We have been traveling deeper into the Pacaya Samiria Reserve as we sail towards the headwaters of the Amazon River aboard the Delfín II. We are now exploring the Ucayali River and some of its wild tributaries, learning about tropical rain forest ecology, and honing our wildlife-spotting skills.
We embarked the skiffs to head into a narrow "caño," which is the local name for the tributaries of the main rivers. Belluda Caño is located near an "aguajal," or "aguaje palm jungle.” This particular species of palm (mauritia flexuosa) is the main nesting site for several species of macaws. As we headed out for our early skiff ride, the harsh calls of magnificent birds emerged from the aguajal. After scanning with our binoculars in the direction of the calls, we saw a pair of blue and yellow macaws. Several others flew by a couple times. At the same place, red-bellied macaws share the habitat and nest in the hollow aguaje palms. It is amazing to see the beauty of these intelligent and colorful birds in their natural world!
We continued exploring Belluda Caño and made a stop at "The Jungle Café," which means that we tied up the skiffs at the edge of the jungle, and the crew of Delfin II served breakfast for us in a way that was fancier that just "plain camping." Camu camu juice, sandwiches, tea, coffee, and pastries were a nice surprise for the morning outing.
After many exciting sightings of birds, sloths, and primates, we continued sailing up the Ucayali River. After five hours of going upriver against the current, we finally arrived to El Dorado River. Here, we took a detour to enjoy a "spa treatment in Amazonian style." Adonay, our guide and medicinal plant specialist, prepared special clay over a sand bank, to offer a "rejuvenating mud therapy." Many of us were adventurous enough to cover ourselves up almost completely with the grey clay. Others played the role of photographers or simply just joined us to get a good laugh! Rejuvenating or not, we had a fun time sporting our "elephant skins" as the mud dried up.
El Dorado is where we spent the rest of the afternoon. Taking the skiffs through the jungle and the flooded forests, we found yet more sloths, festive Amazon parrots, and had our first encounter with hoatzins. We stayed out until dark and with spotlights, we found a few baby caimans on our way back to the ship. A wonderful Thanksgiving dinner awaited for us on board, followed by live music from our multi-talented crew.
