Freddy, our Manu guide, was a wonderful young man who knew an awful lot about Manu flora and fauna. He grew up in a small village in Manu and is a serious student of Manu, memorizing some 800 birds, recognizing them by appearance and voice, and learning of their habits and habitats. He has a degree in tourism and is a strong advocate for eco-tourism as a means of providing people of the region with income while maintaining the purity of Manu's natural state. Having said all that, butterflies were not Freddy's strong point. But while I am fascinated by their beautiful presence, I am not an aficionado obsessed with identification. As a result, purely for visual entertainment, are some unlabeled pictures of mariposas we saw in Manu (there were many more butterflies, but they are not very cooperative camera subjects - I saw quite a few Morphos but none ever cooperated for a photo).
 |
| Owl butterfly photographed late in the day. |
The lovelies below were plentiful and often seen in large groups on the gravel roads, seemingly most often in the wheel ruts where we often saw their smashed remains as well - one would think that their species is not destined for the long-term.
As a trip update, we are now in Arequipa, Peru, a ten hour bus ride south of Cusco. The "luxury" sleeper bus while better than most buses didn't really live up to the "luxury" moniker.
No comments:
Post a Comment