Flying out of Cusco, and before I could finish recollecting all the Inca ruins, crafts, citadels, churches, towns and villages that I have seen and all the amazing stories of the Incas and their civilization that I have heard, lie an endless green expanse of green and meandering rivers and oxbow lakes. For the next half hour or so, the scenes below barely change, except for the occasional changes to the hues of green and the rivers flowing with less meanderings. Suddenly I remember that I am over the Peruvian Amazon, which covers 60% of the country.

Meandering river and oxbow lakes.

When I first mentioned to friends and family that I was planning to go to the jungle, their first reaction was:

“What, you’re going where? Oh, the Amazon!”

And so, amongst the first things my friends uttered were : piranhas, jungle, killer spiders, pythons, malaria, mosquitos etc. Of course they were right. And many more flora and fauna too – for Peru has about 20% of the world’s butterfly and bird species.

Watchful black cayman

The Amazon is different things to different people. For the sake of our children and future generations living in our fragile blue marble, I think we have an obligation to preserve the biodiversity of the Amazon and support for forest conservation. There are plant and animal species, yet to be discovered, that can bring forth new medicines and cures.

Here we come!

Be adventurous and experience the indescribable magic, mystery and power of the Amazon.

Waiting to welcome you, here in the dark. An opossum in the Tambopata Reserve.