Preparation

I'm starting to plan my trip to the Amazon. I have just purchased field guides that I will need.

Birds of Peru: Princeton Field Guide
Reptiles and Amphibians of the Amazon: an Ecotourist's Guide
Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: a Field Guide

My next step will be getting a passport and possibly a handheld GPS. Other items to be purchased include a headlamp, rain pants, rubber boots, field shirt, machete, extra camera batteries and memory, DEET, Lifestraw water filter, and iPhone Lifeproof case. In addition, I will also try to learn more Spanish from my co-workers, along with research survival tips. I have decided that the Peruvian Amazon will be my destination, because of the ecosystem diversity, and the possibility of new species discoveries. The next decision is whether to go to Iquitos or Cusco; Picaya Samiria National Preserve or Manu Biosphere Reserve. I'd like to join a real research expedition, but I have not found one yet, so it may be that I'll be just a tourist. One may show up though because it may be a couple years till I'll have the funds to proceed.

A quick side note: I forgot to mention in my last post, that in May I will be going with my family to California for my brothers master degree graduation. We will then visit my grandparents, and that means we will be stopping at Yosemite!