In October I headed back to the rainforest for National Geographic Television, this time to the Amazon in southeastern Peru. While this was my second time to amazonian Peru, this trip would be vastly different from my 2007 trip to Iquitos in the north east of the country where we filmed National Geographic’s: Deadly Dozen Amazon. While my intimate knowledge of the ‘Deadly Dozen’ did provide our crew with endless musings about what we might encounter in the forest, the only real worries we faced came from the remoteness of our location. The subjects we were seeking would require us to go far off the beaten path, headed far up river from modern civilization. Flying into Puerto Maldanado, after a night’s rest we started a 2 day trip up river to reach our first destination at a research station in Manu National Park at the little oxbow lake called Cocha Cashu. Led by expert naturalist and guide Walter Mancilla, we could not have been in better hands as we headed up the Madre de Dios and Manu Rivers. I can only describe Cocha Cashu as magical. This beautiful lake and the pristine forest that surrounds it are just breathtaking and brimming with wildlife. Paradise for someone such as myself. A research station for over 25 years, Cashu has played host to biologists from all over the world studying different subjects. Lacking in the comforts you might find at an eco-tourist lodge, the research station’s quaint beauty more than made up for having to rough it a little. Spotlighting caiman eyes while you bathe at the water’s edge is way cooler than any shower ever could be anyway. Prior to the program airing later this year I can’t give too many details of our adventure, but I am full of stories of Manu if you ever get a chance to ask me about it. Until then, enjoy a few of my favorite photos from the trip.