Rest Day In Puerto Maldonado

So we were ready to leave the Eco lodge by 8:00 AM. We hiked back down the path (the one with the zillion stairs). It was so much easier going down. Then back into the boat and down the river for 2.5 hours. We stopped once more at the Control Checkpoint, where all the river traffic is required to stop and register, this to help in controlling illegal mining in the rainforest. The miners use mercury to process the gold and it is killing the rainforest and the animals. The lodges are very proud of the fact that, because they populate the river, they can help monitor the illegal activity. One of the guides told us that the lodges are constantly calling in the police on the illegal mining and poaching activities, allowing the authorities to use their boats and other resources, and helping in any ways they can. They say that the Eco lodges (and the tourist money) are the last line of defence against these kinds of damaging activity in the rainforest. It's all terribly sad. So we head back down the river, we land in the community of Infierno, hop on a bus and trek back to the lodge's city station in Puerto Maldonado. There we hop into a cab and drive to a hotel in the city. We later learned that it was the hotel in Puerto Maldonado. Not as in the only, but as in the best. I had not been sure months ago about booking a hotel for the night instead of moving onto th next stop (Ica via Lima), but today I was sooo glad that I had booked a rest day for us. The hotel was a wonderful mix of Eco-ness and air conditioning. Located on the river banks of the Tambopata River, with a pool and great little restaurant...we played and splashed and rested in AC. It was a GREAT day. Fun fact: there was a live tarantula in the pool at the hotel. It wasn't a big thing for us, now being rainforest tested and all...haha  

Hotel in Puerto Maldonado

Hotel was buried in a small forest beside the river

 

Pool at hotel