By Gregory J. Palmerino

The rushing symphony of water and birdsong always illicit great joy in my heart—when traveling by boat down the Rio Alto Madré de Dios in the Manu Biosphere the feeling is almost overwhelming. I have always been a child of the water—swimming before I could walk and frolicking through the waves along the shores of my childhood home in California for as long as I have memory. Yet pools and city side beaches pale in comparison to the magical biodiversity to be found in the Peruvian amazon.

To navigate the waterways here takes a skill that can only be learned over a lifetime of experience and generational knowledge—at the Manu Learning Center we are lucky to be in the hands of river boat captains who are native to this land. Their weathered eyes watch the ever changing currents, rocky shallows, and tree falls freeing mine to search the skies and shorelines for the flora and fauna that have captivated my imagination since first I heard tell of this place. Birds common here are uncommon to my eyes, their beauty soaring above us in all colors and sizes dazzling my mind like the reflected sun. Other animals are more elusive, their rarity sparking even greater thrills when at last they do appear. The caiman, the capybara, the coati… gazing back at me—a reflection of my own curiosity.

This river’s water is a giver of life. It unifies the experience of all of us who journey to this place, who reside on this Earth. Traveling by boat through the rainforest I am grateful for this reminder.  I am grateful for the lifeblood that flows in my veins, little changed from the waters from which our species emerged.