Next morning I woke up at 6am. I got a few sand fly bites. They are especially nasty. You never feel when they bite but notice a bit of blood, then a pinkish area appears around a pin size red dot. It doesn´t itch but give it a few days and it will well enough for you to go crazy. It also stays for weeks - forget about mosquitoes, what mosquitoes? We had our last breakfast, packed, said bye to Maurits and Esther who were staying for an extra day, and got on the...

It was already dark when we woke up but it got bright pretty fast. We boarded a boat and headed to a pebbled island in the middle of the river in order to watch macaw clay licks and clay lick parrots. There were researches in the boat with us who will be trying to count the birds. We sat under a canopy so the birds don't see us and were told to be quiet. Previous evening we were also told not to wear bright clothes today so the birds don't spot us. Clay licks ar...

The journey to Manu Learning Centre continued for another few hours, also stopping to watch rare white falcons and owls. Main point of the day was however a visit to a local family coca plantation to learn about growing and production of coca leaves. The leaves are collected individually and then dried in sun before they can be sold. Because of the problems with cocaine production the government set up a scheme where it buys the coca leaves from farming families...

We arrived at Manu Learning Centre just in time for lunch. We were introduced to the staff and showed our rooms which housed only beds with overhead mosquito nets. Toilets and Showers were communal in an adjacent outbuilding. Straight after lunch we set off to explore an oxbow lake. An oxbow lake is a U - shaped body of water formed when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off to create a lake. This landform is so named for its distinctive curved...

From the very beginning of our trip we just knew it will be a very special trip and that it was a top choice of a tour company. Crees who I researched in advance are promoting a sustainable Amazon. The profit from the tours goes to the Manu Learning centre and to support the research and volunteering. http://www.crees-manu.org/ As an introduction I can say that Manu is situated in the heart of the Madre de Dios region of the south eastern Amazon of Peru only 70...