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Sky-high Dubai

CSI: AmazonLaurenceMackinsets off on thetrail of PeruvianpumasP14

TRAVEL SUPPLEMENT

Finbar Furey’s holidays

DE-STRESSFORLESS

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2010

ManchánMagan

THE IRISH TIMES

Ski sundaeMichael Kellyfinds the perfectresort in theFrenchAlps P12

Snowboots onDeirdre Davystakes an easyfamilywalk atGlendalough P6

Spanishweekend

Ireland’s five-star spasare doing deals: page 8

CSI:Amazon

ASMALL GROUP gathersto examine the scene.Dark mutterings andspeculation go on

behind hands in the humid air.There are signs of a violentstruggle, but it takes an expert,Dr Alan Lee, to walk us througha rough timeline of events. “Hesaw her here, chased this way –and here,” he says, pausing foreffect, unable to hide a grin, “iswhere he made the kill.” Thespot is marked with deep claw

marks gouged in the soil, a fewlone pieces of fluff signifying an-other death in the jungle.

The scientists go to work,measuring, photographing,debating theories and motives,checking undergrowth for otherclues, trying to form a definitivepicture of what happened. Aftersome huddled debate one thingis clear. This was no ordinaryperpetrator: this was a puma.

A crowd of rubberneckerswould never normally get thisclose to a scene, but this is noordinary tourist crew. Out herethe predators come in all shapesand sizes, from tiny coralsnakes, just 20cm long, that caneasily kill a man to pumas andjaguars that roam the forest,invisible until they leave their

marks. This puma has madelight work of a rabbit down adark jungle path in the dead ofnight – and none of us can hideour glee.

Las Piedras biodiversitystation lies about eight hours byboat from the Peruvian miningtown of Puerto Maldonado.Visitors are not here on safari;they come to work as researchassistants on bird- and mammal-based projects.

We are here to study mam-mal and bird behaviour in thejungle on specific transects –paths that have been cutthrough the jungle – and on anearby colpa or clay lick: theearth here is packed with potas-sium and sodium, and largegroups of animals gather to eatthe clay and socialise. It is some-thing of a grazing ground forsome of the most colourful crea-tures in the jungle, most notablythe macaw and parrot familiesthat call this area home.

But before recruits are letloose on the jungle there aretwo days of rigorous training, toget to grips with the equipment.Large machetes are sharpenedand tested. GPS devices are care-fully explained – and prettymuch dismissed as useless, be-cause of the remoteness of theregion and the jungle’s iron-cladcanopy, so compasses and mapsare our navigational tools.

There are intakes of breathwhen the group tests an inno-cent-looking venom extractor –essentially, a plastic syringewith a blunt end instead of a nee-dle – though it is reassuringlysimpler to use than the binocu-lars and telescope. We are givendata sheets to fill out with de-tails of animal behaviour we ob-serve. But first we have to findthe creatures.

Off to the jungle, then, forour first transect, a task that formost of us will become a dailyritual. We walk at a snail’s pace

along the pre-cut paths, keepingeyes and, more importantly,ears open for any movement orsound. Predictably, we arebeyond useless, although theguide spots three leaves 20m upin the canopy that he insists aremealy parrots. He’s not wrong,though it takes some fumblingwith the binoculars before webelieve in his seemingly super-human powers of observation.

Among the most commonsights on these transects are var-ious species of monkey. Long-limbed spider monkeys freefallfrom one tree to the next witheffortlessly athletic crashes;saddleback tamarins scrambleup trunks, eyes glistening in thesunlight that fights its waythrough the canopy; in the dis-tance, howler monkeys raise aghostly chorus, sounding likethe wind of a rising storm;dusky titi monkeys chatteramong themselves, ignoring usfor the most part; one squirrelmonkey decides he’s hadenough of our presence and

Laurence Mackin goes on the trail ofbig cats in the Peruvian rainforest

Go thereThere are no direct flightsto Peru from Ireland, butseveral airlines, includingKLM (klm.ie), Lan (lan.com)and Iberia (iberia.com/ie),fly to Lima via their hubs.From there you can fly on toPuertoMaldonadowith Lanor Star Peru (starperu.com).As locals are charged lessfor internal flights, youmight be able to savemoneyby booking through a Peruviantravel agency.

GoPeru

HIGH LIFE Expedition leader Andy Stronachin the Amazon. Photograph: Laurence Mackin

“The spot ismarked with

deep clawmarksgouged in thesoil . . . A puma hasmade light work ofa rabbit down ajungle path in thedead of night –and none of uscan hide our glee

COLOMBIA

BOLIVIA

PERU

© IRISH TIMES PREMEDIA

PiedrasBiodiversityStationLima

PuertoMaldonado

14 THE IRISH TIMES Saturday, January 9, 2010

starts depth-charging us withripped-off chunks of branch.

