POSADA AMAZONAS HOLISTIC

4D/3N ITINERARY

DAY 1

PUERTO MALDONADO - POSADA AMAZONAS

CONNECTING WITH NATURE AND YOURSELF

Upon arrival from Lima or Cuzco, reception and transfer to the Tambopata river port in Puerto Maldonado. Puerto Maldonado is situated at the confluence of the mighty Madre de Dios and Tambopata Rivers and is a bustling, booming tropical frontier town. Its principal activities are gold mining, Brazil nut collecting, timber extraction, agriculture and ecotourism. After a brief survey of the town we will depart on the 2 hour boat trip by motorized canoe to Posada Amazonas. Depending on the arrival time of the plane we will have a boxed lunch aboard the boats or have lunch upon arrival at Posada Amazonas. During our voyage, and as we enter the unspoiled forest, we may see bird species typical of the river or forest edge such as: Black Skimmer, Pied Lapwing, Capped Heron, Jabiru Stork, Roadside Hawk, and several species of kingfishers, swallows and flycatchers. When we arrive at Posada Amazonas we will unpack and unwind. Posada Amazonas is a comfortable yet unobtrusive 30 room lodge owned jointly by Rainforest Expeditions and the Ese'eja Native Community of Tambopata. We will receive a short orientation and a complete briefing of the lodge and the Ese’eja Ecotourism Project before our afternoon activity: At 3:30, we will start our ecology walk, passing through different types of forest, until we get to a giant ceiba tree. The energy of this centuries-old living being makes it a perfect point for our first reunion. Here we will have the chance of awakening our dormant senses and blocked chakras, using the forest energy flow, as well as our own; thus becoming one with nature. We´ll be back at the lodge for dinner. A video about the forest of Tambopata will be displayed after dinner.

DAY 2

POSADA AMAZONAS

CONNECTING WITH WATER, AIR AND THE UNIVERSE.CONNECTING EARTH FROM A MEDICINAL PERSPECTIVE

We will be up at dawn for a visit to the Tres Chimbadas oxbow lake. After an early breakfast we depart, fifteen minutes from Posada Amazonas by boat and a 30 minute walk take us to the lake shore. From here we take a long, easy canoe ride around it. We will look for giant river otters, turtles, hoatzin, and wading birds. The giant river otters that are seen in Tres Chimbadas belong to a resident family of nine. The quietness and serenity of the still water will help us listen to the sound of this natural element. As soon as we return to the lodge, we will have a meeting before lunch. Here we will gather for meditation and working our group corporal, mental and spiritual development, before embarking on our afternoon outing. In the afternoon we will have an Ethnobotanical visit to the community's Nape Medicinal Center. From this little shop, the community has been registering the uses of medicinal plants from elders and planting, producing and distributing them for over ten years. We will hike the trails around the center with one of the locals who will explain the everyday uses of forest resources in medicine. This walk ends in a 35 meter tall observation tower. When we get to the top of the tower, we will be able to enjoy a great view, while capturing, with our chakras already open, the rays of the sun, the wind and the cosmic energy. We go back to the lodge for dinner.. Enjoying our popular happy hour and refurbish your spirits with ours. Overnight

DAY 3

CONNECTING WITH FIRE AND EARTH

Before breakfast (5:00 am) we will visit a parrot clay lick. This clay lick is a ten minute walk from the lodge, next to the river. Some of the large macaws, like the red and green macaw, and larger parrots, like mealy and yellow crowned Amazons visit this lick, as well as the smaller parrots and parakeets. From the blind we have constructed next to this lick we can have good spottings of these wonderful birds. We will also have a great opportunity to spot other spectacular wildlife, active at this time of the day, like scarlet or blue and glod macaws and a great deal of other birds. We will have breakfast as soon as we get back (7:00 am). After breakfast, we´ll visit a native slash and burn farm. Slash and burn agriculture systems are often thought of as wasteful because the fields are burnt, cultivated for a few years, and then abandoned. Many resident studies, however, have shown that this is far from the truth. The secret of their success is mixed planting in small patches, so that the crops are not decimated by disease and pests spreading through monocultures, the use of a mixture of herbaceous and woody crops, and the genetic diversity of their crops.

During our visit, we will be able to understand why the Ese´eja cultivation system is sustainable over the long term. This activity is probably the most participative of them all, because we will gather some of the production of this farm with the family that tends to it, and prepare our lunch on the spot. On the afternoon, we will walk with the farm tenders, from whom we will learn about medicinal plants, while collecting some. We will then gather again, this time around a fire, where we will drink herbal teas and thank mother earth for its fruits. In this meditation stage, we will flow energy from the fire. In our last meeting (5:30 pm) we will thank the supreme being for creation, and our host family for their hospitality. We will return to Posada Amazonas for dinner and overnight. Optional night walk.

DAY 4

POSADA AMAZONAS-PUERTO MALDONADO

DEPARTURE

After an early breakfast, we depart by boat back to the city of Puerto Maldonado, directly to the airport, in time for our flight back to Lima or Cuzco.