Amateur Traveler: Thursday, May 28

Can you believe it, it's another early rising. On this morning we had to be at the boat at 5:00am! We traveled down the river in the pre-dawn darkness. We had to get to the clay lick before any of the birds so as not to scare them off.

The program at this lodge gives you a dedicated guide for your entire visit. On the day we arrived there were the 3 of us and 2 others who flew with us from Cusco. We were all assigned to the same guide. Of the 2 that had joined us, one was an ER doctor from Atlanta and the other was a technical writer from Seattle. So the 6 of us did everything together (OK, we didn't all sleep or shower together), activities and meals.

One thing we have discovered is that it is hard to dress for the jungle. If the sun comes out you are a sweaty mess. But you want to wear long sleeves for bug protection. There are also times when you want to wear rain gear, but even with breathable materials the extra layer keeps you extra warm. The temperature range was 70 degrees to 85 degrees day or night. I found that rain pants seemed comfortable enough and would protect from rain and wet foliage. Typically I would not wear a rain jacket, it was a little too cumbersome and if my shirt wasn't getting wet from the rain it was wet from the sweat.

I have never thought bird watching would be interesting, but in this case it was fascinating. First of all the dynamics of the clay lick. The clay lick is just that, a section of exposed clay on the bank of the river that the birds lick. The birds lick the clay to get salt and minerals, they especially need to do this if they are eating unripened fruits.

We set up in the blind, an elevated structure near the river on the opposite side of the clay lick. We all had our binoculars and we had brought a tri-pod and zoom lens for the camera. Our guide also set up a telescope. Breakfast was served while we waited for the birds. Well then came the birds. First the parrots, there were two types of species, both of them a light shade of green with some yellow, one was larger than the other. The birds do not go straight to the clay lick. On the clay lick the birds are vulnerable to predators, so they start to gather in the high tree branches and then slowly make their way down. All the birds play a game of "Who's going to be first on the clay lick?". Once the first bird lands on the lick and survives the rest follow suit. But if anything spooks them they all fly off, then they have to start to gather all over again.

Finally a parrot landed on the clay lick and sure enough the rest followed suit. There were probably 60-70 parrots on the lick at one time, it made for good wildlife viewing. We could also see a monkey in the distance swinging from limb to limb in the trees that formed the background.

Next it was time for the Macaws. The Macaws are impressive birds, they are about 3 feet long with red, blue, and green feathers. They mate for life and therefore always fly in pairs. Same story as the parrots, they gather up in the higher branches and then start to make their way down until one brave soul lands on the lick (and survives I might add). Then it's "everybody in the pool". While waiting for the Macaws we saw several other species of birds and a Black Caiman. If only that Egret had landed a little closer we might have seen the Caiman take him down.

Next it was back for lunch and a little rest before the next activity

The next activity was another clay lick to wait for a Tapir. A Tapir is a nocturnal animal that is a close relative of the Hippopotamus. We had to hike through the jungle for at least one and a half hours to reach the lick. On the way we saw more monkeys and observed an owl for awhile. This lick was not along a river but just a large section of deep clay that was really a muddy mess. We went up into the viewing platform and there were individual mattresses with a pillow and blanket. Each mattress had its own mosquito netting. We climbed under the mosquito netting and each of us ate our box dinners. Then as the sun went down we waited in silence for the Tapir

We had waited for many hours and no sign of the Tapir. It didn't matter to me as I was able to get quite a few winks in. It was after 10:00pm and the guide wanted to know if everyone still wanted to wait. I said yes, knowing that the guide had been sawing logs as well instead of watching for the Tapir. Everyone else said yes and so we continued to wait. Finally at midnight there was this large sucking sound, there was the Tapir! It was a huge beast, kind of a cross between a Hippo and a pig. The sucking sound was made as the Tapir lifted its leg up out of the mud while walking through the lick. It did not mind flash photography either. For all of us it was worth the wait, plus how often do you get to camp out in the middle of the Amazon.

We left the clay lick at about 12:30am, donning our headlamps we walked back to the lodge. It had stopped raining and there were a lot of things that came out in the night. All kinds of spiders, frogs, and ants. Army ants and leaf cutter ants. Huge moths would fly up into our faces. And by huge, I mean moths that are 4-5 inches wide! We saw huge termite nests and who knows what we didn't see. It was after 2:00am when we got to bed

Our guide identifying birds for Becky and Tristan