Gallery: It Took Us Two Days in a Boat to Get to Where the Crazy Jungle Spiders Are
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Pre-dawn on the Tambopata River. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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From out of nowhere, Marlene's spotlight found this gorgeous, spotted jaguar, calmly watching us from the riverbank. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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Peru's Madre de Dios region is at the epicenter of the country's gold rush. The orange scar visible near the bottom of the image is one many created by illegal mining operations. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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Humid Puerto Maldonado is a jungle city that acts as a portal to the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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In Puerto Maldonado, motorcycle taxis buzz through the streets, you can buy barbecued insects in the town square, and mangoes drop impertinently from trees. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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Getting to the Tambopata Research Center meant heading upriver in a motorized canoe, with an overnight stop at [Refugio Amazonas](http://www.perunature.com/refugio-amazonas.html). *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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Clay-colored capybaras, the largest rodents in the world, rest along the riverbank. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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Searching for wildlife at night sometimes means shining a spotlight onto dark riverbanks. Here, rainforest guide Marlene Huaman illuminates the jaguar. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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Our overnight at [Refugio Amazonas](http://www.perunature.com/refugio-amazonas.html) included a nightwalk through the rainforest, during which we found a friendly amblypygid -- a tailless whip scorpion. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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Our trip to the Tambopata Research Center included spending two days on the river. On our second day, the river transitioned from murky orange to a clear grey color. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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We stopped at the El Chuncho clay lick during the trip to the Tambopata Research Center. The salt-rich clays draw hundreds of parrots and macaws to the area. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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Entomologist Phil Torres wanders through the forest while walking to the clay lick viewing site. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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The Tambopata River runs from the eastern Andes, shown here rising in the distance, to the town of Puerto Maldonado. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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Phil Torres looks for caimans in a stream at TRC. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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Cane toads are native to this area of Peru -- unlike in Australia, where they're an invasive species. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
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From left, Lary Reeves, Geena M. Hill, Marlene Huaman, Jeff Cremer, and Phil Torres discuss plans for the day during a meal at the Tambopata Research Center. *Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
