Peruvian Amazon - Tambopota-Candamo Reserve Zone (TCRZ)

"La Selva de Madre," The Mother of the Jungle with her massive trunk, spans the width of many curios eco-tourists.

Nearly transparent glass-wing butterflies, quite elusive, flying in the obscure shade of the forest disappear and reappear some distance away. Their bold coloring warns predators of being distasteful or poisonous.

The Tambopota River is a highway in and out of the rain forest with many residents buying and selling their wares in Puerto Maldonado, downstream from the Reserve.

Traveling at night holds many surprises as a variety of spiders will slowly descend from the canopy - as do silk spinning catepillars, some covered with poisonous spines (I recommend a head lamp, which saved me from numerous encounters!).

The rain forest provides for those who know where to find it. Wasai palms make good roofing material and mats while the red roots of the "Itinga" are good for kidney disease. But beware of the other creatures in the forest.