Posada Amazonas
A family of Bolivian Red Howler monkeys settle in for the night.
I just spent an exciting ten days in the Peruvian Amazon and started at Posada Amazonas. I try to be honest on this blog, so I’ll give you the good, the bad and the ugly.
Read my full review of Rainforest Expeditions lodges in Luxury Latin America.
Let’s start with the good:
My guide was wonderful.
Carmen has been a jungle guide for years and is an expert at both finding wildlife and identifying them. So many times, we were listening to the sounds of the forest, and she would tell me which calls were birds or monkeys or frogs or something else. I highly recommend requesting her if you book with Rainforest Expeditions.
Evening at the tower
The tower has a fabulous view of primary rainforest and the Tambopata River, a tributary of the Amazon.
My favorite thing at Posada was the tower.
It’s 42 meters high (138ft) and takes you up through, then far above the forest canopy. The structure sways a bit when people move around, which was hard for videos, but is totally safe. An older tower nearby is significantly lower and was left for the monkeys to play on.
I spent my first evening at the tower and saw a family of howler monkeys settled in the top of a tree, grooming each other and dozing. There were dozens of bird species flying back to wherever they spend the night. The owls were starting to call, and I spent a lot of my time just listening to the jungle. It was magical.
The tower is about a half hour walk from the lodge. I’m sure you can get there faster but I was always stopping to look at things, listen to birds and take photos.
My second favorite thing was the oxbow lake.
My first morning at Posada, Carmen took me to an oxbow lake. The rainforest is dotted with these. It’s where the main river has changed course and left a loop that becomes a lake. They’re also poetically called abandoned meanders.
The Tres Chimbadas Lake is home to a family of giant river otters. They grow to 1.8m (6ft) long, even larger than sea otters. We were very lucky that morning and not only got to see an otter family swimming around, but we got to watch them sitting on a log by the shore eating the fish they had just caught.
It was cloudy that morning, which mercifully kept the heat down a bit. We saw bats lined along a tree trunk, a caiman laying in wait for a wattled jacana and lots of birds. Full bird list is at the end of this blog. I had seen giant otters and all the bird species we saw at the lake before, so for me the highlight was seeing taira as we were leaving the lake.
Tairas are related to otters, but they live in trees and eat fruit. They’re quite rare and I was thrilled to see two tairas running through the treetops and picking fruit.
My third favorite thing was the farm across the river.
Posada Amazonas sources their fruits and vegetables from an organic farm across the river. Carmen showed me where they grow oranges, limes, and other familiar fruits. She also showed me the trees where cacao and copoazú grow. The two are related and copoazú can be used to make white chocolate. Both grow in big pods and have sweet pulp around the seeds. You pop a seed in your mouth and chew off the pulp. You can’t eat copoazú seeds, but cacao seeds are edible, even when it’s raw.
Peppers for sorcery
Of the many kinds of spicy peppers grown at the farm, this one is so hot that it’s used more for casting spells on people than for eating.
Carmen always had her spotting scope with her and made sure that I got to see lots of birds. She’s very good at taking photos and video with my phone held up to her scope. Click on the pics above to see a Long-billed Starthroat up close.
My fourth favorite thing was the bird blind by the river.
These would probably have been my top favorite if I had seen a lot of parrots and macaws. I saw some parrots and enjoyed the experience, but that morning the biggest flocks of parrots and macaws were somewhere else. I still saw lots of Blue-headed Parrots, Yellow-crowned Parrots and Chestnut-fronted Macaws, but mostly when they were scared by something and leaving.
Posada Amazonas is a partnership between Rainforest Expeditions and the Ese Eja Native Community.
The land is owned by the Indigenous people who have lived there for centuries and 75% of the profits of the lodge go directly to the community. About 80% of the lodge staff are also from the community. This is one of the few examples of a private company coming in and actually benefiting the local Indigenous people. Together, they protect over 9500 hectares (about 37 sq miles) of old growth primary rainforest.
Castaña (Brazil) nuts
Protected, old-growth rainforest has castaña trees, which drop round shells filled with nuts. They’re gathered from the forest floor and are the most sustainable rainforest product.