These trees crawl with morethan monkeys, though. In theroof of the staff sleeping quar-ters a pink-toed tarantula hastaken up residence; early in thetrip one guide returns with aclelia clelia snake, its skin aterrific shimmering colour thatflits between silver and blue.

To get a more accurate fla-vour of what crawls beneath, wetake a night transect. It is onlywhen the torchlight is reflectedback by thousands of frog, spi-der and insect eyes that you cansee the jungle is teeming withlife – the noise is almost deafen-ing as the frogs woo each otherwith their terrific bossa-novabelches in the inky blackness.

During the day the noise isjust as extraordinary: the birdsand insects make oddly mechan-ical sweeping, whirring andclicking sounds. With sunlightfiltering through the canopy oftrees whose but- tressedroots stretch per- haps10m higher than aman, it is as if youare standing at theheart of a great greenmachine – and in a wayyou are, one that ceaseless-ly pumps fresh oxygen intothe world around it.

Monkeys skitter across itsbranches like foremen,tweaking a green pistonhere, checking a leafygauge there; birds patrolthe treetops, keeping themachine clear of debrisand hawking orders at eachother; in the belly of the beast,insects toil at clearing pipes andexhausts in minuscule millions-strong armies while knots of ar-madillos, capybaras and tur-tles forage in fallen leaves.

The two main tasks at thisresearch station are transectsand colpa shifts. The latter are

much less active. A short boattrip across the river, a brief walkthrough the jungle and astealthy half-crawl later we arein a bird hide across the riverfrom the colpa proper on an ear-ly shift (we’re up most morningsat 4am). We take it in turns tocount the number of birds onthe colpa; the second person fol-lows the activity of a particularbird for one minute of everyfive, carefully describing itsmovements and behaviour tothe third team member, whowrites it all down.

The macaws claw their waythrough the trees, often in tight-knit pairs like muttering oldmarried couples, bouncing frombranch to branch, spinningupside down to show off theirwingspan and pecking noisily ateach other. Their glitteringgarb might have all the finery ofEuropean royalty’s, but theirlanguage is the argot of sail-ors – a rough, throatycroak that forms a

squawking soundtrack to thejungle, brilliantly at odds withtheir elegant appearance.

Occasionally, a boat chug-ging upriver, the noise of anunseen predator from the jun-gle or the munching of mid-morning snacks by sloppy teammembers (again, sorry aboutthat) causes the birds to burstaway from the colpa en masse.

It’s infuriating in terms of da-ta gathering – they can takehours to return in numbers –but thrilling: their iridescentplumage leaves fiery trailsacross the sky when the macawsand parrots rise up noisily in aglittering red, blue and greencloud. A rarer scarlet macawadds a vivid slash of sunburstyellow.

But back to those killer cats.The chances of seeing one inthe wild are practically nil, butthere are echoes of them every-where. Animal prints are stud-ied in purpose-built track traps(essentially, dug-up soft earth)along the transects, and amongthe ocelot, peccary, armadilloand agouti markings are plentyof deep, dark prints of pumaand jaguar.

Camera traps – small camer-as with motion sensors – are setup along the transects by DrMarcelo Mazzolli, a big-cat ex-pert from Brazil, and towards

the end of the expedition wetake a six-hour hike to gath-er them in.

We find tracks near onebox and decide to take aquick flick through its digit-al camera, knowing there is

little chance of success.First there is a picture of us,

then nothing, nothing, noth-ing, a deer, a heron – and then

a huge adult male jaguar, red insnarling tooth and claw.

We return to the camp giddyas children, with a real sense

of achievement. We may nothave seen this jungle’s

most impressive preda-tor, but we’ve come with-in a rather large whisk-er.

■ Laurence Mackinwas a guest ofBiosphere Expeditions(biosphereexpeditions.com). A two-week trip toLas Piedras costs about¤1,130, excluding flights

GOOVERNIGHT

DOMINIC, the younghot-tub caretaker, hadgone off to get us a

couple of proseccos. So we layback in the steaming waterand from our cliff-top perchwatched the Atlantic surgeinto Mawgan Porth Bay. Wecould have scrubbed eachother with seaweed bagsfor full algal satisfaction, butwe just let the bladderwrackdrift by. It was strangelytherapeutic to watch itnudge our empty glasses – bynow floating upright in thewater – towards the edge ofthe tub.

Dominic, now equippedwith two perfectly presentedproseccos, arrived back in thenick of time. The wind wasalmost plucking his parka offhis back, but he stuck to histasks. He served us theproseccos, salvaged the emptyglasses, then logged on – in theold-fashioned sense. More fuelwas needed in the woodburner under our tub. Hotwater surged in, keeping usdeliciously warm as a stiffsouthwesterly whipped aroundthe cliff face.

