Blue and Yellow Macaws fly beneath the canopy on a misty morning. Tambopata.

A pair of Curl-Crested Aracari take a break from foraging in nearby fruit trees. The crest of these unusual birds really looks a little plastic and with a little more growth would be Elvis like.. we think they're great! Tambopata.

We got an entire sequence of Ivory-Billed Aracari mating, but we don't want to make anyone splutter into their morning coffee with hardcore bird porn, so you'll have to make do with a softer picture! Tambopata.

A white-eared Jacamar tosses a newly caught bee into its mouth. Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo.

This unusual creature is a collared puffbird, one of the more rarely glimpsed bird families in the Amazon. Here it consumes a cicada. Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo.

The long-billed woodcreeper is more likely to be seen vertically on a trunk than on a perch. For every habit and behavior there seem to be birds who will specialise in it. Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo.

The fork-tailed woodnymph (a hummingbird) is one of the more brighly coloured inhabitants (and also one of the most restless), they dash around like pinballs! Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo.

You don't have to be colorful to be striking however, as this barred antshrike shows. Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo.

In the deeper and darker thickets the very small and rather enigmatic manakin bird family make their displays. Here, a female unexpectedly starts showing off a move more normally done by males to impress females.. the male seemed rather nonplussed by the episode and courtship finished soon after unfortunately! Golden-Headed Manakins, Allpahuayo-Mishana Reserve, near Iquitos.

Aside from macaws, quetzals are some of the most colorful birds often seen. Pavonine quetzal, Allpahuayo-Mishana.

This Great Jacamar uses the same idea..'if I'm bright green, maybe no-one will see me!'. Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo.

It was worth the rather appalling mosquito conditions to see the wire-tailed manakins. They only occur in a small area and do a 'Michael Jackson moonwalk' as part of their courtship. Seriously, they slide backwards on branches in their courtship dance.. you can see it on Youtube! Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo.

The greatest density of birdlife we saw was without doubt at the 'clay-lick' at Tambopata Research Center. This is an area of tall river bank where the clay has minerals the birds consume - this is believed to be for digestive purposes to counteract toxins in unripe fruit.

We were delighted to see this Southern Tamandua - it is a small anteater that climbs trees... wonderful stuff!

The monkeys in Tambopata were a lot more curious than other places we have been in the Amazon.

Due to a breeding program in the area you may also happen across Woolly Monkeys that seem pretty relaxed in front of the lens! Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo.

The 'Dusky Titi' monkey is the most common around Tambopata it seems. Cue jokes involving hairy 'titi's...

We only saw the famously slow moving three-toed sloth in Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo, and yes, it can require a little patience to wait for even a remotely photogenic posture to be achieved! Sloths spend almost their entire lives in the canopy, but bizarrely they descend to the forest floor for bathroom purposes before slowly climbing all the way back up!

Small eyes peer out of the many treeholes of the forest as you pass..here a treerat. Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo.

Eyes everywhere..! Tambopata. We didn't see any vampire bats, at least not too close thankfully..!

Not all insects are as annoying as the mosquitoes can be...although I still wouldn't argue with this armoured shield bug.

The fungus beetles don't have an attractive name, but they're certainly attractive to look at. Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo.

Heard those 'A frog walks into a bar' jokes? We have too, and found it faintly disturbing when a frog really did... as you can see it wasn't best pleased it had to wait so long for its order either. Tambopata.

Our favourite fungi were the 'Lady's Veil' fungi. Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo.

The most elegant river bird has to be the Capped Heron with its long crest feathers that look like long ribbons when it flies. Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo.

The 4.30am start was worth it to see the endangered Giant River Otter. These animals have been known to kill and eat caiman (Amazon crocodiles)... no one argues with them, (apart from humans, who've almost shot them to extinction making fashionable clothes). Tambopata.

Sometimes young Caiman can be seen around the edges of forest lakes (often 'oxbow lakes' from the nearby meandering rivers). Tambopata.

No trip to Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo would be complete without a pink dolphin sighting. These remarkable animals feature large in the folklore of the local indian communities. They are also very hard to get good pictures of here... the water is so murky that you never have any indication where they will appear next, and unlike marine dolphins they rarely breach or perform acrobatics above water. We were amazed at the frequency of sightings here though, almost every day.. and often we weren't even looking for them. If you don't mind swimming with the piranhas in your speedos (they normally only eat people in movies!) then you can even swim with them!

Our biggest 'Amazon lottery' win was undoubtedly seeing a Margay.. cat encounters are so rare we never really bothered to think much about the possibility, so to see one of the rarest jungle cats (and a nocturnal one at that) was extraordinary luck - it was the first time our guide had seen one in 7 years! These amazing cats have ankle joints that allow them to almost reverse their backfeet when descending trees, so the front claws face forward while the back claws face backwards! Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo.

