Friaje

Brrr.

In the Peruvian Amazon, I never realized I’d need fluffy blankets. I snuggle deeper into the inadequate warmth. Is the jungle broken? It is the second day of a bizarre weather phenomenon known as a friaje. A mass of cold air that surged North from the Antarctic now sits squarely over a formerly steamy rainforest.

The next morning I bundle up before leaving the house. It is cool and crisp, and I have light sniffles. With grey haze overhead, it feels a lot like San Francisco.

The mercury got down to just under 9 Celsius(that is 48 degrees F) in the insulated forest that night, it probably got even colder in the field. That day, the even as the sun poked through the temperature struggled to close in on even 20 degrees Celsius.

The first day of a friaje, everything is eerily quiet. However, today, a few animals stir. A couple groups of aracaris run about in the trees. Macaws and parrots wing overhead, their harsh cries pierce the cold morning.

Physiology forces many creatures to quietly wait

I found this Plica umbra by putting my hand on it. All it could do was stiffen like a board and hope not to be spotted.

 

We also found two rainbow boas within 24 hours before the friaje hit. One basking at noon on the trail, another on the crawl in the cool of night. Perhaps to safe hidey holes only boas know