We flew from Lima to Puerto Maldonado and then went by boat up the Tambopata River to Tambopata Jungle Lodge for the night.Next morning,it was back in the boat for another long journey up river to our camp on the river bank,opposite the Colpa de los Guacamayos-the clay lick which attracts hundreds of macaws and parrots each dawn.We rose at 4 am and crossed the river to the lick only to find another group from a nearby lodge had got the best seats.I settled in,finding my view restricted by four trees,the sand flies dining on my flesh,and the light marginal-probably a good time to leave me alone!Next morning,we got up even earlier and grabbed the front row for the show.I ditched the teleconverter to get some shutter speed for flight shots,but was still pretty unhappy-the birds were quite a distance away.When I downloaded the shots a few days later my mood improved-although just one stop of extra light would have improved my hit rate enormously.The D2X performed superbly-autofocus acquisition and tracking could not have been better.The S3 was unuseable-it just went haywire,taking shots by itself randomly-a combination of the humidity and Fuji's last attempt to fix it.The rest of our days were spent exploring the jungle before returning to Tambopata Lodge for a second night-a boat trip that saw us almost capsize and take on a lot of water that soaked luggage,people, but,very fortunately,not my cameras.Thanks to Juan Carlos and Julian,our local guides,and to the camp chef,for all of their efforts.