Each day of our vacation at Inkaterra Reserva brought us joy and surprise. What started off as a hike through the dense forest quickly turned into a slippery muddy trail, courtesy the daily afternoon rain and the lack of sunshine on the deep forest floor.

We aborted the hike, but a short boat ride got us to our destination in quick time. A really cool way of seeing the expanse of the Amazonian forest was on the Canopy Walkway. Ascending to the top of the tower gave us panoramic views of the forest as far as the eye could see, and the muddy Madre de Dios river coursing through.

Once we had our fill of the wider view, it was time to step on the walkway – a series of bridges fastened to some of the tallest and sturdiest trees, that enabled us to take the ‘aerial’ route through the forest, one person at a time.

More difficult than it looked, but fun while it lasted, the walkway took us back to the tower, to make our way back to terra firma.

We walked through the woods and looked closely at the trees too. The Gamitana model farm was impressive. There’s a special joy in plucking fruit off the tree and tasting it. I would fail a name-the-tree quiz, but never forget the beauty of the forest.

We weren’t the only ones amongst those trees. On our boat ride back, we spotted a family of curious squirrel monkeys who peered at us then went on to grab lunch from the uppermost branches.