Peru – Manu national park – Day 4 – the Jaguar

On the way back it started to rain and wouldn’t stop for the next 36 hours. The afternoon we spent in the dining bungalow, sorting pictures, reading, eating popcorn and watching the wildlife from inside, as we had tamarin, capuchin and squirrel monkeys all passing closely by.

The next morning it still rained, not too excited as we had another 7h boat ride coming up to Manu Wildlife Center, on an open boat. No problem though, they wrapped us up in plastic like cargo and we remained comfortably dry and warm. The cold weather brought the caimans to the beaches and we played a game of “who can spot more caimans on their side of the river”. Dorin won with a meager 1 point difference, but only as the capybaras didn’t count for cuteness points. Once the rain stopped, we got super lucky. Our guide initially wanted to point out some fat white bird on the beach only to spot the jaguar a few meters next to it! She was taking a sunbath and let us come quite close before wandering off, back into the forest.