We woke up early this morning to see our first sunrise over the mightiest river system on earth. At six in the morning we were already heading deep into Pahuachiro caño, a small tributary of the Marañón River, where we had our first chance to add new species to our animal sightings list. Our local guides, with a lifetime of experience and sharp eyes, could spot wildlife in a way that was almost hard to believe. Patiently guiding our eyes through the busy landscape, they made sure we could all see the hidden sloths or the colorful birds as the skiff driver positioned the boat to get a good view.
Most of the landscape we see around here will become flooded in a couple months. Just in the short time that we have been here, we have seen how the rivers are alive and change in front of our eyes. The "highlands", as they call them here, are not necessarily too high, but just high enough to stay above the water level during high water. This jungle is referred to as terra firme. We had a nice introduction of the amazing biodiversity that exists here during out first hike in the jungle today. As we walked, listening to our local guides, two of the villagers that greeted us disappeared into the jungle with their machetes. After a while, they came out with all kinds of surprises for us. From the depths of the jungle they found tarantulas, boas, poison arrow frogs and very interesting insects that we could see up close. It was quite a treat to learn about the jungle, and to see some of the wildlife that we might have otherwise never seen.
During the afternoon we had our second skiff ride of the day and we explored the Yanayacu River. "Yanayacu" means "black water" in Quechua, and it accurately describes its tannin-rich water. The highlight for most of us was the opportunity to spend time floating over the calm water, watching and listening to the pink river dolphins as they came up for a breath.
After dinner, while we enjoyed our aguaje ice cream, the crew performed some amazing Peruvian for us in the dining room. A real Peruvian experience would never be complete without its magnificent music.
