Casual Trail and Nauta Creek
After breakfast, we had the opportunity to hike in Casual Trail. During the hike, the local guides of Casual spotted the many creatures for us, including a juvenile green anaconda, a red-tailed boa, diverse poison dart frogs, different species of tarantulas and many more!
Our afternoon activity was in Nauta Creek. Here we offered the option of kayaking in addition to our regular skiff exploration. The guests had a wonderful time exploring this striking area. The highlight of the excursion was a family of night owl monkeys that came out of their tree as if they wanted to spy on the visitors.
What a great way to begin our expedition through the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve.
Yanayacu River and Amazon Natural Park
The gentle rain followed us during most part of the morning. This didn’t stop us from spotting lots of wildlife. We saw different species of macaws, reptiles, and the exploration through the várzea forest was spectacular. Our naturalist shared with us the survival strategies implemented by these trees, which allow them to thrive during the six months of flooding. Just amazing.
For our afternoon experience, we visited a private reserve called Amazon Natural Park. Here, after crossing a man-made lake, we reached a trail that went through a mature forest. The tall and emergent trees were home to different animals that we could hear as we walked along the trail. We arrived to an area made up of hanging bridges, and as we crossed them, we had a good perspective of the different layers of the forest.
Close to dusk, we returned to Delfin II and gathered in the lounge to share our thoughts of the day.
Amazona Community and Clavero Lake
For the past ten years, a non-profit organization known as Minga Peru has been doing a great job in this village. They have trained women to become community leaders, to master the skills of making art crafts with chambira fiber and they also work with families to help them have their own fish farms and sustainable agriculture projects.
We spent the morning visiting several homes and learning a lot more about their lifestyle. It was a life-changing experience for each of our guests. At our departure, the ladies escorted us to the embarkation area and they waved us goodbye with big smiles.
In the afternoon, we explored Clavero Lake. We enjoyed seeing the Victoria giant water lilies. Some of those lilies were in bloom, and it was a spectacular sighting.
We cruised through several tributaries that feed Clavero Lake. Each of them was loaded with different species of birds, reptiles and primates. It was another wonderful example of the great biodiversity of the Upper Amazon.
Belluda & Dorado River
Our adventure began early morning. At dawn, before breakfast we boarded eagerly onto local watercraft in anticipation to explore a tributary of the Amazon River. The air felt fresh and cool in our faces as we sped into the jungle waterway, and it was not long before our expert naturalist guides began indicating local wildlife to observe and photograph. The skiff drivers negotiated the waters with ease, putting us front and center as possible to pure Amazonian wilderness. Our morning endeavors were followed in turn with a fantastic breakfast aboard Delfin II.
On our second morning of exploration, we visited the called Yanayacu and Pucate Tributaries. Exploring from the vantage of expedition watercraft is truly enjoyable experience! All we need to do is sit back and let the breeze caress our faces while we take in the fantastic scenery. Guides will stop occasionally to point out findings, things and creatures so subtly placed you’d think it impossible for human eyes to detect.
Today we had the special opportunity to visit a small community adjacent to the San Jorge River. It is an eye-opening experience to get to visit the people who live in such remote areas. It is fascinating to see how closely they have learned to live with their environment, and how little they need to be happy. They received us with open arms and big smiles. We got the chance to see their homes, the school, and to learn about what they are doing to improve their living through a local organization called Minga Peru.
The exploration was enjoyed by all, as we were rewarded with sightings of Saddleback tamarins, flocks of blue and yellow macaws, saki monkeys, and many other animal species, which our guests wasted no time capturing on camera.
We loaded the skiff and cruised along the Pacaya River. There was a section of varsea forest very interesting. It was covered with water lilies and different species of water plants. The aquatic birds like wattle jacanas, horned screamers and great egrets were all gathered looking for their meal.
During breakfast Delfin II repositioned next to the mouth of another tributary of the Iricahua River. This narrow river was a highpoint of our expedition. Red and green macaws were seen by our guests and in the company of other characteristic species like blue and yellow macaws, the white-eared jacamar, masked crimson tanagers, and several others.
The beginning of a new adventure starts from Nauta, heading to the Yanacacu and Pucate Rivers. Not the usual Lindblad ship, Delfin II brings certain differences into the mix, creating an aura of mystery and curiosity into the equation of our expedition. Soon enough, all the questions are answered, and the curiosity turns into fascination towards the Pacaya Samiria Natural Reserve. On arrival to the Upper Amazon expeditions, most guests have high expectations for nature and wildlife photography. The opportunities are there. But a sense of respect is quickly born, as on every skiff ride, we do need to focus searching for fauna. This departure will help everyone improve their photography skills, are they will be reviewed as situations and weather change constantly.
Early in the morning, we had a pre-breakfast skiff ride along the Marayali River. The latter is a fairly big stream that connects the Marañon with the Ucayali River. We observed many bird species in the prime time of the day. Later, after breakfast, we went to visit San Francisco Community. We were welcomed by the villagers, especially by a group of women leaders that are part of the several projects of Minga Peru. Minga Peru is the NGO that the Lindblad – National Geographic Fund supports. We had a very hot but enlightened morning learning about the local way of living and the several productive and cultural activities that people carry on in this community.
This day brings our Amazon expedition into the most remote geographical point of our adventure in Peru. Every caño has its own particular beauty, but also, seems to have more presence of certain species. The rivers wind permanently, always decorated with lush vegetation on each side. Our guests became active spotters of wildlife, closely working together with our local guides.
Today we explored the most remote areas of the week’s voyage by skiff. A morning ride through the Zapote River brought us up close and personal with the endemic monk saki monkey. The flooded lagoons off the Pacaya River, with their towering isolated trees, were a departure from the densely vegetated forest we’ve grown accustomed to this week and were the backdrop for some great bird-watching.
A brand-new day of our expedition started with a beautiful overcast morning. The latter contributed a lot to a comfortable exploration of the Supay Caño, a small tributary of the Ucayali River and our first visitor’s site of the day. Right after breakfast, we boarded our fleet of skiffs to explore the area. We found numerous bird species and other creatures, including yellow-billed terns, black-collared hawks, colorful tanagers and cotingas, hoatzins, green iguanas, etc. All of this wildlife was surrounded by an exuberant green forest.