The Amazon basin is inhabited by a lot of people who live in settlements along the rivers. Some of these communities are very small and others are larger. The people living in these areas are fishermen and farmers; in the larger settlements there are schools and high schools, and in the smaller ones you find kindergartens and elementary schools. All these villages are separated either by large rivers, terra firma forests, or flooded forests.
In the morning we landed in a settlement called Amazonas. Here we went for a walk visiting the houses and the schools. We met the local people, and we had a great time with the schoolchildren. It is very interesting to learn about the life of the native people in this remote corner of the world.
The main activities here are fishing and farming. The fishermen set their net on the shore of the small rivers in the evening and next day early in the morning they are pulling the nets and collecting Piranhas and catfish. In the case of farmers they have their land on the riversides where they grow bananas, coco beans, citruses, and many other types of local food plants.
In the afternoon we headed for Cedro Caño. This is an amazing place full of birds and large trees. Along the riverbank we found egrets, iguanas, and many types of raptors perching all around. As we explored this area we encountered nesting colonies of gold-rumped caciques, these birds nest in large groups and their nest are always guarded by a wasp nest that provide safety.
Later on we started to explore a flooded part of the forest, this area was outstanding because of the reflection of the trees on the pond and also the numbers of parrots perching on the trees. One the attractions of the place was a flock of sand-colored night hawks roosting on the bushes in the middle of the pond as well as the dusky-headed parrots nesting in a hole in an old tree.
What a great day in the rain forest!
