From the hole in the tree where they live in, a family of beautiful night monkeys looks attentively at us with their humongous eyes.On our first day in the Upper Amazon, we started our adventure very early morning by exploring one of the many tributaries of the upper Amazon River by skiff. The skiffs truly make the experience a very enjoyable one, especially with the aid of our experienced drivers and naturalists. With our skiffs, we can really get up close and personal with the flooded forest. The drivers maneuver the long skiffs with ease, and our local naturalists can make the invisible wildlife visible to us.
>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
A river teeming with fish. A local fisherman proudly shows us his catch off just one hour of work.Early this morning, we explored one of the tributaries of the Amazon by skiff. Before venturing into the very vast network of lakes, canals and tributaries of the Amazon, we stopped at the park-ranger station to check in. As we waited a little for everyone to sign the visitor’s book, an older gentleman in his tiny dugout canoe went by, stopping briefly to proudly show us his catch. In the floor of his little canoe lay a good number of small, and still alive fish. Considering how early in the morning it was, and that the fish very much still alive, one of our guests asked how long it had taken him to catch all these fish, and he responded about one hour. The Amazon is truly teeming with life.
In the afternoon, we explored the trails and suspension bridges of the Amazon Nature Park on foot.
Marañon, Ucayalli, San Francisco
People setting up their crafts for sale.Today we visited the small community of San Francisco, on the river’s edge. It’s always an eye-opening experience to get to see how people make a living in these remote areas.
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
Red throated caracara are very social birds. They usually travel in pairs or in small noisy parties. They feed on fruits and on nests of bees and wasps.This morning we explored a lovely tributary of the Ucayali River, Belluda Creek. We left Delfin II right after breakfast to explore the creek.
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.
Spectacle caiman prey on all manner of smaller amphibians and reptiles. When small, they will hide among the aquatic vegetation.We kept exploring the river until sunset. Our naturalist brought out the spotlights because it was the perfect moment to start looking for caimans. As the light was pointed at the aquatic vegetation, red eyes began to show up. Different sizes of spectacle caimans, as well as black caimans, were sighted. What a great way to finish another day exploring the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.
Pacaya River and Magdalena Creek
The white-throated toucan is the biggest toucan in the Upper Amazon. They commonly eat fruits but also raids others birds’ nests to eat eggs and nestlings.We woke up at the crack of dawn and loaded the skiffs. During the night we had arrived close to the mouth of the Pacaya River. The sun rays began to reveal a lush forest covered with snowy egrets. As they took off from their perch, the sky was painted with white.
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.
Whoolly monkeys feeds on ripe fruits, new leaves, some seeds and arthropods. They are very agile with their prehensile tail that allows them to secure themselves when trying to reach for their foods.Back on board for breakfast, we repositioned to another tributary, Iricahua River. This narrow river allowed us to experience the cruising through the varsea forest. More primates were sighted by our guests. The emergent trees were home to these agile mammals.
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!
