The first leg of our adventure is a flight from Lima to Iquitos. Iquitos is the gateway to the Amazon rainforest. We land in Iquitos and we are greeted by Lucio our guide. How lucky we are to have Lucio. Lucio was my guide last year and he has got to be the best birder in the area. He has a gift for hearing a bird call and identifying what the bird is.
We quickly grab our gear and head to the bus. We move through the town of Iquitos enjoying new sounds, smells and sights. A very different lifestyle than in the United States. 
Taxis, motorcycles with carts, carry people to and fro. Life in Iquitos has moved towards being more americanized. More school and universities are being built, homes with electricity and running water and a life style that presents easier access to food. ![]()
Food carts line the street with fresh produce. Families busy themselves with the preparation of the food and stock the carts. Walking by the carts produce is sliced and handed out as samples as folks strole by.
Food carts line the street with fresh produce. Families busy themselves with the preparation of the food and stock the carts. Walking by the carts produce is sliced and handed out as samples as folks strole by.
Off to the larger farmers market. Here the volume increases. Laughter, conversations, babies wailing and animal sounds slice the air. Aroma from sweaty bodies, tobacco being cut and rolled, chickens being sliced and diced and fruit being cut fill the cramped area. People welcome you with a smile and try to get you to stop and look at the goods they have to offer. Here you will find everything and anything you need. Meat, vegetables, fruits, grains, livestock, perfumes, oils, herbs, materials, tools etc.
Eventually we make our way through the market and back to our bus so we can arrive at the boat dock for our boat ride down the Amazon and to the Explorama Lodge in the Amazon Rainforest. We are all ready to enjoy a nice afternoon in the jungle exploring the Bushmaster trail.
What we know about the Amazon.....
*The Amazon River is the 2nd longest river in the world (Nile #1).
*It contains more water than any other river in the world.
*It is a good 4000 miles long
*Dumps 60 million gallons of fresh water into the Atlantic per second
*The Amazon could fill 2,000 swimming pools every second.
*The Amazon River accounts for 1/5 of the earth's fresh water.
*It is the widest river in the world.
Bottom line, the Amazon is a very important river to our survival.
On our way to the Explorama Lodge we pass the close villiage of the Yagua. This little villiage is growing despite the younger generation leaving the villiage to live in the more modern city of Iquitos. Many of these villiage people are employed by Explorama as food preparation staff, guides, accomodation staff etc.
There are four Explorama Lodges that we will visit. Ceiba Tops is closest to Iquitos and we will be there our last night. Explorama is the next lodge on our way into the depths of the forest followed by Napo and then ACTS.
So we arrive at the Lodge, get our accomodations (rooms) and bags situated and we are off to explore the Bushmaster Trail to see what wonderful things we can see in our first rainforest visit. Our hike reveals number of wonderful natural treasures:
Our first sightening was a three-toed sloth who huged a tree branch of a Cecropia tree These are their favored trees. Sloths are very interesting animals. They are the slowest moving mammal in the rainforest. They may stay in the same tree for years! They usual come down from their tree once a week at which time they go to the bathroom only to turn around and go back up into the tree. Sloths have very long arms with huge hooked claws at the end. They eat fruit, leaves, buds and twigs. Their slow metabolism allows them to consume very little food hence a restroom break once a week. Sloths usually sleep upside down. They slumber usually is an 18 hour block of sleep at a time. These fury creatures can live up to 30 years. They appear to be grayish brown due to algae that grows on their coats.
The Rainforest is the world's largest remaining natural resource. More than 20% of the Earth's oxygen is produced in the Amazon rainforest. For this reason the Amazon is called the "Lungs of the Planet." Half of the worlds plants live in the tropical rainforest.
This picture shows an epiphyte, air plant. These plats grown everywhere but can be mainly found on the branches trucks and even the leaves of trees. Examples of epiphytes are orchids, cacti, bromeliads, mosses, lichens and ferns.
The Amazon rainforest plant species are the best nourished plants on earth!
The Peruvian Amazon Rainforest is home to more species of birds than are found in the entire United States!
This bird is a russet backed oropendula There call can be heard clearly throughout the rainforest.
Orange Cheeked Parrot
Scarlet Macaws
Macaws are teh largest of all parrots. Their pointed wings enable them to fly swiftly. Their sharp, hooked bills allow them to eat nuts, seeds and fruit. These birds life in the canopy and emergent layers of the rainforest.
