Loading search...
A client travelled on our 'Peru's Rainforest Mammals' holiday and submitted this entry to our writing competition.
Black Howler Monkey by Mike Galtry
As she fell face down in the water, we didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Thankfully, after a second or two, she laughed ... and boy how she did laugh, therefore we were all rather relieved to laugh with her. We were in the Amazon rainforest in Peru, generally having a great time, even in the rain. Hey it was the rainforest. Most of the week we were lucky and had managed to avoid the rain when it mattered. However, on the day in question we were due to go out early, as usual, but we were warned that it was due to rain heavily. If it did we were told to stay in bed and wait for it to dry off. I woke up early, but it was raining heavily. I went back to sleep, but woke up again about an hour later by falling out of bed when the howler monkeys started up. That was the second time I did that, but I didn’t mind as it’s always special to hear animals in their natural environment.
Eventually the rain eased enough for us to make our way to the dining room for breakfast. As we ate another wonderful meal and chatted about the amazing thunder and lightning show of the previous night, one of our guides suggested going for a walk in the forest to look for the last standing Mahogany tree. It was still raining, but really more of a drizzle now, so everyone agreed. It took a little while for everyone to (rain) suit up and find wellies to fit, but once that was done we all headed out in good spirits.
There really had been a lot of rain in the night, paths we had easily walked along the day before were now flooded and, at times, it was more like negotiating an assault course. It was whilst crossing one of these flooded paths that one of our group slipped and fell into the water. Time really did stand still until someone grabbed her and pulled her out. Then the laughing started and did not stop for some time. I seem to remember one or two other people also ending up in the water before we all eventually calmed down and moved on. The walk lasted about four hours and was definitely one of the highlights of the trip, even though not one single animal was spotted.
I always say that to go on a wildlife holiday you need to have a sense of humour and that trip to Peru was the perfect example. Most mornings we had to be up between 4 and 5 am, except the day we were to head up river to visit a clay lick. We hoped to see macaws and parakeets and to be able to get there in time we had to be up at 3.30am. When we got off the boat we then had a long hike up and down, but mainly up, a slippery path till we got to the hide. Shortly after we arrived the parakeets started to land in the trees around us; the sound was incredible. Unfortunately, after several false dawns they did not visit the lick and instead flew off up the river.
Tired, cold and a little hungry, but undeterred, we headed back down the path to another hide, hoping this time to see the macaws. One or two visited, but it soon became obvious that they were not going to arrive in great numbers. Not to worry - a troop of Spider Monkeys were soon spotted heading to the clay lick we had been at earlier. Once again we climbed up the path and sat quietly in the hide watching mesmerised as the troop visited the lick and ate the clay. The sitting quietly part was not so easy this time, as we were bombarded with flies and a little bee somehow found its way up my trouser leg and stung me on the knee. I’m still quite proud of the fact that I did not make a sound, even though it felt like I was being stabbed with a large needle.
I decided to visit Peru as I wanted to experience something different and it certainly was. Although I did not see many animals, what I did see will live long in the memory – my first hummingbird, the Giant Otters, the Pink-toed Tarantula that looked as if it was on its way to a disco and the line of Leaf-cutter Ants that literally went on for miles. These sightings and, of course, the laughter shared with my fellow travellers, the guides and all the staff who looked after us in the rainforest led to a special trip that I will never forget.
Read more about our 'Peru's Rainforest Mammals' holiday.