all photos © Rose Mary Boehm
Photo hunt in the Puruvian Rainforest
Everyone has some idea what the rainforest may be like. We have seen it in the cinema and on TV. I hadn't reckoned with the heat and the insects and the fireflies and the noises made by animals and insects just before complete darkness, which, of course, never comes. There are the moon and the stars and dancing lights on the water... the cockerel has no idea when it's a decent time to call it a day, he struts, uneasy about his harem, and makes sure they know he's there from about 4.00 am every 20 minutes or so. Even though I am almost a vegetarian, I wish the frying pan on him.
Non-ostentatious boats with small outboard motors bring produce to market or transport workers to the chacras, silent canoes glide along the lake's coastline, the locals fishing for telapia. Lunch by the lake. Either fish or meat, but both with fried bananas. Orchids hang casually from trees or grow in the crock of a branch, ferns much taller than I am, waterfalls and large, colourful butterflies. Then there is that moist film on your skin wherever you go (except in the boat on the water), the 'moto-taxis', the downpours which make walking almost impossible, the giant ants, cacao and coffee plantations. Don't put on perfume or aftershave or the beasties will eat you.
This place is on the Laguna Azul, or Laguna Sauce, one of the most beautiful places on earth. It's not given to you on a platter: flying to Tarapoto (Provincia de San Martin), then one hour until the mighty Huallaga River, crossing the river on tin cans (well, almost), then another hour on dirt roads... I could fill pages. Let's enjoy the photos instead.
Photo hunt in the Puruvian Rainforest
Everyone has some idea what the rainforest may be like. We have seen it in the cinema and on TV. I hadn't reckoned with the heat and the insects and the fireflies and the noises made by animals and insects just before complete darkness, which, of course, never comes. There are the moon and the stars and dancing lights on the water... the cockerel has no idea when it's a decent time to call it a day, he struts, uneasy about his harem, and makes sure they know he's there from about 4.00 am every 20 minutes or so. Even though I am almost a vegetarian, I wish the frying pan on him.
Non-ostentatious boats with small outboard motors bring produce to market or transport workers to the chacras, silent canoes glide along the lake's coastline, the locals fishing for telapia. Lunch by the lake. Either fish or meat, but both with fried bananas. Orchids hang casually from trees or grow in the crock of a branch, ferns much taller than I am, waterfalls and large, colourful butterflies. Then there is that moist film on your skin wherever you go (except in the boat on the water), the 'moto-taxis', the downpours which make walking almost impossible, the giant ants, cacao and coffee plantations. Don't put on perfume or aftershave or the beasties will eat you.
This place is on the Laguna Azul, or Laguna Sauce, one of the most beautiful places on earth. It's not given to you on a platter: flying to Tarapoto (Provincia de San Martin), then one hour until the mighty Huallaga River, crossing the river on tin cans (well, almost), then another hour on dirt roads... I could fill pages. Let's enjoy the photos instead.
all photos © Rose Mary Boehm