Looking along the fjordland coast

The view from the inner end of the fjord is often beautiful

The weather added a somewhat moody quality during our time there..

Sometimes the weather can´t decide what to do... it changed from torrential rain to strong sun four times in one walk on Mechuque!

The Pumalin Park (aka North Face land) abounds with impressive waterfalls... (as the logic fiends amongst you may thus work out, it also rains a lot... oh well, helps to sell the North Face coats I guess...!)

One special feature of the area is that some streams and stream pools are naturally hot..

Ready made Jurassic Park, just add dinosaurs.

Hot tub with a view.

It´s not just pisco sours in hot springs... there´s some nice local flora too! (Sorry, we haven´t got a species name for this orchid yet..)

Birdlife like this Banded Kingfisher added some interest also...

Sunset over the ridge of Amirante Nieto, the mountain next to the famous towers.

The Towers. Not clear that often, but we think they look a little more evocative with some cloud around.

When you do get lucky with the weather, it does look great...pity it seems to happen so rarely!

The ridge of Amirante Nieto emerging above clouds.

Buzzards and the famous Condor can be seen soaring high among the mountains.

Lago Grey is quite often just that with the weather but the blue icebergs lighten things up a bit in scenery terms.

Taking a boat trip up to the edge of the large glacier at the head of Lago Grey shows the scale of the glacier, and the crevasses.

Glacier ice texture.

Lupins are an introduced plant, but large stands of them add wonderful colour to the landscapes.

The flamingoes are most often seen around the salt lakes, such as Laguna Amarga.

Another of the birds that can seem a little incongruous arounds the snow and glaciers - the Austral Parakeet.

The American Kestrel can also be seen.

For a few weeks a year carpets of daisies cover many areas of the woodlands.

The Porcelain Orchid, possibly the most beautiful of the orchids in Torres del Paine.

The 'Chica' orchid..

The yellow 'lady's slipper' is common in many areas through the region - in contrast to the Falklands.

The similar 'orange lady's slipper'.

'Estrallita' - another local flower adding colour to the landscapes in flowering season.

The King Penguin colony at Volunteer Point

King penguins on the snow-like white beach.

Sometimes they really look like Russian dolls..

Detail of a penguin beak

Kings and a chick make their way along the beach

Kings have an 18 month breeding cycle, and on the Falklands chicks and eggs may be seen for much of the year.

Feeding trips for each parent may be many days, so a greeting is in order on their return.

Days in the Falklands are long - sunrise 4am and sunset 9.30pm but you can be sure of penguin activity right through the day.

A magellanic penguin engages 4 flipper drive.

The Neck on Saunders, a fine beach for a penguin, but a long walk to get there for most people - 15 miles on hillsides and clifftops!

The clear waters of The Neck.

A rockhopper portrait

Rockhoppers tend to come in through the stormier water, at first appearing as shadows under the waves.

Then bursting through the waves at speed in a behavior called ´porpoising´.

Sometimes many of them witll burst through the final waves onto the cliff at once.

The first challenge on landing is to get out of the zone where the waves blast over the rocks, otherwise they will get washed back out to sea.

Then the long climb begins..

..and may continue for some time. They are better at climbing cliffs than me, that´s for sure!

After all that work there´s nothing like a good shower in a waterfall!

The Gentoo may not be rock climbers but that doesn´t mean there is no hardship.. sandstorms can be vicious.

...and the distances across the beaches to the colonies can be large.

Gentoo colony in a sandstorm - our cameras loved us after that one!

Sometimes the winds are so strong you can actually see the wakes around the penguins as the sand flies along..

On Carcass Island there is a Gentoo colony on the top of a mountain - a good 45 minute climb for us - that´s some hike for a penguin to do every day!

The Gentoos tend to come back to and leave from the colony in the evening, forming a ´highway´from the sea.

Sunset light catches one penguin in the colony.

Gentoo chick in the evening light.

Nightfall at the Gentoo colony.

The albatross often share their space with penguins. On West Point island Rockhoppers ´hop´through the maze of tussac grass and tall albatross nests.

A black browed albatross at the ´Devil´s Nose´ on West Point Island

Albatross carpet even the steep cliff side areas of tussac grass on West Point.

An albatross nests on a luxuriant cliff face on Saunders Island.

Albatross construct their nests out of mud like giant eggcups. Over time, some can become several feet high.

Not all landings are crash landings! The albatross have impressive wingspan which is especially evident when back at the nest.

Against a sea of blue, green and gold the albatross wheel around gracefully.

