September 2011 was a total jungle month for us. This time we were invited by the Wildlife Conservation Society Peru´s office, to be the Fixer for the Cerro Cuchilla Expedition at the Bahuaja Sonene National Park in the western slopes of the tropical Andes, in the Puno department.
This time was an even harder task due the dry season and the number of people involved; almost 25 scientists from different Latin-American countries, 12 staff members between boat drivers, assistants, cook and camp helpers and our Fixer, having to head up the Tambopata river two days up, jumping into the water and pushing the boats at least 12 times a day to finally arrive to the GPS point and set up a camp for 27 days in this absolutely awesome landscape.
The weather, the demanding environment and the goal to cross the Cuchilla to the La Torre and Chuncho river headwaters (never studied before), was possible due the empiric knowledge and experience of our friends from the Infierno native community and the former forest guards from the National Park and the Tambopata National Reserve, to whom with no doubt go our most sincere acknowledgements.
