Goodby to Sandoval Lake

Overlooking Sandoval Lake

Today I said goodby to Sandoval Lake. It has been so peaceful here with no city sounds, only the sounds of the jungle which I have become accustomed to and attuned to. At any time I can pick out at least half a dozen bird calls and my favorite sound which I am listening to one last time, the howler monkeys.

The rainforest has a vast diversity of plants, animals, birds, insects and reptiles and visitors come to see them all but I have really enjoyed the sounds of the jungle. In our noisy city lives, I think we tend to tune out sounds and come to focus on more of what we see than what we hear. Over the past several days, I have come to focus more on sounds because there are so many new sounds to hear. As I look out over Sandoval Lake one last time from the lodge, I listen to all the jungle sounds, the cicadas, rain dripping through the leaves, howler monkeys in the distance, Macaws calling back and forth in the trees and many other birds calling through the forest.

Jungle from my bedroom window

We will take the boat back to Puerto Maldonado and the plane back to Cusco, and I will be glad to get out of the wetness and humidity, but part of the jungle will stay with me, the sights, the smells and especially the jungle sounds. I enjoyed my time in the Amazon Jungle. The mosquitos seemed almost non-existent, although I did get a few bites. The humidity was bearable once the sun went down and the closeness with nature was inescapable as it was constantly closing you in from all sides and through all your senses.