Land and Water, Tambopata and Lago Sandoval – Peruvian Amazon

Peru

Land and Water, Tambopata and Lago Sandoval – Peruvian Amazon

We’re Jungle Girls Now!

The morning of our trip to Tambopata National Reserve started very early. On the boat at 5:30 and immediately headed down the river for a 20 minute boat ride. When we arrived at the Tambopata dock it was still dark outside.

Early Morning River.

Map of Tambopata National Reserve.

We had a 3km hike through the jungle ahead of us. We heard a lot of birds but didn’t see any animals on the hike. The sun came up during our walk but it was a bit of an overcast cooler day so it never got too hot. The pathway is quite muddy but luckily the built a wooden boardwalk raised above the path to keep us out of the mud.

Turning into real Jungle Girls now!

Tambopata, Fun Name to Say!

Nice Boardwalk Along the Mud.

3km later we ended up at a small inlet with several boats crowded around. John loaded out group into one of the boats, luckily we were in the front and off he started paddling. Through the jungle we headed and it was very cool! This part felt like true exploring and was really pretty. No animals in here but there were a few birds!

Map of the Lake.

Boats Just Waiting For Us!

Front of the Boat Perspective.

Front of the Boat Pack!

Here We Come Through the Watery Jungle.

Eventually we ended up at Lago Sandoval and it was a huge lake. The goal here was to see the giant otters but apparently animals like it when it’s sunny so we didn’t see any otters. John paddled us around the entire lake.

Lago Sandoval!

Was About as Cold as it Looks.

Honorary Members of Bird Watchers International.

Scan the Treetops for Something Interesting!

The coolest thing we saw was a bunch of tiny bats lined up on a tree. Lago Sandoval would be a bird watchers dream, we saw so many birds and zero mammals. We had a packed breakfast on the lake before heading back out.

What’s That There on the Tree Trunk?

Oh, Just a Bunch of BATS!

Packed Breakfast!

Cocoi Heron.

Hoatzin.

Anhinga.

And This Little Guy!

On a Mission.

The boat ride back to where we started was just as cool as the beginning so I was glad to do that part again.

Headed Back to Land.

Elise Loved the Jungley Bits.

Awake From Their Lake Naps.

A Child’s Dream, a Trip to Monkey Island You can read all about that here.

Hiding Away!

After exiting the boat we headed back down the same wooden boardwalk. Still no animals but the sun did come out a bit and that warmed us up and dried us out. This gave a little more time to explore and look at some of the trees and plants better.

Trees Were Way Bigger Than Us!

On the Lookout for Sloths.

Amazon Berries.

Amazon Mushrooms.

Lush Rainforest.

Jungle!

Find the Gecko in the Tree.

Before we boarded the boat John spotted howler monkeys really high up in the tree. Couldn’t really see them but it was fun to feel like animals were actually in the area.

This Ant Was Working Hard Below the Monkeys and We Could See Him!

Finally we ended with a boat ride back to lodge and straight on to lunch.

Headed to a Nap!

Cruising Down the River.

We’re pretty confident that had the weather been a little warmer and a bit more sunny we would have seen those giant otters. John seemed a little bummed he couldn’t share them with us. The otters were probably just spending the day with the pink dolphins. Maybe this is encouragement for us to visit again someday.