An early start and I had a chocolate bar rather than have a proper breakfast. The driver took me by a snaking serpentine route through seemed like shanty town streets before we reached Lima Airport safely. Helpful people helped my check in and drop my bag off. Had an orange juice before invading boarding pass and security control. Here they were happy with my plastic belt and also electronics being in the bag. I’m not complaining.

I sat next on the plane to a Dutch lady who was spending 3 weeks in Peru, and liked Nepal as a place to go to. Good the people we meet on our travels. The plane soared over the Andes with snow-capped mountains capped by clouds. It landed but then made loud wheezing noises like an old man. We had arrived into a very different place to Lima. Like arriving in Africa from London. An odd echo of Africa was seeing places called “Shaddai Jireh”. On the bleeding edge of civilisation! 

Bag arrived fine, I repacked messily to reduce what I was taking. A minibus took us past half-finished hotels and hole in the wall stores to the Madre De Dios river and our riverboat (almost like a dugout canoe with an outboard motor) which took us to the magical Hacienda Concepcion. Note to the reader: hats need a neck cord or else may take a dip in the river such is the speed of the boat.

Hacienda Concepcion is hidden in the trees with separate cabins, mosquito netting to keep you safe, torches as power is only on for some of the day. Internet at the big house only.

Lunch has great choices, meals are included in my stay here. We had a 4pm walk to see or perhaps hear red howler monkeys macaws and other birds and a bats nest like a bole on a tree. Fire ants isolating their preferred tree. Leaf cutter ants nests which also harbour coral snakes and poisonous toads. We also saw an abandoned ship which got stuck and is now just a skeleton.

Next up a 7pm cruise on Madre de Dios river. The stars were so bright and clear a new galaxy compared with the polluted skies of home. Note to reader: there are two sides to a boat. Choose your side so you see the bats flying and caimans swimming rather than the backs of people’s heads.

A late supper enhanced by chocolate bread made in-house. The catering here is great. I retired to the barely lit cabin to snatch some sleep before a very early start tomorrow.