From John

Last night we had a little bit of an adventure as David Rouse decided that he needed to go back to the casa area from the Madre Selva Station. He took one of the kayaks and as he was trying to navigate with his flashlight, he ran into a tree. He tried to back up but turned his kayak over in the middle of the creek! He lost his boots and a flashlight and had to end of swimming to shore. While I have fallen down a number of times and gotten my butt muddied, David has now caught up with me for having tipped over and nearly sunk a kayak.

This morning, as usual, we got up early and we have already had breakfast. We are going to the small community of ..danzia, and after that we will be coming back for an afternoon hike. Segundo and I will do some more collecting. Then we will start our trip back towards Iquitos this evening, probably around 5:00 p.m. We do plan on having our final chat session at the regular time tonight. We will stop the boat whereever we are for us to be able to establish a satellite connection and do the chat tonite. The boat will moor overnight someplace on the river and then tomorrow morning we will make the rest of the journey back to Iquitos.

This has been throughly enjoyable! It is just too bad that you folks can't be here with us. If you ever have the opportunity to do so, you need to take one of these trips, it is so pleasant and peaceful with wonderful scenery. It is beyond comparison.

From Janelle

Yesterday afternoon was spent watching bird t.v. during the rain. The skies opened up and just poured all afternoon. So much for walking the long loop. Something to do next time.

Last night we had some of the local people in visiting and we had fun with the digital camera taking pictures of the local people and then showing them the pictures. They would just laugh and act shy and we would all laugh. These are such gentle people and we are all better for having become aquainted. I will look forward to coming back.

I did the live chat last night I did not think it would be so much fun. They asked just basic questions such as what we ate and what we did that day. They also wanted to know where everyone else was. It was a lot of fun and just blew my mind that I was in the middle of nowhere and was talking on the phone to someone in Sheffield, AL. It has been good to have a computer here. It has made me really stop and think about things.

We went to the village today. The children followed us around and would just laugh when we turned around to look at them. I do not think I enjoyed a day any more than today. The bubbles were a great hit with the kids. They just chased them and laughed when they burst them. It was just like they were showing off for us. There were many of them dressed in their best clothes and the teacher dismissed class just so they could come see us. David R. was taking photos of them and just as he would get ready another child would come running to get into the photo. I got some great pictures of him taking pictures of the children. It was another WOW day.

After lunch, John and I went up river to Paucarillo again in a speed boat.. It was supposed to be a three hour trip and we were back at Madra Selva in less than two hours. I do not think I have much hair left. That was an experience. When we got there, Mamasita came up to me and gave me a big toothless kiss and a hug. These are such wonderful people. I am a better person for having been here.

I wonder if the WOW factor ever diminishes. It seems like there was something everyday that made you reevaluate your place in the universe. From the sheer glory of the rainforest to the mantid cleaning itself for the camera, there are so many things to experience. It is quite humbling to be standing in the forest, all alone, and hear nothing but the sound of your own breathing. Devon says it just changes but it never goes away.

I am somewhat sad at leaving tonight. I have found me here and I like her. This will not be my last trip to the Amazon. I did take one last walk in the jungle today. It is so amazing to hear the sound of your own breathing among the jungle sounds. Life will never be the same after this experience. I have changed in so many ways. The hard part will be holding on to this feeling after getting home. I want to carry this with me always.

to Laurie @ LDMGC@aol.com - YOU HAVE TO DO THIS. THIS IS THE FUNNEST THING YOU WILL EVER DO IN YOUR LIFE. The coffee is great, the food is the best and you will learn things about yourself that you never knew. Like, just how good beer can taste when you have experienced sweltering. Although it was very cool today. Probably never got out of the 70's. It was very cool today, and is in the 60's. Pretty good for the tropics, huh?

From Devon

Most people won't believe this, but I'm typing this while we are traveling up the Amazon at night, and I'm wearing long pants, shoes and socks, t-shirt and sweatshirt, and it's still somewhat cold out. A cold front from the south (Argentina and Brazil) came through last night, and it's been chilly and misty all day. Definitely will be a night for sleeping with a blanket! We're traveling on our riverboat, the Tucunare ("peacock bass") for several hours tonight, en route back to Iquitos. Since much of the trip is upriver against the flow of the Amazon, it takes longer to get back to Iquitos than it takes going downriver, so part of the trip is at night. On a clear night, the skies are spectacular, with no lights for miles around, and thousands of stars visible. Tonight, however, everything is clouded over (and did I mention somewhat chilly?).

Ah well, John asked me to come up with a list of the fish species that we'd caught or seen during the past week, so here goes...all 47 species, and I may have missed a few! If a given species has a well known common name, I'm just giving the common name, otherwise, I'm giving the latin name (but no promises that the spelling is 100% accurate).

Characins:
Wolffish (Hoplias malabaricus)
(Astayanax bimaculatus)
Splashing tetra (Pyrhulina semifasciata)
Copeland's tetra
Rosy tetra
Neon tetra
Head-and-tail-light tetra
Marbled hatchetfish
Glass tetra (Asyphonichthys sp.)
Silver dollar (Stethoprion sp.)
Silver tetra (Ctenobrycon spilurus)
Red-bellied piranha
'Black piranha'
(Moenkhausia dichroura)
Darter tetra (Characidium sp.)
(Aphyocharax dentatus)
Peruvian bloodfin (Prionobrama filigera)
Elongate hatchetfish (Triporthys sp.)
(Tetragonopterus sp.)
(Hemiodus sp.)
(Hypoptopoma sp.)
Sabre-toothed characin (Hydrolycus sp.)
(Curimata/Curimatopsis sp)

Cichlids:
Cupid cichlid (Biotodoma cupido)
(Apistogramma agassizi)
(Apistogramma bitaeniata)
(Apistogramma eunotus)
(Bujurquina peregrinabunda)
(Geophagus jurupari)
(Aequidens tetramerus)
Smiling Acara (Laetecara thayeri)
(Crenicichla cincta)
(Crenicichla johani)

Catfish:
(Corydoras sp.)
Bumblebee catfish (Microglanis sp.)
Hassar catfish
Bubble-nest catfish (Callichthys callichthys)
(Megalodoris irwini)
Porthole catfish (Hoplosternum thoracatum)
Talking catfish (Amblydoris hancocki)
(Rhinoloricaria sp.)
Wood catfish (Auchenipteryus sp.)
(Panaque sp.) - an as yet undescribed species of catfish

Other assorted fishies:
(Rivulus elongatus)
Banded knifefish (Gymnotus sp?)
Plain knifefish (Apternotus sp?)
Fresh-water drum (Plagiodon sp.)

Not a bad list, considering that it was basically John and I who were doing most of the collecting, and that the water levels were still much higher than normal for this time of year, and consequently the fish were much more dispersed and harder to find and catch than under more suitable conditions. In any case, a good time was had by all (in spite of the fact that everyone is all bundled up to keep warm at the moment...), and I wouldn't be surprised if everone on this trip does come back to the Amazon in the next couple of years. A very fun and lively bunch, and great company for a trip to one of the great remaining wildernesses of the world.

Signing off...
Devon Graham