The food at Posada Amazonas
The buffet always had plenty of salads and veggies but rarely a protein option for vegetarians.
The bad is mostly details.
I thought the housekeeping was sloppy. The pajamas I left in my bed were dumped crumpled up on the bedside table when housekeeping made the bed. (It’s not that hard to fold or hang clothes). The sheets were stained. The vase with flowers was filled with bugs that had rotted long ago and were growing algae.
The food was good, but the service wasn’t. The eggs were cold. I was promised vegetarian options but there was never an alternative to the meat. There was a gluten free guest who several times asked for GF options and on the last night the dinner was breaded chicken, and the dessert was crêpes.
I loved every excursion
I didn’t always feel comfortable at the lodge, but I spent most of my time away from the lodge: on the river, at lakes, hiking through the forest & visiting the farm.
Now for the ugly:
Before lunch on my second day, I was back in my room after my morning trip to the oxbow lake. We got back around 11:30 and lunch was at 1pm, so I decided to shower and change out of my sweaty clothes for some dry clothes. I had left the bathroom and was in my room when a guy walked by and stared right at me. I threw myself on the bed just in time for a second guy to walk by. At least the second guy didn’t get the full view.
All rooms at Posada are completely open on one side, ostensibly so guests can connect with nature. After the incident, and the stink I raised with management, they have now installed curtains. If I had been closer to the bathroom, I would have hidden in there. There is nowhere else to hide in those rooms.
I was obviously angry that my privacy had been violated. I went to talk with the manager, who seemed uninterested in the problem. He offered a half-hearted apology, but nothing else. I hoped he just needed some time to find a solution. Nope. Crickets. I gave him 24 hours and went back to talk to him. He still seemed to have no understanding that this was a serious violation of privacy and safety. He never offered to move me to another room.
It wasn’t until the third time that I talked to him about the incident that he offered me a free massage. I told him that a massage does not fix the problem that I feel unsafe in my room and that my privacy was violated. He then offered me a drink at the bar. I told him that alcohol wouldn’t solve the problem either. He followed with the offer of something from the gift shop. It was clear that he had no idea what the problem was or how to fix it.
I have since spoken at length with the Rainforest Expeditions management, who immediately understood the problem. They fired the two guys who spied on me and installed curtains in the room. However, that was a full week after the incident. I do not trust the Posada manager and wouldn’t go back.
My final assessment:
Overall, the wildlife was amazing, and enough changes have now been made that I can cautiously recommend Posada Amazonas. Just be aware that the service isn’t as good as at the next two places I went. (Blogs about how much I loved Refugio Amazonas & the Tambopata Research Center coming soon!)
Bird list: Chestnut-fronted Macaws, Mealy Parrots, Spix’s Guan, Black-fronted Nunbird, Black-capped Thrush, Rufous Mot Mot, Undulated Tinamou, Black-faced Ant-thrush, Chestnut-tailed Antbird, Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Yellow-tufted Woodpecker, Red-and-green Macaws, Speckled Chachalacas, Blue-headed parrots, Wattled Jacanas, Cobalt-winged Parakeets, Russet-backed Oropendolas, Greater Anis, Red-bellied Macaws, Amazon Kingfisher, Channel-billed Toucans, White-throated Toucans, Striated Herons, Hoatzin, Horned Screamers, Black-tailed Trogons, Ruddy Pigeon, Bat Falcon, Yellow-headed Vulture, Yellow-rumped Cacique, Ringed Kingfisher, Dusky-headed Parakeets, Broad-billed Mot Mot, Violaceous Jay, Social Flycatchers, Orioles, Yellow-crowned Parrots, White-bellied Parrots, Long-billed Starthroat Hummingbirds, Reddish Hermit Hummingbirds, Scarlet Macaws, Roadside Hawk, Green Oropendolas, Black-faced Antbird
Every time we were out on the river in the evening, we saw capybara in the water and foraging on the banks.
Mammal list: Toppin’s titi monkey, taira, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, capuchin monkeys, agouti, red squirrels, giant otters, long-nosed bats, capybaras, a rabbit
Other: Caiman, lizards, frogs, wandering spiders, tarantulas, leaf katydids, whiptailed scorpions and lots of other cool bugs during night walks.
