Exploring the rainforest

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This morning was the first time we were allowed a lie in - we didn't have to get up until 7:00.

We headed up river close to Puerto Maldonado to a site illustrating local subsistence farming techniques. The family own 25has and farm 18has on a rotation. I was reminded that most of the nutrient in the rainforest is in the vegetation so that after burning and clearing an area and then planting crops it is left to regenerate. The speed of regeneration is very rapid - we were shown a balsa tree, perhaps 5m high that had grown that high in 3 months. The trees have long horizontal roots because all the nutrient is in the top of the soil.

After an introduction to the medicinal properties of local plants and Brazil nuts we took a canoe out on the local oxbow lake bird spotting - the most common were the noisy hoatzin and bright yellow fronted social flycatchers. Martin also spotted a tiny terrapin.

After lunch we walked through the forest to two salt licks. We didn't see anything - it unseasonably cold at 25C and all the animals are hiding. But on the way back we were rewarded by a troop of squirrel monkeys crossing our path in the vegetation just above our heads.

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Photos

Balsa
Regeneration after 3 months

Cocoa
Pods grow directly off the trunk