Otters, Monkeys & Futbol

Today we were awakened early by howler monkeys (which was followed by a wake-up call from our guide) to go into the jungle and take out the catamaran again. We were lucky and the otters were out in the lake again. We watched them play and eat fish they'd caught. Our guide told us when they caught a fish that they had to float on their backs and hold their hands out of the water to eat the fish, or they would be sharing it with the piranha in the lake. We also saw some very very large black caiman. Needless to say, I was grateful they were not interested in our boat. After our catamaran ride, we walked back to camp to have breakfast.

After a brief rest, those that were interested left on a 2 hour walk. The girls and I stayed back, Meghan and Helen we're not feeling 100% at the time and we had the option of going with the boat to the Matsiguenka Lodge and only riding 15 mins. The Matsiguenka are an indiginous tribe in this area of the jungle. They run a lodge for the 2-3 tour groups who do not have their own campsites (like our company). The women of the tribe make small cloth-like bags from tree bark (and some cloth bags made from cotton - although where they get the cotton is a mystery to me) and jewelry using seeds and shells found in the jungle with some store-bought beads.

While we were waiting for the walking group to arrive, the people on our boat challenged the locals to a soccer match (the goals were already set up). The girls and I had a good time watching - every time the ball was kicked out of bounds, someone had to go find it in the jungle (perhaps a little different than what we're used to seeing). When the walking party finally did arrive, they staged a Peruvian vs Non Peruvian game. This was even more fun to watch, as the younger guys on our trip were playing full on. After the game ended (I have no idea who won) we returned via boat to our campsite and an enormous lunch consisting of corn, potato, yucca, sweet potato, beef, and beans.

After lunch and some down time, we took the boat across the river in search of wooley monkeys. We took a 2 hour hike that took us past some enormous trees, the Capoc being the largest tree in the jungle. Not only did we see wooley monkeys, but we watched in complete fascination while at least 15 red squirrel monkeys played "Follow The Leader" jumping from tree to tree and limb to limb. Hilarious! I got a short video on Helen's camera, the monkeys are the little blobs you see jumping from limb to limb (it was much more exciting watching with my eyes, I do admit.

Back to the campsite for a late dinner. In the early dark (it gets dark before 6), we seem to go to bed fairly early but I think we are also good and tired from our early mornings and busy days. Sleeping under the mosquito net is getting less novel, but I am so grateful I am not covered in bites like Meghan is. She was in some serious pain this evening and will have an uneasy time sleeping in her current state. Hopefully we won't get many more bites in the next couple days.