A 5:00 am start for one of the highlights of the trip, The Macaw clay lick. What's that you ask?

Macawas are a large parrot like bird (you probably know that), very colorful and noisy. In the jungle they eat fruit that is toxic (the only kind available, but that's another story) and to neutralize the toxins from the fruit they need to consume certain minerals that they get by eating a particular type of clay. The place they get this is called a clay lick; this one is very famous.

We were at the lick before 6:00 and settled into the seats in the large, palm roofed wall-less, building from which we tourists observe the Macaw's antics.

It proved to be quite a wait as the birds first assemble slowly into a size-able crowd before there is any clay eating. Having assembled there follows a process of approaching the clay cliffs, all the time Macaw's are flying in and out and screeching. Its a really interesting sight that any teacher would recognize as kids in the play ground. Eventually about 8:00 am the birds started eating the clay. They cling to a small cliff or wall of clay and nibble on it every so often squabbling with another bird that approaches too close.

We left the birds to their eating about 9:00 am and set out, by boat, to visit a tree top look out. It soon became apparent that the tree top did not half describe this structure. The look out is in a tree, 45 m above the ground and is reached by a steel tower and stairs. The tree is huge, even 45 m off the ground the trunk is 3-4 ft in diameter, and some of the branches on which the lookout sits are 2-3 ft in diameter. At the base the tree is easily 25 ft in diameter with buttress roots 8-10 ft high. Simply amazing.

Back at the lodge after our outings we had a few hours down time including lunch, then into the boat again for a 3 hour trip back to the lodge near the confluence of the Manu and Mardre De Dios where we were on the second night.