Kanuku Mountains Expedition Day 8

RAP Team Leader Olivier shows us exactly what this old saying means, as he proudly displays his boots, the soles of which have fallen off and been tied on with string. Good thing it is the last day of the trip!

Lined forest falcon (Micrastur gilvicollis)

We are scrambling to finish collecting specimens and recording signs of wildlife now, since tomorrow will be exclusively for packing. Our river crew hope to get us to Rewa by nightfall the day after tomorrow, then back to Annai – meaning our four day trip upstream, will only take one and a half days downstream. Yahoo!

PEOPLE: Jan Mol, fish expert.

Still, there is time to see a few last things today. We found this lined forest falcon glaring at us from the bat mist-net before we let him go. This bird nest was also tucked away in a stump right next to our camp. The parents chipped angrily at us once we discovered their well-kept

Bird nest found near camp.

ISSUE: Illegal wildlife trade.

A requiem for hammocks

My dad makes hand-woven rope hammocks in a cedar-sided shop in rural Virginia, so I grew up playing in hammocks, but I never slept in one before this trip. "That's what beds are for," my dad always said. After this trip, I see his point. Sure, hammocks are great for that mid-afternoon nap, or chilling out with a good book. But sleeping in them every night means doing somersaults by accident at 3 AM and waking up with your hair in dreadlocks. The joys of the field!

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