelettes. From ten-thirty to one o'clock we walked around. We didn't see many animals but we receive a lot of explanation about the different plants and their competition for light and space. There is a small tree species that has ants living inside the stern. There is a wide circle of empty space around this tree, because the ants remove every other plant in the neighbourhood. The hike ends on the beach, where we can swim again. The boat brings us back for lunch. The American biologists Roy, Bill and Laurie were trying to determinate the name of a green snake that some passing Peruvians had caught. It bit Roy in his finger and somewhat later, after counting all the rows of scale, they find out the name.. .... the very poisonous Parrotsnake! Janice is already having her extractor-set at hand, but in the meantime the Peruvians decide this is absolutely not the Parrotsnake. This species is not in the book. David knows the local name, but not the scientific name. Then it is released and some pictures are taken. It is behaving a little strange at first, shaking its head in disbelief over such a treatment, but after exploring the kitchen it climbs back up a tree.

After a siesta there was another walk which went to the lake again with a long detour. Laurie and Marijke chose to take the shortcut with Melquiades. Arriving at the platform, David’s group were already there for sometime and they watched a big Black Caiman that appeared with a scaring growling sound to chase away another caiman, that disappeared quickly. They also spotted a Scarlet Macaw.

We waited until complete darkness and got aboard the catamaran. With the flashlight we searched for reflecting caiman eyes. Melquiades succeeded in catching a small one. A White Caiman. Several pictures were taken. Bigger caimen did not come forward, so this was a little disappointing. On the walk back we found two very special mushrooms: white net-like structures with a very nasty smell. Laurie discovered a beautiful black and green poison-arrow-frog near the toilet and Roy took pictures of course.

Tuesday

Wake‑up at half past five. Delicious breakfast with omelettes at six. We took the boat upstream. There we walked to a wooden tower to look for otters. we didn't see any in the lake, but later found one in the river. A Violacous Jay showed his blue feathers in the sunlight. Big groups of Woodstorks circled overhead and some landed on the beach. On the next beach a White Caiman (almost three meters long) rested near a big group of Jaribus. David discovered four Capibaras (one big, one middle size and two babies). Cook Orlando prepared a wonderful lunch of rice and crispy vegetables, while skipper Carlos kept the boat going. Assistant Melquiadez was sitting in the front as a watch-out for the many trees that were floating in the river and had to be avoided. We stopped to check out at the guard post of Limonal. Next stop is Boca Manu to buy some coca cola and chocolate and visit the expensive toilet again. Camp for the night was on the beach opposite the village. We enjoyed the fresh popcorn by the light of lanterns made of plastic water bottles. Dinner of ‘atun-saltado’ with rice tasted good. Again we were lucky not to have too many mosquitoes

Wednesday

At five o'clock Peter and Marijke took a quick swim and at five-thirty the boat left for short ride to the Macaw lick. In the hide a breakfast of tasty pancakes was served while it floated gently towards the lick: a steep beach consisting of a special type of clay that the birds seem to need every day. It is not exactly known why, maybe to neutralize the toxic contents of seeds they eat. They follow the same pattern every day: first the small parakeets come down to the lick. They leave and an hour later the macaws start approaching.

We observed the Blue-headed Parakeet with the yellow cheeks, some Mealies and one Yellow-crowned. A couple of Cobalt-winged ones were observed in the trees around the lick. Then the boat retreated to the other side of the river and from there we continued our observations. We had to be further away because the big macaws are much easier frightened than the smaller birds. We counted up to a hundred Red-and-green Macaws. Only one Scarlet and three Blue-and-Yellow ones. At ten‑thirty our boat picked us up to bring us to a place from where we walked to a newly built tower which stands next to a capok tree about 40 meters high. When completed one can enter a platform in the top of the tree, but at that moment it was not ready yet.

