This morning we slept in – well, not really, but at least until 0630! We then had a delicious and bountiful breakfast, and afterwards a presentation by Emira about the non-profit organization Minga Peru. We put on our boots, boarded the skiffs and crossed the river to visit a riverside village. Our guides showed us how the locals live and we visited an elementary school. We enjoyed hearing short talks by several of the women community leaders about their various projects. Back on board the boat, we navigated to the confluence of the Maranon and Ucayali Rivers, toasted our arrival there with piscos and for a short time floated in the mighty Amazon River! Then our Captain steered up the Ucayali where we will spend the next few days exploring.
In the afternoon 14 brave and happy women swam in the black waters of Clavero Lake. Then as the afternoon cooled off we boarded the skiff for an exploration to the end of the lake. We returned to the main river by following a system of narrow, vegetation choked creeks and counted 8 sloths, 12 jacanas and at least 10 black collared fish hawks! As darkness fell, bats began to feed, and the sky turned an ominous deep gray, we arrived back on board our comfortable boat. We were glad to have had yet another fabulous day and to have luckily again dodged the rains…
