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.