El Perezoso

My trip to Peru was absolutely amazing. There is truly no place like the Amazon. The scenery of the calm river and the huge forest was breathtaking, and all of the daily surveys are fun and educational. I loved hiking through the forest and catching birds and frogs, but I also learned a lot about the ongoing problems of conservation of the forest and how the local communities are trying to help. I also learned a lot about the different animals that live in the Amazon and how they behave and interact with other species. A highlight of my trip was during the fishing survey. My group stayed on the main boat, to fish with rods, while I went in a small, metal canoe with a guide to set up the net. We paddled along the river. It was so serene and beautiful, but then we entered a dark forest with spiky trees that we had to dodge. We set up the net, caught a couple of wolf fish a headed back to the main boat. On the way back, the guide spotted a sloth in a tree and told me to wave to it. He said if it waved back its good luck. Slowly, but surely, the sloth waved back! It was truly amazing. Back on the boat, we talked about everything we saw that day and played lots of games. From then on, my friends called me 'perezoso'. I became good friends with other kids from my own school, the other school, and the local biologists and guides. We had a big salsa dancing night at the end of the trip that was very fun, and I still talk to all of my new friends today! Overall, this trip only made me more interested in biology and ecology, and if I could, I would do go on this trip again in a heartbeat!