Saturday, we took Avery out to a nearby Jaguar Preserve with a group from the Embassy. We had heard wonderful things about the place, despite the somewhat treacherous drive required to get there. The Preserve prides itself on providing a natural place of respite for jaguars, pumas, ocelots and other animals rescued from poachers - who more often than not, mistreated the animals horribly.

This animal sanctuary was amazing - the beauty and magnificent strength of the cats enthralling! Here's the large, male onça-pintada, who was none too thrilled with his audience.

The pumas appeared more laid-back, but also seemed to take a keen interest in the small children...

After the first meet-n-greet with the animals, our guides took us on a small hike to a fantastic little waterfall, where the kiddos took a swim.

One of our guides got in on the cool, water action.

The natural flora of the preserve was also interesting. This is a jabuticaba (say, ja-Boo-tee-caba) fruit tree. Amazing in that the flower and fruit develop on the tree trunk and branches, rather than budding from the leaves. It's aroma - jasmine-like, was intoxicating!

I have a thing for parrots - and there were plenty to enjoy: blue and red macaws, green amazon parrots, and even a token (and adorable!) toucan!

I tried to make friends with the red macaw, but things went downhill when her "love nibbles" got a little too close to sensitive areas. Nice face, huh? ;)