This is Lucha and he is my friend

Well! A full day of traveling and some very strange dreams on airport benches later, I am in Puerto Maldonado.

After the interminable plane rides, Peru hit quick. Within 5 minutes of disembarking, a toothless man wielding clipboard with my name had grabbed my hand, grabbed my bag and hoisted us both onto a mototaxi. 3 minutes later, we were jolting and honking along a rocky dirt road and 2 minutes after that, I was plopped in the middle of palm fronds, bungalow key in hand and spidermonkey around my neck. Hello to you too, Peru?

The lodge I'm staying at is called the Anaconda, and consists of about 12 VERY rustic bungalows plunked down in the middle of what is basically a lush botanical garden. There are huge palm trees, gorgeous flowers and monkeys EVERYWHERE. Lucha, the one on my neck, is a pet rescued after his parents were killed by hunters. But Donald and Wadi, the Swiss/Thai couple who run the place, leave bananas out for wild monkeys as well. This morning, I saw a family of tamarinds, spidermonkeys and even a couple howlers. Donald also has a constant companion in Bob (named because he cries like Bob Marley), a very young howler monkey that's rarely seen anywhere but Donald's shoulder. In fact, when Donald decides he´s done and unceremoniously dispatches him by his tail, the thing hisses like a mix between a kitten and an old man clearing his throat. Considering that his little face already looks like a VFW regular, I find this hilarious.

Anyways, the lodge is lovely, (Authentic home cooked Thai food! My own little bungalow with a porch and a hammock! Monkeys!) I'm safe and sound, and I even managed to find the office that's going to take me to the research lodge. So far, so good. Thanks for reading, I'll check in again soon.