From John

Today started early - 5:30 am. Everyone was anxious to get started with collecting and nature observation. After a very cool shower it was off to breakfast at the Station.

Our first effort this morning was to take the "short" jungle walk course. Everyone headed out while I tried to get some photos uploaded. Tthe others had more success than I did. For some reason the notebook computer is not "speaking" to the satellite phone. I'm going to continue working on this problem later. I elected to trek down the trail to find the others.

I located them at very big leaf-eating ant mound. The energy of thes ants is fascinating. Along the trail I photographed lots of flowers, plants and interesting mushrooms. I also got some shots of the largest tree I've ever seen up close and personal.

David and other founds lots of things to photograph.

While they continued on I journeyed back to the tent to catch a few minutes of sleep.

After lunch David and David settled in to photograph the animals that were collected in the morning hike. I went fishing with Devon and caught some Apistos, some small tetras and a Wolf fish.

At dusk I took out one of the new kayaks and went up river on the Orosa. It was a very enjoyable t ime with no one in sight.

After a shower I was ready for dinner. On the way to the skiff I slipped and covered myself in mud. I think I'm going to give up on trying to keep "collecting" and "dining" clothes apart.

I hope to see folks at tonight's chat. The others will be on a night walk while I man the computer station.

From Janelle & Nancy

Today we took our first jungle walk. The variety of life here is truly amazing. There is simply no way to describe the Amazon. There simply are no words large enough.

David R. has the most amazing "jungle eyes". He was able to spot all the things we would want to see after we had all walked passed. I think my eyes were starting to come in towards the end of the walk but then it started raining really hard. There will be more practice time tomorrow. While waiting for the rain to come, it struck us how long we were hearing the rain before we actually felt it. Everything in the canopy has to get wet before before we do. The trail gets very muddy and slippery but, thank God for good wellies. We did not hear any thunder until back at the casa... It sounds very different here. Has that talking into a paper towel roll quality to it.

Devon walked off the trail to a fallen tree and brought me a bird's nest fern that was in the canopy. Since the tree had fallen, it would not have survived so I am going to take it home. He also found me a small version of a very large fern in the middle of the trail so it can go home with me too.

The local children just brought us an arboreal gecko and a REALLY large Pipa pipa. We immediately put the frog in a tub and watched it flatten out. It was almost as big as the tub.

One of the things we brought with us to photograph is a Dendorbates ventrimaculatus, spotted-bellied, black and orange poison arrow frog. I think we have a career making up common names for this stuff. Well, maybe not. I can say I have held something in my hand that the Reptile guys at Dallas have only heard about. Very cute little guy. Once David R. gets back in the kayak, we will go back to the casa to photograph all the stuff we have. We have a couple of frogs, one of them a Hyla boan, Boan's tree frog, a giant cockroach from the outhouse, tailless whip scorpion, an anolis with a huge dewlap that is almost clear with white scale rows. The dewlap is so large that it folds under its front legs.

The food here is excellent. I have now eaten fish two days in a row for lunch. It is a river catfish that is common here. The flesh is very sweet and has a texture like chicken. We always have a beautiful salad and some fruit. Today's breakfast fruit was papaya and was the yummiest thing I think I have ever eaten. It has been so long since I had any fruit, my colon will think it is a stick-up. I will never look at a banana in quite the same way again.

I think I will go try my hand at a kayak. It seems a very peaceful place to be. But then, this whole place is like that.

From David Schleser

Wow, did I sleep well last night! I guess that I was not aware of how tiring the all night flight down fron the US to Peru really was....However, before crashing - after a typically wonderful meal prepared by our cook, Raoul, the group was treated to the sight of a huge Boan's tree frog, on the floating raft of a dining room. We caught the 7 inch giant to photograph later today. The first timers to the Amazon were a bit taken aback by the giant Amazon cockroach and crab spiders that they encountered in the outhouse! We were lulled into the arms of morpheus by the calls of tree frogs, pauraques (a relative of our whip-poor-wills), and the large arborial rodent called the Kona-kona.

Dawn broke with a chorus of bird calls. After breakfast, Devon and I led our intrepid little group for their first morning hike through the rainforest. It was quite productive, as David Rouse was fortunate to find the uncommon and tiny poison dart frog, Dendrobates ventrimaculatus, an incredibly colored orange and black frog with paisly blue "pants". It was only the 2nd specimen ever sighted at the preserve. The forest was also filled with weirdly colored grasshoppers and iridescent leaf- and tortoise beetles. Many plants were in bloom, including a number of species of the heliconids along our path. These are banana relatives with artificial-appearing brightly colored flowered inflorescenses. Hummingbirds whizzed by our faces and a giant blue morpho butterfly, so symbolic of the Amazon region, flew accross our path.

Half way into the 1/2 mile walk the skies opened up with a typical Amazonian rainstorm of short duration. Believe it or not, the cool rain felt great!

Tonight, after dark, we are planning a night walk through the forest. There is a major changing of the guard after sunset, with the creatures of daylight being replaced with those adapted to a nocturnal existence. If we are lucky, we should encounter everything from frogs of many shapes and sizes to tarantulas, katydids that resemble dead leaves, arboreal salamanders, and giant millipedes. I love creepy-crawlers and can hardly wait!

Gotta go now, as a cold beer awaits........

Talk to ya' later, Dave Schleser

From Devon

I slept wonderfully last night. Not too warm, and by morning, I was glad for the blanket that I had handy...just in case. Of course, maybe I've become cold blooded after spending so much time in the Amazon; about 5 months out of the year when all the trips are added together. Woke up this morning to the calls of various birds. The odd parrot flying overhead, varzea mourners with their eerie whistling calls, boat-billed flycatchers sounding like a high-tension wire being plucked by a giant hand, and many others.

After rising at about 6 AM. I wandered around the clearing in which our traditional style house is located. Various fruit trees are planted here and there, and the jungle tries to encroach on all sides. There is a light rain keeping everything damp and humid. Great weather for frogs and similar sorts of creatures, but not really wet enough to make things unpleasant for humans. Our "house" is a wooden platform raised up about 5' off the ground. There is a railing around the outside and a thatch roof, but otherwise the sides are completely open. Paired notched logs at either end of the house form a local type ladder/stair to provide access to the main living area. We have dome tents, or in my case, just a mosquito net, to sleep in. These are all equipped with mattresses, pillows, linens, etc., so it is considerably more comfortable than one might imagine. When the generator at the boat, some 200 yards distant, is turned off, the night sounds are incredible, and lull you right to sleep. Everyone is eating breafast right now - scrambled eggs and french fried potatoes. Coffee too, of course! A bit later on we'll hike around one of the loop trails at the station. Gotta run and get my share of breakfast!

Signing off - Devon Graham