Flying close to the surface they seem to be in complete control.

With some wind they can also make a pretty significant speed. Some species of albatross have been recorded flying at 130 kph!

Before landing they have to fold down their wings to reduce speed and lift - unexpected landings in someone else´s patch are not appreciated!

On Saunders Island, the albatross are mixed in with large cormorant and Rockhopper penguin colonies.

Albatross circle around the coast of Saunders in the evening light.

There is sometimes a lot of mist close to the sea surface in the Falklands so that islands appear to rise from the mist.

Some of the islands are quite mountainuous, like Steeple Jason, the world´s largest Black Browed albatross breeding colony.

While they may look small on the map, don´t be fooled - the islands are much bigger than you think! The air is so clear here you can see mountains 50 miles away as if they were only an hour or two of walking away.

The stereotype of dull islands with bad weather is not entirely true either.. some places could take a palm tree or two without looking too out of place!

While some beaches look almost tropical the full force of the Southern Ocean breaks on others.

It´s easy to spend a long time just sitting along the coastline watching the amazing vertical walls of clear blue-green water crash onto the rocks.

The waves are not devoid of life, Rockhopper penguins come riding through this surf leaping acrobatically onto the cliffs.

In more sheltered bays there is other wildlife to watch, such as these Commerson´s dolphins.

The enormous wide beaches are often only frequented by penguins and the occasional goose...

Magellanic penguins especially have a real herd mentality, if one heads for the water, suddenly they all follow with a wild dash into the surf...usually to come out again one minute later!

The frequent strong winds sculpt the sands into extraordinary textures and shapes.

With the strong wind comes strong swell, and over long periods some sections of cliff get sculpted into honeycombs.

Many seabirds roost on the slopes above the cliffs..

On the flat terraces at the cliff tops of Sea Lion Island huge colonies of King Cormorants collect.

Walking along the windswept beaches and coastal plains penguin colonies are visible.

Falklands vegetation - a varied patchwork, but not a tree to be found.

On close inspection, the vegetation is a lot more than just greens. These bright ´diddle-dee´ berries make their way into Falklands cooking in various guises and vast streches of them cover the moorland areas.

Leopard Bay, Carcass Island.

A 'breezy' day on Sea Lion Island.

Another day, another landing - the incredible acrobatics (and toughness) of the Rockhopper Penguin.

Many of the Bijagos islands are fringed with beaches.

The wide tidal flats beyond the beaches are rich feeding grounds for Flamingoes.

Some of the Bijagos islands are uninhabited, and these especially are often major turtle nesting areas. As the sun rises it illuminates beaches covered with the meandering tracks of turtles that climbed up the beach during the night.

Looking closer at the beaches, occasionally narrow tracks lead away from the beach disappearing mysteriously into the palm jungles.

Following these paths through the bush, a sudden change occurs as palm forest and grassland regions give way to forests of old kapok trees.

Walking through the airy forest amongst these enormous trees, you are not alone. Nestled amongst these great networks of roots small houses appear. The people of these houses are the Bijogo people. Their belief is that forest spirits live in these giant kapok trees and they protect the village. Every Bijogo village on the island is quite deep in the jungle surrounded by these trees.

Both boys and girls of the Bijogo people must pass through initiation rights before adulthood. These center around the 'fanado' ritual (which is one of the most sacred ceremonies and happens only once every 7-10 years) where the young males and females are separated and taken to secret locations in the jungle where they will remain for months to learn important knowledge and skills of adulthood, including the ceremonial dances. Part of the fanado is the ornamental scarification of participants. Different villages or regions will often have different designs for these 'skin carvings'. The skin carving design of his village can be seen on this boy who is holding termite mound fragments to be used to feed chickens or for the fire.

Dance is an important part of the culture of Bijogo villages. The gentleman here is the 'dance chief' for a village on the island of Caravela. Note he has skin carvings too, but skin carvings are done at the very latest by the early teens and after some years the markings become more subtle.

House design varies between islands, on Caravela house design is traditionally square. House walls are made from dried mud with some local additives and roofed with local thatch. Traditional skirts are made from a dried grass found in the savannah like areas of the island. Interestingly, the style of the grass skirt is different on different islands.

For contrast, this is a traditional village on the island of Orangozinho, note the presence of round walled houses.

Spirits are an important and widespread part of Bijogo life. Some houses on Caravela have 'spirit branches' next to the doors of their houses. The Bijogo believe that spirits reside around forked branches like this and tie the remains of offerings and sacrifices to them. It is not uncommon to see small collections of lightly carved forked branches placed around large kapok trees.