On this clear winter’sevening the stars were out. Asthe steaming waters engulfedus we gazed skywards as somehalf dozen satellites processedacross the sky – the nearest toa rush hour we saw allweekend in this secludedcorner of Cornwall, in

southwesternmost England.But then the Scarlet Hotel

doesn’t do busy. In reception anotice says: “Please pause for amoment. We know you arehere and will be with youshortly.” Pause. Hmm, Ihaven’t paused in a while. Hada bit of a breather, maybe;slowed down; even on the oddoccasion chilled. But paused,well, no. All these options areon offer here: relaxation,both organic and organised, isavailable in spades.

We didn’t have to pause forlong at reception. Marcusappeared, dressed in brownyoga-type gear. A friendlyyoung man from Derbyshire,he explained the ethos of theScarlet. The hotel, graftedexpertly on to the cliff face, issome 73 per cent more carbonefficient than a conventionalhotel. “Greenwash” is thename environmentalists giveto the pretence of embracingecology. Here at the Scarletit’s the real green deal:rainwater is harvested; “greywater” is used (basically, yourbath water flushes the loo); thebuilding is maintained byrecyclable materials. Frankly,the Scarlet does give a damn.“As long as we all do us bit,”Marcus explained, soundingmomentarily like someonefrom Coronation Street.

The interior furnishings ofthe Scarlet are almost asdramatic as its views.Restaurants and public areasare all modishly minimal, butrich colours, tactile texturesand playful retro designscreate an overwhelming senseof luxury and comfort.Everywhere is full of lots ofsexy, curvy lines – you halfexpect the bar area, with itsrounded booths, to spinaround like a fairground ride.

The bedrooms come in fivecategories: Just Right,Generous, Unique, Spaciousand Indulgent. But whicheveroption your wallet runs to, itwill be stylish and cool. Allcome with views andintriguing spaces – balconies,intimate gardens, shell-likeviewing pods, terraces. Ahoneycomb of nooks andsnugs throughout the hotel arealso ideal as mini-retreats.

The restaurant provides theonly area for a gripe. Theservice is laid back almost tothe point of indolence. We hadto wait an eternity for ourproseccos. Maybe they werechecking it out with Dominic.

But the food, when it didcome, was sorcery itself. Themenu, the work ofMichelin-star-winning localBen Tunnicliffe, isn’t

remotely brown riceish. Heserves up fish, beasts, birds,gargantuan desserts andintriguing cheese boards. The“seared hand-dived St Austellscallops, onion puree andpeppered satsumas” sizzledwith taste. My companion’sroast loin of venison withbraised red cabbage andparsnip-and-walnut gratin wasas classy and innovative a dishas deer and vegetables couldhope to be.

No buffet at breakfast – theecologically sounder tableservice has been opted for.Choice is substantial, runningfrom honeyed-plums-in-yogurt to the full Cornish.Leave plenty of time, however:service is once again on thepedestrian side.

The Scarlet couldreasonably claim to besurrounded by Britain’sfreshest air. To walk along thecliff top on a windy day – thatis to say, probably on any day –is to be totally invigorated. Ifyou’re in the mood for moreorganised therapeuticwellness, holistic, Ayurvedicand meditative treatments areon hand.

You’ll be left thinking thatsaving the planet shouldn’t bethis much fun – definitely notthis sexy or decadent.

■Where Scarlet Hotel,Tredragon Road, MawganPorth, Cornwall, England,00-44-1637-861800,scarlethotel.co.uk.■What Luxury ecohotel.■ Rooms 37.■ Best rates Low season(February 12th to May 2nd)from £180 (¤200) B&B or£230 (¤255) with dinner, perJust Right room per night,based on two people sharing.Two-nightminimum stay atweekends.

■ Food and drink TheScarlet restaurant, with astunning vista along the cliffs,plus bar snacks and roomservice. Don’t miss out onCornish afternoon tea. Coffeeand tea are delivered to yourroom twice a day.■ Access Two bedroomsdesigned for disabled access;one can connect with theroomnext door to allow for acarer or companion.■ Child-friendlinessChildren are not allowed.

Phyl Clarke on Ireland’s five-starpampering getaways: P8

“We couldhave rubbed

each other withseaweed bagsfor full algalsatisfaction, butinstead we just letthe bladderwrackdrift by

English style, from top: the hotel’s relaxation terrace;its bar; and one of its bedrooms, in the Spacious category

In the Amazon: before anearly-morning boat trip(above); macaws feeding onthe colpa (left); the camp atLas Piedras (bottom left) anda puma (below). Photographs:Laurence Mackin, BiosphereExpeditions, Ed George/National Geographic/Getty

MAL ROGERS VISITS THE SCARLET HOTEL IN CORNWALL

Saturday, January 9, 2010 THE IRISH TIMES 15