Wildlife Sightings Round-Up from Picaflor

This wildlife sightings round-up from Picaflor Research Centre includes a tiny lizard, here seen in the corner of the shower.

Time for another wildlife sightings round-up from Picaflor! Here are a few tales about the animals I’ve seen in the jungle and around the hacienda lately. Pico and I went for a swim yesterday. On our way to the quebrada, we sighted a red-and-green macaw. On our way back, I saw what might have been an olive tree […]

Sleeping With Tarantulas at Picaflor Research Centre

This spider may or may not be similar to the time when I was sleeping with tarantulas at Picaflor.

Sleeping with tarantulas at Picaflor wasn’t exactly on my itinerary, but in a way, I guess it was meant to be… Johanna discovered a tarantula on the ceiling of her bedroom one morning, but it was her time to leave and she was packing. I went down to the river with Johanna to wait for her boat. While […]

Wildlife Tales From Picaflor Research Centre

Wildlife tales from Picaflor aren't complete without a capybara such as this Ron look-alike.

I’ve got a few wildlife tales from Picaflor I haven’t told yet, so I’ve collected them here… Capybara One day while Elissa and Joel were here, Ron the capybara was trying to play with me while we were pumping water. He took a tiny little nibble just below my right knee, but he shouldn’t be faulted. He’s just […]

Oxbow Lake on the Tambopata Reserve: A Snake Tale

Visiting an oxbow lake on the Tambopata Reserve by canoe

On Tuesday, Pico brought us visiting an oxbow lake on the Tambopata Reserve. Nearby, the University of Lima maintains a research centre where its biology students can stay to do field work. We took Pico’s boat — it’s got a 50-horsepower Johnson, so even though it may look like a pekipeki, it’s much more powerful. By the way, […]

Pacas at Picaflor Research Centre: Seen in the Dark

Pacas at Picaflor look very much like these.

“Julia, viene.” “Si, Pico.” Being used to Pico’s orders by now, and orders they are, I got up from the chair I was curled up in, reading, and followed Pico to the main steps of Picaflor Research Centre, noticing through the screen windows of the library that he held a flashlight in his hand. “Tus zapatos.” My shoes. […]

Wildlife Sightings at Picaflor Research Centre

Sunrise over the Tambopata River before a dawn hike, hoping for wildlife sightings at Picaflor Research Centre.

We’ve lately had quite a lot of wildlife sightings here at Picaflor Research Centre (smiley face). While we were in the kitchen baking the other day, we noticed tree branches moving outside and soon saw monkeys playing nearby! We watched them for about 20 minutes, until we couldn’t see them anymore, then returned to our work. The next […]

First Days at Picaflor Research Centre

Lobster claw bromeliads growing just outside the hacienda at Picaflor Research Centre in Peru's Tambopata region.

During my first days at Picaflor Research Centre, Pico took me on a small introductory tour of the trails behind the house (reed roof, walkways, screens instead of windows — very exotic). He pointed out various things to eat, like Brazil nuts and guanábana. We even saw two red macaws, a monkey walking high above in the canopy, […]

Hiking Near Loja: Parque Podocarpus

Waterfall in Ecuador's Parque Nacional Podocarpus.

I was pretty happy to leave Cuenca and head for Loja. Even though I’ve only been gone from Mera for a week, I’m already sick of cities and just wanna go back to the countryside. Seeking some good hiking near Loja, I visited Parque Nacional Podocarpus, only about an hour and a half away by bus. Funny thing, […]

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