This entry is for Monday, December 22. I am going to do something unprecedented and post halfway through the day. 

I realized during the briefing last night and this morning, just how different a trip this is going to be for me if not Ash. I’ve been in the tropics before, but never a tropical jungle. I guess I’ve been in one in Puerto Vallarta, but this is different, and more intense.

 It’s like I can feel the biodiversity in my body. Everything here is so alive that it’s hard not to feel very alive yourself. Even though the heat and the humidity is wearing me out and I’ve already taken several very quick naps today. 

I was thrilled to learn last night that they have 24 hour coffee. So it was hot and ready to go when I was up at 4 AM and had the entire third deck to myself. The sun started to rise around 5:30 AM and I got to watch it alone. It was lovely. 

It is summer here. It is 92° as I type about 1:30 in the afternoon. But you could feel the heat as soon as the sun rose.

Breakfast was at 7 AM, a typical buffet.

The first excursion was a skiff ride, leaving at 8 AM into Pahuachiro Creek off of the Maranon River, one of two that feeds the Amazon at its beginning. 

Ash decided to stay in and rest for the first excursion so I went out with the rest of the crew. Although it’s hot, they recommend that you be as covered as possible because of the bugs. I am not used to long sleeves, long pants, and a hat when it’s in the 90s, but here we are. And it’s humid to boot.

Above and below: random shots of general scenery. There’s gonna be a lot of of this so I will try to limit it, but just want you to get a feel. 

This is a yellow-rumped Cacique.

This video gives you a better feel of what we were watching without the close-ups. 

Just a really beautiful bird, pretty common for these parts.

The creek we were in. We were three skiffs total. 

Iguana. I will never understand how the guy even saw this. I’m shocked I got a decent photo of it.

A toucan!

Cool trees, muddy creek.

I am attempting to catch the height of these but didn’t quite get it.

I loved the greenery on top of the water. 

This was a marsupial in a hole in a tree. Again, that a guide saw it from down where we were is remarkable. But the three photos show what it looked like from where we were on the far left through the close-up on the far right.

Teeny tiny bats.

A hawk. The photo on the left shows how high he was in that tree. 

Our boat in the daytime on our way back. 

At 11 AM we had a lecture which provided an overview of the whole region we are in and what we will be covering this week. 192 miles around the two rivers that eventually join to become the Amazon.

There were sightings of both pink and gray dolphins out there during lunch. 

Lunch was ceviche, chicken thigh with risotto, and aguaje cheesecake. 

It is now almost 2pm. Next up is a photography class, followed by a late afternoon and evening excursion. It feels like a lot, doesn’t it? I’m going to this now and maybe follow up with another one later.