We started exploring early this morning as we were going far and deep into the Pacaya Samiria Reserve. With blue skies above, we zoomed upstream. Highlights included a flock of comical looking hoatzins and a flock of six blue-and-yellow macaws. High in the treetops, we came across several troops of red howler monkeys. After a stop for lunch, we headed downriver for what was called the “piranha plunge.” No piranhas were to be found as we cooled off in the river, and we all left with our fingers and toes intact. True to rainforest cycles, the clouds built during the morning and early afternoon and then dumped their moisture on us by the bucketful as we made our way back to the Delfin II. We filled out the afternoon with origami towel folding lessons, a talk on creative ideas with our images, and a lesson in making the perfect pisco sour. It was a delicious and refreshing way to end our day in the Upper Peruvian Amazon.
7/25/2024
Read
Delfin II
Ucayali and Dorado Rivers
Today we had the great opportunity to start exploring the riverbank of the Ucayali River. We loaded the skiffs right after sunrise. As we cruised along the riverbank, different species of birds were seen. A highlight of that early exploration was the sighting of a tayra, a small omnivorous creature in the weasel family, that didn’t stay long in our view. After breakfast, we walked through Yanallpa flooded forest. Here our naturalist explained to us the importance of the floods for the Amazon forest. They also pointed out the effect of climate change over the area and how it has changed the use of the soils after the floods. It was a morning of learning about how the forest has manage to adapt to the seasonal floods and how fish and other animals depends on those events. Our late afternoon activities were held on Dorado River. Our naturalists brought out spotlights after sunset. Black caimans and spectacled caimans were the major attraction for our guests. Other night dwellers were also spotted by our naturalists, such as fishing bats, boat-billed night herons, night jars, and many other animals were seen by our guests. It was another awesome day exploring the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.