Daily life in remote Bijogo villages is subsistence focussed. When they travel they will acquire products such as cloth in trade, however long distance voyages are rare and dangerous given local sea conditions, and in many respects they lead a self-sufficient lifestyle (most Bijogo do not own boats or fish very often, and many Bijogo cannot swim). In this picture a Bijogo woman makes a new grass skirt.

Agricultural land for the Bijogo falls into two major categories, 'lugar' (dry and sandy) and 'bulanye' (swampy and muddy) land. The sandy land is of course much harder to cultivate, however there is a local variety of peanut that, amazingly, will grow well even in what appears to be pure sand. It is harvested in November to January with small digging sticks. Work in the fields starts early before the sun rises too high and gets too hot.

Cultivation and harvesting is the work of the whole family, however young!

In sandy areas which have at least some topsoil rice planting is mixed with squash vines that produce surprisingly large and juicy fruits, as a wife of the village chief displays here.

Once harvested, the rice is left in large stacks separated from the ground to reduce rat activity. As may be expected, huge numbers of birds descend on the harvested rice if it is left in the fields for too long.

Punctuated with many palm trees and termite mounds, the rice 'fields' are not the more sterile intensive cultivation areas familiar to Western eyes.

The swampy 'bulanye' land is visibly more verdant, supporting vibrantly coloured rice meadows reminiscent of South East Asia. The palm trees overhead look a little like chandeliers as they are so full of small woven bird nests.

The swamp meadows are dotted with these curious tent-like huts, which, along with the green of the rice and the continuous song of the thousands of birds overhead gives a rather idyllic atmosphere.

Families go out to their rice gardens in the early morning an remain there until evening. It may look a little like Eden with small children appearing and disappearing through the green mist of leaves but take care where you step, there are black mambas and cobras here...

Once brought back to the village the rice must be pounded and then tossed repeatedly to remove the chaff. When I felt the weight of the pounders the children use I was amazed, they must have been at least 8 kg, more than one third of the weight of some children, but they pound away for long periods seemingly without fatigue.

Like some other remote African areas, drumming is a central part of life. Bijogo villages have at least one large ceremonial drum (a 'bombolo'). Before playing this drum it must have palm rum sprayed over it as an offering to the spirits of the ancestors. By doing this, certain members of the village will be able to hear the voices of the ancestors through the drumbeat of this ceremonial drum. Here, a village elder takes mouthfuls of palm rum from a cow's horn and then loudly sprays it out over the drum (and anyone sitting too near the drum!). The concept of hearing ancestor's voices is an extension of the fact that large drums are still sometimes used to communicate between villages in remoter islands of the Bijagos.

When there was a drumbeat, movement and dance of one form or another never seemed far away for adults and children alike, many emotions seemed to be transferred from the drumbeats. (Several nights the drumming went on late into the night - not easy to sleep with, not easy at all...).

The drumbeat here came from an empty palm oil container. The women perform the 'kundere' the most famous women's dance in the Bijagos. The shorter more coloured grass skirts here are more typical in the south Bijagos.

A special dance of the men on Caravela is the 'cow dance'. Note the impressive costume has assimilated many items of an imported or modern nature such as the bells and the scarf. This inclusion of modern objects into traditional practices is one of the fascinating aspects of Bijogo culture - defunct wristwatches will appear next to traditional fetishes, plastic toy fragments next to cow hide garments. Indeed, dance itself is a living tradition here, as well as animal dances you may be lucky to witness an 'airplane dance' as people impersonate aeroplanes rather than animals - more incorporation of the modern world into their traditional practices.

A cow dancer distinguishes himself by strutting up and down in a jerky manner, raising a large cloud of dust with foot stamping and creating a measure of cacophony with all the bells strapped to his waist!

Cow dancers may sometimes go 'head to head' as angry bulls facing off against each other.

For great ceremonial and spiritual occasions a special ceremonial drum holder must be used for the large ceremonial drum. Note that this drum holder is engraved with the skin carving design specific to men of that village group.

This interesting spirit head is adorned with a top hat. The fabric tied to the hat would originally have been red, this is the colour of the spirits. This spirit (locally known as an 'iran') was at the root of a large kapok tree with a collection of animal heads strung between roots above it from sacrifice offerings. Common sacrifice offerings are chickens, sometimes fish and the occasional cow.

Evening is a tranquil time in most Bijogo villages, the smoke from cooking fires drifts lazily around the mango trees in the center of the village as people come back from the fields.

As Bijogo villages are never on the coast and usually surrounded by very tall trees nice sunsets are not common in the villages, but if you care to walk out to the beaches in the evening then you can sometimes see remarkable displays as the sun goes down.