During our trip to Peru, my sister wanted to take the opportunity to go on a side trip to Amazon. So she arranged for a 4 day 3 night (from 6/5/2019 to 6/8/2019) all-inclusive tour to Sandoval Lake in Tambopata National Reserve. It turned out to be a very memorable experience (both good and bad).
The Experience
We flew to Puerto Maldonado from Cusco and were picked up by our tour company after some confusion. After finishing some paperwork at their office, we were taken to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Then they drove us to the port where we boarded a motorboat that took us to the checkpoint of the Sandoval Lake Reserve. We arrived at our lodge after a 5 km walk.
After settling, we took a canoe and paddled along the lake to see various wildlife.
By the time we got back to the lodge, it was already dark. My husband went to use the toilet but saw a giant black frog inside! So we went to get a staff member to come help us. But the frog disappeared when he arrived. I would never know the toilet was a great place for hide and seek if it wasn’t for the frog! The staff used his bare hands to touch and feel the inside of the toilet bowl everywhere trying to find the frog but still failed. So he decided to go get some tools. I was shocked to see him putting his unwashed hand on our door knob to open the room door!
Even with the tool, he still couldn’t find the frog. We assumed that the frog had left and decided to have dinner first. After dinner, my husband tried to use the toilet again and the frog reappeared!
But before the staff was able to do anything, the frog leaped out of the toilet!
They finally caught the frog and my husband was able to use the toilet. But then it wouldn’t flush!
When they finally fixed it, it was already 9:30pm and about time for bed (We had to be up super early). We took our tooth brushes and bath towels to the bathroom and were about to get ready for bed when the rooms went completely dark. We found out the next day that they had to generate their own electricity here so it was only on for short periods of time for conservation purposes. But they never informed us! We had to finish what we were doing in complete darkness (and skip parts of the routine and not using our phone flashlights because we couldn’t charge them without electricity).
At dinner on the second night, my sister said their toilet was broken too and asked for a room change. Since I couldn’t get rid of the image of the staff’s hand on our door knob, I also asked for a room change. But the room was even worse. It was smaller than the room last night. The shower stall looked filthy. The toilet bowl and seat didn’t match.
We learned our lesson and got ready for bed early. Sure enough, the electricity was cut off 10 mins earlier than the day before.
Soon after it went dark, I heard a scream next door from my sister’s room. They saw a rat!
My sister asked for another room change.
After everything finally settled down, I was finally about to sleep. But the quietness didn’t last long. Soon I heard all the activities above. Between the room and the attic there was only a layer of mesh screen. Although it was too dark to see (which was probably a good thing), I could imagine the rats busy running around going about their business. It took great will power to ignore all that and try to sleep.
So for the 3-4 days we were there, we woke up super early (around 4am) every day in darkness (The electricity was not turned on until breakfast time but after we complained, it was turned on a little earlier), had breakfast and set out at around 5am. We’d do a little hiking, a little canoe paddling, back for lunch, set out again, back for dinner, and settle for the night.
It turned out that this wasn’t the lodge my sister thought she had booked (which was supposed to be in a much better condition). Maybe it was due to some miscommunication. We were both very disappointed and were relieved when it was time to leave but I was still glad for the experience.
The Food
Despite the condition of the lodge, the food there was delicious. Every dish, however simple and plain it looked, was just delightful to eat. This was actually the part of the tour I was looking forward to every day.
The Lake
This is where we spent most of time. The water was very calm.
Sandoval Lake offers abundant wildlife. We spent our days there observing them.
Alligators
We were told that there were two kinds of alligators at Sandoval Lake, black ones and white ones. We saw plenty during the four days we were there. One night as we were getting off the canoe, there was a black alligator right next to our canoe. We only knew it was there because our tour guide pointed his flashlight right at it.
The Birds
Amazon is a paradise for bird watchers. There were over 40 species of birds.
There were many different species of parrots and macaws. We were told that as long as any of their body parts had a different color, it would be a different species. These parrots and macaws liked to rest very high up in the trees so it was very hard to take clear pictures of them.
The Monkeys
There were also many species of monkeys. The most we saw were red howler monkeys and squirrel monkeys. There were other kinds too. But they disappeared before I was able to point my camera at them.
Giant River Otters
Sandoval Lake is famous for its Giant Otters. These are endangered animals and we were very fortunate to be able to see them.
The Ants
I had seen ants everywhere, but never when they carried leaves much bigger than their bodies in nature. I was a little fascinated seeing them moving about in groups.
The Plants
We spotted a walking palm during one of our hikes. A walking palm appears to be “walking” from shade to sunlight by growing roots in the direction it wants to travel, and allowing the old roots to die. The process takes some time so we weren’t actually able to see it “walk”. But it was very interesting to know.
Also interesting was the cocona fruit. We didn’t really see it in the rainforest. But we had cocona juice for breakfast one day and it was delicious. It tasted a little like pineapple juice but not as sweet. We all loved it so the tour guide showed us what the fruit looked like.
Overall, except for the lodge room, we had a great experience.