Jungle to Jungle

I had a great time at the Durand brothers lodge. It is under construction, so conditions are really basic, which I really liked and it also meant that the price was miles below any of the competion. It was a perfect setup, just the basic things that are needed and an epic old growth forest with a great trail system.

I´ve encountered a lot of impressive trees, but none with na´vi living in them! Ok, it wasn´t quite Hometree, but you get the idea. (Sorry for the avatar references, I saw it in Spanish during one of my recent 12+ hour bus rides).

Unfortunately the Harpy Eagle nestling took off sometime in the last month and wasn´t around, but there were plenty of birds around to be seen.

Oropendulas were all over the place and came in four different types. This one has the unimpressive forename of "Olive." I think it deserves better.

There were lots of bright macaws around as well, but none willing to pose for a photo. I also saw some red howler monkeys, saddle-back tamarins and an arboreal anteater called a tamandua.

So that´s pretty much what´s been going on the past few days...living in a dirt floor hut without any electricity, wandering around the rainforest all day everyday, looking for a seemingly inexhaustable supply of exotic tropical wildlife. I could´ve easily stayed three more days or longer. In fact, I can´t wait to go back...though by the time I get around to it the place will probably be just like any other lodge: frilly, pricy and filled with tourists. Having seen the "before" picture though, it sure would be an impressive transformation. And for the sake of the brothers, I do hope things go well.

So I go from the green jungle right into the concrete incarnation: New York City. Of course I´ve got about 30 hours in Lima in between...it seems like an appropriate halfway acclimatization point--huge city, but still Latin America.

This may very well be my last blog post for sometime. Once I stop travelling I tend to lose interest in both writing and photography and thus blogging. I´ll probably start a new more bird-focused blog that will be less about me and more about birds and written less for general consumption and more for Pajareros. I´ve already got a few names in mind...any suggestions?