Hello, World!

We just finished 7 days on the upper Amazon River -- actually on several of the numerous rivers that feed the Amazon. Two thousand miles from the mouth of the river these tributaries are enormous, and the forests are all flooded because it's the rainy season. I hope to post more photos and memories from this amazing trip, but meanwhile here are some photos of the local people. I've been totally out of contact with the rest of the world as there's no internet or cell phone coverage.

The little girl above lives in a village along the river, and showed us her pet -- a baby paca. It will grow to be a large one, though they are prized for meat by the villagers, so who knows what its fate may be.

Sunset at another village.

Carola, a shaman, gave a talk to the passengers on the boat. Here she is
rubbing hair-growing potion into our fellow passenger Jj's head.

And now for some birds -- the following photos are among Len's favorites. We saw many more!

A lesser yellow-headed vulture in flight. 

This very unusual looking bird is called the Hoatzin.

A collared puff bird.

Green and yellow macaws.

A paradise tanager.

A ringed kingfisher.