Casual & Nauta Caño
>For sure the most exciting find today was the night monkeys. These cute, large-eyed primates are great fun to watch, and it’s reciprocal because as we watch them, they watch us. I’m pretty sure that with their humongous eyes, mostly suited for the night, they see us better than we see them.
Yanayacu, Pucate & Amazon Natural Park
In the afternoon, we explored the trails and suspension bridges of the Amazon Nature Park on foot.
Marañon, Ucayalli, San Francisco
In the afternoon we explored another of the tributaries of the Amazon. As we went by a tiny community called Flor de Castaña, we found out that the water level was a little too high for our skiffs to go under a concrete bridge. We were too far away to turn around, so the only logical thing to do was to ask for help from the friendly local people. They jumped into the front of our skiffs to lower them with their weight, pushed and pulled us through to the other side, then jumped into the water to help the next skiff. The people here in the remote upper Amazon are extremely kind, and we ended back at the ship in time for a wonderful sunset.
Belluda Creek and Dorado River
The skiffs cruised through the narrow stream over the aquatic vegetation. Different species of birds were sighted as we pass next to the forest edge. The air was filled with a mix of bird calls. We all enjoyed what nature had for us.
For the afternoon, we explored Dorado River. At the mouth of this tributary, a small village was settled by “Ribereños.” The kids rapidly shared with us the different species of fishes their parents had caught during the day. Their friendly faces were all captured by our cameras.
Pacaya River and Magdalena Creek
We explored the whole morning and our breakfast was in the great “jungle skiff cafeteria.” Mid-morning, it was getting warm, so we stopped in Yanayacu Lagoon. We participated in the “Pirahna Plunge” to cool ourselves. Many pink dolphins showed up to swim pretty close to us. What a great morning and experience!
In the afternoon, we explored Magdalena Creek. Different species of birds were sighted. One of the best sightings was of the white chested toucan.
It was another great day exploring the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve!
Supay, Iricahua, Yarapa River
On our last day exploring the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, we started by exploring Supay River. We cruised on the skiffs along this river, before breakfast. A cool breeze was felt as we began spotting green iguanas taking advantage of the first sun rays. Different species of birds, such as white-headed marsh tyrants, black-crown night herons and a big flock of migratory purple martins were seen along the marsh area of this small tributary.
Our last skiff ride was done late afternoon along the Yarapa River. Each of our sightings along the river was a small glimpse into the massive biodiversity of the Upper Amazon.
We all gathered at the end of the day, in the lounge, to share our thoughts about our experience we all had exploring this paradise. It was just a life-changing experience!
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.
A long hike through the rainforest at the Amazon Natural Park, a private park along the Marañon River, brought us this morning to a series of suspension bridges. We were able to walk along the mid-canopy level to observe the plant and animal life from a different perspective than ground level. During an afternoon skiff ride, we visited Nauta Caño, or Nauta Creek, where we looked for sloths, monkeys, and birds, and admired the beautiful reflections in the calm waters of a blackwater creek.
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.