At Tambo Blanquillo Lodge we had lunch of big beans, red beets and rice. Some of us prefer to stay at the lodge in the afternoon, but they miss a ride with a luxury catamaran with deckchairs, and the observation of two Giant Otters, a Snailkite eating a snail and a beautiful Green Kingfisher. The spaghetti tasted good and the desert this time is pudding and tea with rum!

Thursday

After breakfast at six, we left for the airport, three hours by boat, where we arrived at ten o'clock sharp. The plane brought us fresh supplies of meat and bread, but it took away from us Janice, Lenka and Peter. We took a group picture and said good‑bye. Then back to Boca Manu for fuel and at half past twelve we took off for our journey back Pantiacolla Lodge. At lunch we discovered Brussels sprouts in the macaroni with tuna. We didn't know they grow them over here! In the treetops we saw several Roadside Hawks and Marijke studied the vultures that are almost always present in the air. She remarked that you can see the difference by the pattern of the wings. The Black Vulture has lighter spots at the handfeathers, while the Turkey Vulture has dark frontsides of the wings and lighter backsides. The wings of the Yellow-headed Vulture don't have a pattern, they are all dark. A beautiful Roseate Spoonbill shows us where its name comes from by spreading its wings in the sunlight. Later we saw more individuals of those wonderful birds. The skipper had difficulties maneuvering the boat through some shallow places. Two times a pair of Macaws passed overhead. They are together for life and they always betray their presence through their raw cries. An Osprey was spotted and we met it again after a while. At half past five we reached Pantiacolla Lodge. Before dinner we took a hike and met a more than beautiful poison-arrow-frog: red on the head and the back, green stripes along his sides and bright blue on the belly.

Friday

The real diehards started to walk at six‑thirty in the rain! We took the 'Monki Saki Trail'. A Red Howler Monkey and two Saddleback Tamarins showed themselves beautifully. A Crested Orupendula was discovered by David in the treetops high above. We hoped for more frogs in this rainy weather and though we heard a lot of them no one came out to show themselves. Suddenly we heard a lot of noise. We saw Bill tying on the ground and feared that he was hit by a failing branch. But he had not hurt himself and was laughing. He tried to imitate Tarzan and in doing so he broke a liana with a length of some 15 m, which was now lying on top of him. We passed the place where an Ocelot was sighted last year, but there was nothing there this time. A little further we looked at a hole dug by an Anteater. These animals live at night and you hardly ever see them by day.

After a late breakfast some enthusiastic people walk the 'Capybara Trail' and observe a Whitebellied Parrot. Raoul, our host in Pantiacolla Lodge, served us a delicious lunch: potato pie with tuna and crispy vegetables. The afternoon was for the last walk: the ‘Aracari Trail'. Some of us stayed behind to rest and read in the hammock.

At seven we gather around the dinner table but Bill was still missing. We already began to think of organizing search-patrols with torches as he turned up at five minutes past seven. It was quiet at the table. We missed Lenka and Peter. We went to bed early, because we would have a long travel the following day.

Saturday

04:45 am Good morning! Breakfast is ready: fresh pancakes and hot tea. Most of us are in the boat by six, but not everybody is that fast early in the morning. It is still chilly when we leave and we have to wear warm clothes. I think most of us are still sleepy, because we don't discover many birds or animals on our trip to Atalaya. We arrive there a quarter past nine. Goodbye Carlos and Melquiades, thank you for your skills to take us everywhere in your fast boat.

The four-wheel-drive bus is taking us to Pilcopata, where we have an early lunch. Bill buys a plastic tube to transport the bow and arrow he bought at the airport of Boca Manu.

We start to drive at eleven-thirty and we stop at five at the San Pedro Lodge to visit the toilets. During the trip through the cloudforest we see a lot of butterflies. The big bright blue ones ('Morphos') are particularly nice. Around ten o'clock we arrive in Cusco, tired but very satisfied!

Thank you David and Janice for your attentive and enthusiastic guiding and thank you Marianne for this very well organized trip!

Marijke Kruyt  (biologist and travel guide SNP - Nijmegen - Holand).  

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