Nuevo Salem to Imacita to Bagua Grande to Pomocochas (Sep 27-29)

We left El Paraiso mid-morning and headed back South toward Chiriaco.

	Typical house along the roadside in the rainforest.
	Typical road conditions in the rainforest!
	At one place we stopped along the way, some men had a pet Tyra (member of the weasel family), so we each took a turn "playing" with it! Here's Derb.
	Now it's Blan's turn.

Imacita to Nuevo Salem

To visit this magical site on the Maranon River and to avoid jeopardizing birding relations with the native people, previous arrangements are mandatory. We found the native Awarunas at this location to be very friendly, accomodating, and openly encouraging of eco-tourism. The village supplied us with a guide, familiar with the vocalizations of the Orange-throated Tanager, to lead us to the best tanager location.

Jose Lirio is the man who has encouraged eco-tourism in this part of Peru and who has helped pave the way for birders. For more information on how to contact him and book arrangements to this site, contact any of the various birding companies in Peru including: Birding Peru, Tanager Tours, Kolibri Expeditions, and Manu Expeditions.

	At the village of Imacita, we hired a boat to take us downriver to the village of Nuevo Salem, where we'd have another chance for the rare Orange-throated Tanager.
	Laundry day at the river.
	Part of our welcoming party when we landed at Nuevo Salem. This village was yet another with no electricity, plumbing, or running water (except for the river, in which we took our first "bath" in three days, and boy did it feel good!).
	Our "hotel" in the village of Nuevo Salem, This building had been recently constructed especially to accomodate birder "ecotourism" and slept 8 persons on a bamboo platform inside. I believe we were the first group of birders to stay there and only the second or third group of birders to visit Nuevo Salem! The people of this village were very friendly and excited about future birder visits. The village chief gave us a welcome speech when we got there and a thank-you speech when we left!
	The next morning a village guide led us up this trail to a location where the Orange-throated Tanager had been found. Here are a group of young palm trees coming up next to the trail.
	This shelter was recently built for birders to take shelter from the elements while searching for the tanager and other birds. In case you're wondering, yes, we did see THE bird (Orange-throated Tanager, a species that has probably been seen by less than 50 birders in the world!) and many other good birds coming into a fruiting tree along a trail near this shelter!
	Cool buttressing tree along the trail.
	A plantation of pineapple and "yuca" (behind the pineapples). Yuca (also known as cassava, manihot, and tapioca) is a starchy root vegetable grown and eaten (it must be cooked) throughout Central and South America. For us science geeks, Yuca is known as Manihot esculenta in the Euphorbiaceae :-)
	After birding at Nuevo Salem for a few hours, we headed back to the village, packed up our belongings, and took the riverboat back upstream to Imacita. Here are some kids playing along the river!
	In Imacita, we perused the markets and had lunch in a very HOT restaurant. It was interesting that in the "remote jungles of Peru" the markets had Nike shorts and Hilfiger shirts and other "western" trinkets and items, yet most houses lacked electricity and plumbing!
	A few of us, including this parrot, enjoyed a beer with lunch! Here are Derb and Dan contributing to parrot delinquency!
	And here's a typical toilet facility. Note that there's no seat nor lid. There was also no roof (note the sun shining in) and no door to the room -- it opened directly into the kitchen of the restaurant. (And this was one of the nicer facilities we had . . .)
	We left Imacita and headed back toward the mountains (the Eastern Andes) en route to Bagua Grande. This horseman had the philosophy, "speak softly, and carry a big chainsaw . . ."
	Had to get a shot of the tree ferns for the Dick and Melvin!
	Nice scenery on the way to Bagua Grande.
	When we arrived at the hotel in Bagua Grande, the welcoming party awaited, and Derb felt right at home!
	Blan and Jeff seemed to settle in pretty comfortably, too!