Today we said good by to the Manu River and National Park. After a relatively leisurely start we were into our boat and headed down the Manu River to the confluence with the Madres De Dios. Along the way we got really lucky as one of the guides spotted another jaguar on one of the numerous beaches along the river. We got a good, though distant, look at him. That's our second. Many groups don't see one in their 9 days in the jungle.

At the junction of the two rivers we stopped at the village of Boca Manu to get some fuel. Most of us took the opportunity to take some refreshments, like beer, and have a look around the village. the population is about 500, it has satellite telephone, a number of shops, school, and a nice soccer field.

From Boca Manu we went another 2 hours down the Madre De Dios to our next lodge. The lodge is called Tambo Blanquillo. It's bigger than the other lodges we have been at, and had other guests in addition to us. The guest quarters are interesting. A Very large single roof covering a large space. Under this space a series of sleeping rooms and bathrooms have been built with walls that are only partitions. This is the only place we have been where the rooms are not screened in to protect from insects. However, thankfully, the beds have mosquito nets. All the huts we stayed in had mosquito nets,

About 3:00 pm we went to a local OxBow lake Cocha Blanco. We spent a couple of hours looking at the various birds on the lake. Generally a pleasant but not spectacular afternoon.