Pahuachiro Canio, Casual Hike & Pucate-Yanayacu Rivers
We wake up eager to explore this Emerald forest, recalling Francisco de Orellana, who in 1541 was part of an expedition in search for gold (El Dorado) and spices, particularly cinnamon (Ocotea quixos). He had 200 Spanish soldiers on horseback, 150 soldiers afoot, 2,000 dogs trained to attack natives, 2,000 pigs for food, 2,000 llamas as pack animals, and 4,000 Indians. Walking or horseback riding through the heart of the Amazon was, and still is, a pretty difficult enterprise. The only real feasible way is by water. Orellana learned his lesson and ended up building a boat at the riverbank of Napo, one of the Amazon tributaries, to eventually make it to the Atlantic, with very few men left, and having never found gold or cinnamon.
Centuries after Orellana’s adventure, we arrive in search of our own Dorado: Pacaya-Samiria Reserve. Our only goal is to enjoy and learn as much as possible about the tropical rain forest, no need for gold or spices. We are exploring the same way though, the best way possible, by boat, on board the confortable and unique Delfin II.
Before breakfast we had already taken skiffs up Pahuachiro creek to find several Brown neck three-toed Sloths, Great Black Hawks, Cobalt-winged Parakeets, Slender-billed Kites, and quite a few White-throated Toucans.
After breakfast we went to Casual for a two-hour hike, and gosh did we experience what the Spaniards may have gone through during their months in our planet’s largest rain forest! But the rewards to the heat and humidity were many: Boa constrictor, Dart-poison frog (Dendrobatidae), several tree frogs, a tarantula, and innumerable plant species.
Coming back from our site, in the recently exposed mud along the Maranion riverbank, we were surprised to encounter plenty yellow and gold butterflies of the genus Phoebis. With their proboscis they were getting sodium and nitrogen which males very much need for their sperm production.
During lunch we enjoyed the company of pink and gray dolphins, and then we disembarked for a skiff ride along the Pucate-Yarapa River in search of more wildlife. We passed by the ranger’s station where we became part of the great conservation efforts in the area: we adopted Yellow Spotted River turtles. With a little contribution from Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic, we helped release them to the wild. Each of us chose a turtle, named it, and sent it free carrying our hope for a long and safe life for the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, the real “El Dorado” of the Amazon.
